Biscuits The Great British Bake Off

Welcome back to Somerset, where, last week,

we single-handedly ploughed our way through a mountain of doughnuts

and saw tighter buns than the Eurovision Song Contest.

Two of their contemporaries went,

this week, five bakers face the quarterfinals.

And they face some of the biggest challenges we've ever seen.

As always with the Bake Off, expect the unexpected.

Scream if you want to go faster.

We are on the roller coaster of baking,

otherwise known as the Great British Bake Off.

Last week:

Oh!

Sweet dough stood between the bakers and the quarterfinals.

Psyching myself up.

Cathryn was technically challenged.

Doughnut doom.

-Brendan and James were technically brilliant.

-Yes!

-John wobbled.

-What's wrong with them?

And Danny finally became Star Baker.

That was amazing, actually.

But Ryan and Sarah Jane...

-It's raw.

-Raw?

-Yeah.

-..baked their final buns.

You have to win now, seriously.

'Tonight...

I've burnt my first batch.

'It's the quarterfinals.'

-Oh, law. I don't know what to do.

-What the heck?

'..with the largest number of Signature Bakes ever assembled.'

I can't count!

The hottest technical challenge...

It's 35 degrees in here.

-Oh, dear.

-..Ever attempted.

I'm going to wait to right at the last minute.

The biggest showstoppers ever constructed.

This is like Meccano for boys with baking.

And someone's Bake Off is about to fall apart.

Total disaster.

-It's crunch time.

-Are they going to snap?

-They're feeling brittle.

-Phew... Will they crumble?

It's biscuit week!

Two days.

Three challenges.

And just four of these five remaining bakers

can go through to the semi-finals.

Famous five, welcome.

I know the pressure's building,

so we'll crack on with the Signature Bake this morning.

And "crack" is the operative word because

we're going to ask you today to make, please,

48 crackers or crispbreads.

You can use any flour you want, they can be leavened or unleavened.

But the most important thing is they should be thin

and crack when snapped in two.

-Little bit like Nicole Kidman.

-Yeah.

You've got two hours for this challenge.

-On your marks.

-Get set.

-Bake!

This is a gruelling test of consistency.

Delivering a huge batch of perfectly baked crispbreads and crackers

demands impressive organisation

and incredible attention to the smallest of details.

It's very, very difficult to get savoury crispbreads evenly baked,

because they're so wafer-thin, they catch at the edges.

We want every single one to be crisp all the way up

and, when we turn them over, evenly baked.

It's all about the bake on this. That, and the crispiness.

I will be testing for the snap on every single one of them.

Let's hope Mary and Paul like them.

Most crackers start with a simple mix of flour, water and fat

to make a basic dough.

It's not often you make crackers unless there's a gathering or buffet or something,

which is why it's interesting as a challenge, really.

Crackers can be unleavened or leavened, they don't depend on a rise.

James is using yeast, he's a real keen bread maker.

I've not put yeast in it as I want them to be really crisp.

But perhaps mine are going to be too dry.

You just don't know what they're looking for.

Yeast creates masses of tiny bubbles in the dough

which gives a lighter texture,

but makes it very difficult to get a thin, crispy result.

First thing is quickly making the dough.

These have got to prove, so I need, actually, as much time as possible.

Two hours isn't that long.

James' smoky cayenne, cumin and chilli crackers

have an unconventional base ingredient.

You're using a yeasted dough?

-Yeasted polenta dough, yes.

-Interesting.

You've got to get that very thin.

I baked it a couple of days ago. Teeth are just like steel.

It's very spicy.

You've got cumin and coriander and a chilli that, I don't know...

-Chipotle, yes.

-Chipotle.

Fantastic taste. I love it.

Quite spicy. Hope you like things spicy.

Let's just hope you get that thinness that you need.

Thinness. I'll make it extra thin for you.

James isn't the only baker taking a chance with yeast.

I've made them a lot this week.

They don't always work perfectly, but they always taste nice.

Cathryn has based her signature crispbreads

on the classic British ploughman's lunch.

I'm doing local Sussex cheese and pickle.

-OK. Can I try a bit?

-Yeah, of course.

It's a bit like Cheshire.

Cross between Cheshire and Cheddar. Very crumbly.

It's a very full flavour.

I'm going to roll them as thin as I can,

then stretch each one individually before I put it on the baking tray.

-If they're thin enough, they will snap.

-Cathryn, they've got to be.

Cos otherwise it'll be like a cookie.

No, it won't be a cookie, it'll be a cracker.

Flavouring a delicate cracker dough is risky.

I've just added the chipotle and the cayenne.

No idea what effect they might have on the yeast,

but I just decided to add them halfway though.

Acids and some proteins present in cheese or spices

can retard yeast and affect a leavened cracker's structure when baked.

For dried spice, a lot of the flavour is fairly redundant in it until it's cooked.

So I want to just toast them off first,

because that releases the essential oils in the spices

and that gets the flavour really booming.

But adding flavour at this early stage

is the only way to ensure it's even across the whole batch.

-HE SINGS

-# Can you do this to me? #

John's spicy Asian-inspired crackers are made without yeast

and are flavoured with cumin, coriander and fennel.

90 grammes.

He's melting butter in water, before adding it to his dough mix

so that, like his spices, it's distributed as evenly as possible.

These are the crackers you'd have with your mates around.

A really good nibbley cracker, packed full of flavour,

which is what the judges were missing last week in my food.

So, hopefully, this'll sort them out.

I'm making a spicy almond cracker.

It's a biscuit dough, where you're pulsing the butter into the flour.

Then I'm using yoghurt to bind it together.

The downside is I eat them as they come out.

Today, there's meant to be a batch of 48.

When I've made these at home before, I'm lucky if 20 make it to the tin.

Danny's unleavened crackers

are flavoured with a blend of North African spices called ras el hanout,

as well as chopped almonds.

Her dough has a controversial ingredient.

I've taken a leaf out of Brendan's book,

cos we're back to the '70s of desiccated cheese.

I know you look horrified.

-That's Parmesan?

-It is.

-But proper Parmesan doesn't work.

-Shaky, shaky Parmesan?

-Yeah.

That's percussion, that's not edible!

I've done it so many times I've tried it with fresh Parmesan.

If you didn't want it to snap, I'd put fresh Parmesan on,

-There's too much moisture in fresh Parmesan.

-It's your choice.

-Great.

-Thanks very much, good luck.

-Look forward to it.

Bakers, you are halfway through the crispbread challenge.

Are we?

You've got one hour to go, I hope you're cracking on.

Once their dough is rested,

the bakers face a crucial decision when rolling it out.

Oh, it's getting hot!

Too thick, and their crackers won't snap.

I'm just rolling these crackers out between two pieces of parchment paper.

It's just the easiest way for me to get them as thin as I possibly can.

Too thin, and the edges will burn before they're properly baked.

Just pricking the cracker all over before I cut it,

so that, when it's in the oven, it doesn't puff up.

I'm expecting a few little bubbles here and there,

but I don't want it to be like a big flying saucer, for example.

What this allows you to do is test the thickness is even.

When you prick it,

you can feel whether it's thicker in one part than it is in another.

Like Woody Woodpecker!

HE IMITATES WOODY'S CALL

Not only should every single cracker be the same thickness.

10, 11...

All 48 must also be exactly the same shape.

I bring precision to everything I do.

Equally with my gardening.

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well, to get the finish right.

Brendan's crackers are packed with sesame, pumpkin and flax seeds

and topped with a sprinkling of aniseed.

I think you're rather clever to have done this on an oiled table.

That means you can get it off,

and you don't get that extra flour added all the time.

The challenge for me is, because they're so thin, it's getting the bake right.

The challenge is getting them off there!

Even with the palette knife, you're going to distort that diamond a bit as well.

Using one oven to bake 48 crackers perfectly...

Um, I should be all right if I just pull my finger out

and roll them a bit quicker than I have been.

..requires careful planning.

And intense concentration.

The consistency is key and, because we're doing 48,

it's going to be tricky to make sure every single one is the same.

Crackers can bake in as little as four minutes.

There's a really fine line between being cooked and crispy, or burnt.

The baking temperature must be constant...

Whoa!

..to ensure every cracker is crisp.

Which means using the same shelf

for multiple batches.

OK, there's 30 minutes left, bakers! Don't snap under the pressure.

But one baker has decided to take a short cut.

Might just chuck in a few more, just to see what they taste like.

Cos I can't really taste any of these, cos I made exactly on 48.

So, it's a bit annoying.

James has made his crackers in one batch, and on different shelves.

My perfect cracker would be this one.

Just toasted.

That one.

Very thin, even thinner, but over-baked.

Ones like that are a bit wonky. That's quite nice.

Looks like a little mouse.

I've burned the batch.

I'm checking how far they've reached in their browning.

I'm going to turn the oven off and leave it for ten minutes

and the residual heat to complete the browning.

Ohhh!

Because, I suppose, the bake is short,

there's not that kind of terror of,

-will it prove or will it rise?

-I'm feeling a little bit of terror now.

-Are you?

-Yes. A little bit.

-Don't be scared of the crackerbreads.

-Oh, my gosh,

I've got others in the oven that are going to be burnt!

Oh! Don't worry, that's all right.

They're only a little bit burnt.

Heavens to Betsy. What am I doing?

Five minutes left, bakers. 48 crackers. Here we go.

HE SIGHS HEAVILY

One, two, three, four, five.

It's too hot.

I've got another 16 to go.

Checking these.

Just got my last batch in.

Honestly, I've completely lost it.

This is car crash crackers.

I think I've just done enough. I haven't counted actually.

Four, eight.

12.

-HE SINGS

-# A cracker in the morning. #

Three, four, five,

six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Bakers, that is it. Cracker time is now up.

I hope I've got that right.

I've got 40...

Danny, back away from the crackers.

I'm not touching them. I can't count.

It's judgement time.

Brendan. Diamonds are trumps.

They certainly look the part. They're beautifully even,

but it's all in the tasting.

BISCUIT SNAPS

Nice break.

< BRENDAN: Good.

It's got a great bake on it. They're all equal.

It adds a lot of texture to the cracker itself, the seeds.

The seasoning for me is just right. Really scrummy.

Do the Hollywood crack.

BISCUIT SNAPS

Good.

BISCUIT SNAPS

Yeah, good.

What an interesting colour, so inviting.

You've got a good consistency as well.

Good consistency amongst the whole batch.

You eat it first and you think, that's a bit bland,

maybe a little bit salty.

But when you get into it, you have a very fiery flavour.

-Did you put salt on the top as well?

-Just a tiny bit, yeah.

-You didn't need it.

-Right.

That salt has tipped it over to be very salty.

SOFT SNAP

Just about.

They're beautifully crisp.

Difficult to achieve.

-One or two of them are a little bit overbaked.

-Yes, yes.

-MEL: I can't believe you just did that.

-Oh, don't take that one.

I do like the flavour. I like the seeds as well.

That little bit of fire in there from the cayenne.

Well done to get them so wafer thin and full of flavour.

-Nice one, James. Thank you.

-Thank you, guys.

-Do we have to go?

I'm really sorry. I'm so embarrassed.

They're really disastrous. I'm really sorry.

There are only 46, for which I'm also sorry.

-They don't look particularly good.

-No, they're shocking.

It's thick and thin.

Irregular colours.

-The bakes, you go from that...

-Oh, don't.

-..to that.

-Yeah, I know.

That one you can bend.

-Oh, lor'.

-That one will snap.

That's a lovely crack, though, on that.

-CRACKER SNAPS

-It is.

Great flavour, but poorly...

Yeah, I know, just dreadful. I know.

You've got, obviously, some darker ones here.

-But let's just see what the...

-The Hollywood crack.

-BISCUIT SNAPS

-Yeah, it's breaking well.

It's lovely and crisp. Hint of curry.

One or two of them are a little overbaked.

It just makes them a little bit bitter.

Flavour's lovely, and it is crispy. And they're all the same size.

-I'd like to have seen them a little bit bigger, though.

-OK.

Well, you could always have twice as many!

I think I've found my confidence again.

If I let last week fester away inside me, then I'm going to fail.

But I just need to get over it, forget about it, and carry on.

The competition at the moment is variable in the remaining five.

There's certainly two or three that I'm keeping an eye on.

But, may the best man win.

It's now all about knowledge and technique,

and I've been round the track a bit longer than most of them.

I was designing them as a cracker with drinks.

I think Paul's comment about the salt is fair,

but that's not a hanging offence.

I don't want it to look like I'm not giving it everything

because my family will be disappointed

if they saw me not trying hard enough.

It just takes really one bad round to get you kicked out.

Everyone relies on a bit of luck. Me, more than anyone.

In a small corner of north Wales,

there is a regional biscuit which has been baked for centuries.

Now, it's not as famous as its Yorkshire Rich Tea

or Scottish shortbread siblings,

but its distinctive appearance and mysterious origins

make it one of the most charming biscuits in Britain.

The island of Anglesey is known as the Mother of Wales.

Its fertile soil and abundant crops

supply the whole country with a rich variety of produce.

One delicious bake, born from the plentiful Anglesey wheat,

is a distinctively scallop-shaped biscuit, steeped in local legend.

The Aberffraw biscuit

is one of the oldest biscuits in Britain and, indeed, Wales.

It's made similar to shortbread,

but what really sets it apart is this amazing scallop shape.

One of the reasons for that is that

scallops have been found in the waters of Anglesey for centuries.

One local legend has it that the wife of the Prince of Wales,

who held court in Aberffraw in the 13th century,

was walking on the beach, she picked up a scallop, brought it back,

and he had the biscuit made in honour of her.

The Aberffraw biscuit is also locally known as the James cake,

named in honour of St James, one of the 12 apostles,

whose symbol is a scallop.

There's a strong Celtic culture in Wales,

and that is shared in parts of Spain,

especially in Santiago de Compostela

which happens to be the burial place of St James.

It's known that pilgrims from Anglesey

would have made this pilgrimage

and, traditionally, pilgrims to Santiago wore scalloped hats

and a scallop around their neck.

So it's very likely that

the biscuit continued to be made for all these centuries

as a tribute to St James and to the people who'd made the pilgrimage.

The Aberffaw biscuit is traditionally made

using the wheat produced by the hundreds of windmills

that once dotted the Anglesey landscape.

The Linen Mill is the last surviving working windmill on the island.

But that hasn't stopped local bakers

from continuing to make this homegrown delicacy.

The Aberffraw biscuit is quite famous on Anglesey.

We call it the Teisennau Aberffraw.

Every year, in the Anglesey Show,

there's a competition for six pieces of Aberffraw biscuits.

Each one of them had to be identical,

and that was a craft in itself.

The Aberffraw biscuit is a shortbread mixture made from sugar,

Welsh farmhouse butter,

and a mixture of plain white and wholemeal flour.

The wholemeal flour ground in the mill has a grainy quality

that has traditionally been used to give a sandy texture,

evoking the beaches where the scallop shells were first discovered.

Instead of rolling it out,

it is pressed on to the shell,

so that you can see the shell shape on the finished biscuits.

The Aberffraw biscuit is unique to Anglesey.

It is something that is only made on this island.

The Aberffraw biscuit uniquely captures the spirit of Anglesey.

Shaped like the shells of its beaches

and made with the grain from its mills,

it has gained a special place in the folklore and tradition of the island.

The quarterfinalists have no idea

what kind of biscuit they'll be asked to bake next.

It's time to reveal the old Technical Challenge.

As you know by now, this is always judged blind.

So, Paul and Mary, off you go please,

to the place that you go at this time.

The pub!

For today's Technical Challenge,

we'd like you to create an iconic biscuit.

It's got a biscuit base,

then tower of marshmallow, topped with a dome of chocolate.

Because today, we're asking you to make six chocolate tea cakes.

-In 30 degree heat.

-Enjoy tempering that!

You've got two hours.

-So on your marks.

-Get set.

-BOTH:

-Bake!

The heat could be the least of the bakers' worries.

Marshmallow chocolate tea cake.

I know them, I see them in the shops. I have never made one.

Paul's recipe only contains very basic instructions.

This is like hell on a plate.

Quarterfinal chocolate tea cakes. Magnificent.

They are very difficult to make. A bit stagey.

What we've got is a homemade digestive biscuit.

Wow! Look at that.

The dome itself, we've given them a rubber mould,

with six domes inside it.

If it's too thin near the top,

when they finally try to bring the dome away from the mould,

the whole thing will collapse.

It's a bit like putting a cork in a bottle,

putting that biscuit into the dome. It's got to fit down into it

and then you just seal it with a bit more chocolate.

So, really hot day, doing something chocolate is tricky.

I think, on this occasion, you're going to have to be really kind.

Never done anything like this. No idea how to even approach it.

I think I can make the biscuit.

Digestive biscuits should be a straightforward combination

of wholemeal flour, sugar and butter.

Maybe I should have melted the butter.

It wants more butter. That's why it's not coming together.

But wholemeal flour contains little gluten.

The biscuit dough is extremely short.

"Short" means the gluten strands are short

and so it doesn't really hold together.

It's a very crumbly biscuit, with a good crumb to it,

a very tender crumb.

The biscuit dough made from wholemeal flour

is incredibly vulnerable to overworking.

It's a very dry dough, but I'm sticking with the recipe.

You're tempted, at this point, to put in a little more liquid.

I'm just going to torture it a bit, until I get it to bind together.

Handling it too much

can produce an unacceptably rubbery and chewy biscuit.

I don't mind if it is a bit short.

-There's not much there!

-No. You've got to get it really thin.

Most biscuits, you seem to have to get them about five millimetres.

-I might have to get the ruler out.

-I like it when you get the ruler out.

It's very dry, isn't it?

The bakers need to cut six biscuits from the dough.

Brendan's just a machine. Look at him go.

The thickness is up to them.

It's meant to be like the digestive biscuits

you buy in the shops? I don't know. Maybe.

And Paul has only given one instruction for baking them.

BEEPING

The oven temperature.

How long's the biscuits need?

They need to be baked long enough to be just crisp.

Ten minutes.

A fraction too long, and the high sugar contents in these biscuits

will burn and taste bitter.

-HE SIGHS HEAVILY

-I can't work in this heat.

I'm actually dripping in sweat.

Makes them look better if you put them upside down.

You want them so that they feel firm

and that they're just starting to go at the edges,

says she, never having made a digestive biscuit in her life!

As the digestive biscuits cool,

the bakers have to temper chocolate for their teacake topping.

Tempering changes the sugar formation in the chocolate,

so that it sets really hard with a great shine on it, you can crack it.

The chocolate has to be heated to exactly 45 degrees Celsius,

and then cooled rapidly to 32 degrees.

It's 35 degrees in here.

-Oh dear, and you want your chocolate to be 33?

-33 or 32, yes.

-OK, so we've got an issue already.

-HE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

After tempering,

the chocolate has to be the right consistency to coat the mould.

I want it to be a slower pourer than that,

so that it will stick to the sides.

If I put it in now, it'll all sink to the bottom.

I don't know how much chocolate I'm putting on.

I think it's got to hold marshmallow in it, and biscuit at the bottom.

So I think it needs to be quite thick.

I think it's a bit like if you make Easter eggs.

The best thing to do is to put a thin layer on, let it dry,

and if you don't think it's thick enough, just put another layer on.

The heat's just obviously melting the chocolate.

And, if the chocolate doesn't hold, you won't have a teacake.

You'll just have a big messy thing on a plate.

They'll have to go in the fridge or else they're not going to come out.

You should never fridge chocolate, straight from melting.

You should really let it cool to room temperature

before you put it near the fridge, at least.

We don't have room temperature here.

We have hot.

Cooling the chocolate in the fridge could result in a bloom,

making it lose its shine and gloss.

OK, bakers, two things to note.

A, there's a massive cross-wind going through the tents.

It's almost blowing my wig off.

Secondly, you've got one hour remaining. One hour.

For the marshmallow,

traditional meringue ingredients are combined with golden syrup

to stabilise the mixture and give structure.

I've never made marshmallow before.

I think it's some kind of Swiss meringue, by the looks of it.

It's then whisked to a temperature of 65 degrees over a bain marie

to gently heat the egg whites.

You don't want it to cook the sugar or the eggs.

When it starts to do that, if it feels grainy on the bottom of the bowl with your hand whisk,

which obviously you can't feel if you're using an electric whisk.

Everyone's finding this quite tricky, aren't they?

I've not heard Brendan.

That guy can do anything.

Oh... Well, look, it's rather nice actually. It's quite stiff.

I take it this is what it would look like.

My first encounter with marshmallow.

It's quite a funny texture,

but I guess that's how it should be.

Oh, wow, this is really good.

That's a good marshmallow.

My marshmallow's not very marshmallow-like, but James's is.

So perhaps I should have whisked it for a bit longer.

I'm wondering if dipping is the best way forward.

A chocolate coating ensures the biscuit stays crisp

when sealed into the teacake.

I want them to be covered in chocolate,

but I really don't want to break them.

If the chocolate coating is too thick,

the biscuit won't sit in the mould.

I'll settle for that. I'm easily pleased.

My chocolate hasn't set at all.

Cathryn's chosen not to chill her domes or biscuits...

I don't want to put them in the fridge

but I'm going to have to, aren't I?

..in an attempt to avoid losing the shine on the chocolate surface.

You can see why you don't put chocolate straight into the fridge,

because of this dull hardness.

And it's not just the weather that's against her.

Bakers, just 30 minutes remaining.

Oh, no!

All the bakers must now factor in enough remaining time

to fill, assemble and re-chill their teacake.

I'm filling them about four-fifths full,

because there's a biscuit now to sit on that.

So I take it, it should be flat.

Let's have a little wee look at them.

-SHE SIGHS

-It's not what I want to do, but...

Or shall I just pipe,

and set the whole thing as one instead of wasting time?

That's what I'm going to do. Probably going to be a big mistake.

I'm using as much of this chocolate as I can

because I don't want any leaks or breakages or anything.

All the bakers can do now is wait.

Lovely bakers, you've got ten minutes to go,

so you'd better start finishing up, pronto.

Each delicate teacake must now be removed from the mould.

-Please be careful.

-Please.

Is that a good way to do it?

Or do you think you ought to turn them?

-That's the way to do it.

-Ooh, my word!

-You've made a teacake!

-I didn't think I'd ever make a teacake.

Look at him.

-I quite like this.

-I don't know whether to eat it

or set up a shrine in honour of it.

That's beautiful!

Oh!

Oh, my gosh, I hope mine look like this.

They're quite easy to pop out, though,

so I'm going to wait right to the last minute.

I'm delighted actually, and it's nice and shiny,

which suggests the chocolate is tempered.

They're melting. Can I have a plate?

Oh!

They're not ready!

Oh, lor'. I don't know what to do.

-What the heck?

-Argh, they're not ready!

What do you mean, they're not ready?

-They keep like, they're broken.

-What do you mean, they're broken?

-Argh!

-You mean the base is separating?

Well, no, look.

-That's fine.

-But they're still so... No, look!

What am I going to do? Oh, lord. What am I going to do?

-Fridge. Fridge and pray.

-Oh, my giddy aunt.

Oh, man, this is not...

Bakers, you've got five minutes left. Five minutes left.

Oh, man.

Oh, no!

-There's five minutes left. They've got to come out.

-Oh, no.

Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

She's had a bit of a mare of a day, really.

Positive, positive, positive.

-They're pooper scoops. They're just horrendous!

-They're fine.

-Oh, man. What shall I do?

-They're going to be great.

-Right. Er...

-Oh, man.

-Individually, individually.

-Oh, no, look!

-That's OK.

No. Oh, my giddy aunt.

Oh, my giddy aunt!

So that's a bit embarrassing, isn't it?

And that's it, bakers, your time is up.

Please step completely away from your teacakes.

-Shall we start with this one?

-Yes.

The tempered chocolate - obviously there was an issue.

Lovely, crisp biscuit.

The problem with the marshmallow inside that one...

-It's more like whipped cream.

-It is, yeah.

This one has had a few issues with the dome itself. It's too thin.

Tastes good.

It's a lovely, crisp biscuit, a very good marshmallow.

The biscuit's sort of making this one rock a bit, you know.

-It's got a good shine on it, though.

-Thicker biscuit on that one.

Quite thick biscuit on that one.

And there's a lot of chocolate underneath.

You need to scrape down the bottom on these to keep them flat.

Because you don't want it too thick so it ends up rocking.

The meringue's pretty good.

This hasn't got a bad shine on it.

Good biscuit inside.

The meringue inside is just a little bit runny here, isn't it?

It needed a bit longer on the mix.

This one...

Looks a good, firm marshmallow.

It's cut through nicely.

It's the first one that's cut through absolutely neatly and firmly.

Yeah. It's got a good biscuit base on that one, as well.

But, overall, pretty good considering the temperature.

I think that's quite an achievement on such a day.

It's a bit runny.

'But whose teacakes could be a stepping stone to the semifinal?'

'And who could have tackled their last technical challenge?'

In fifth place is this one. The problem is with the dome.

The biscuit, actually, was good,

the marshmallow's good, but the dome was terrible.

Whether it wasn't chilled enough or not thick enough, there was a problem.

And, in fourth place, the join wasn't so good

and the marshmallow was a little bit runny.

In third place was this one.

These three were actually quite close, but this one,

because of the marshmallow being too weak...

And number two? Almost there, wouldn't you say?

The biscuit's a bit thick on that one,

but you had the best shine out of all of them.

And number one is this one.

-James.

-James!

Overall, you had a good base, a great meringue

and that dome as well...

I mean, you ticked all the boxes.

'It was impossible to call it.'

Even after the judging, I thought I could have been easily bottom.

'I think that the only thing that differentiated me from number one'

was the thickness of a biscuit.

I don't think I can leave today and think,

"That's OK, my place in the next round is assured."

But, to be honest, at this stage, I don't think anyone can feel

that their place in the next round is assured.

I thought you weren't supposed to chill chocolate in the fridge,

so I didn't.

Bang in the middle again. I've been there for some time.

If I mess up tomorrow, I could still go home,

cos Paul doesn't like people who stick in the middle.

One biscuit challenge remaining.

And one baker won't make it through to the semi-final.

Who would you say is leading the pack at the moment?

Brendan is certainly leading the pack.

He's been consistently good.

I actually thought James's crackers were very good.

Obviously, he came first in the technical challenge as well.

Who is possibly slightly lagging behind?

Cathryn was bottom on technical.

She had such difficulty with her chocolate.

She is the one that isn't using thermometers.

She's a true home baker.

I think you could also put Danny and John in there as well,

because Danny's biscuits were over-seasoned.

John, there was a lot of different variants in colour in that as well.

He's erratic, John. He has flashes of brilliance.

Danny, I'm surprised to see in that position,

because she's been very solid.

Good morning, bakers.

First up, a very happy birthday to James, who is 21 today.

James, today, the world's your oyster -

you can become an MEP and you can go to adult prison!

The choice is yours.

Now, today is the Showstopper Challenge.

And this stands between you and a place in the semifinals.

We are asking you today to channel your inner Hansels and Gretels

and build a gingerbread structure.

Not just any old gingerbread structure -

you've got to take the normal gingerbread house to another level.

Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, like that.

You've only got four hours to bake and build,

-so on your marks...

-Get set...

..bake!

The gingerbread house is a tradition that became popular in Germany

after the publication of Grimms' Fairy Tales.

It's now become synonymous with Christmas.

This is a particularly fantastic challenge.

This is the gingerbread structure.

Not house!

If you make me a house, I will smash it down, I'll blow your doors in.

What we're looking for is a bit of architectural genius.

It's going to be one of the most exciting things

that we've seen on the Bake Off.

-DANNY:

-'This is an awful lot of dough

'and an awful lot of stuff to be processing in four hours.

'I make gingerbread,'

but I have not got a tradition of trying to build something with it!

Basic gingerbread is a mix of flour, brown sugar, golden syrup,

and ground ginger.

I'm going to do it a little bit thicker than I normally would,

just for safety.

The gingerbread needs a stable structure,

but the flavour has to be good as well.

So I'm adding in additional spices -

it's a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

DANNY: You want molasses, because it adds a really nice, treacly flavour.

But pomegranate molasses tastes a little bit fruity.

It doesn't make the gingerbread taste fruity.

It actually makes the gingerbread taste of caramel.

-JOHN:

-I put black treacle in as well -

it has a dark flavour you want in it,

just to make it a little bit more sophisticated and malty.

I am doing chocolate and orange flavour.

I do make this with my children, but only, you know, talking like this.

But this is going to be pretty big, so it's not ordinary.

Cathryn's grand design is for a chocolate and orange

spiced gingerbread Buckingham Palace.

-You couldn't go grander than that!

-That's what I thought.

I'm using chocolate to separate the windows.

It has a lot of windows, so I practiced cutting them out.

As there are so many, it weakens the structure and it distorts the shape,

so I'm sticking them on rather than cutting them out.

I think you're being very positive about this.

You are very upbeat for it, so it'll be good, won't it?

It's going to be good. You're going to like it.

-DANNY:

-I have baked this structure a couple of times.

Once, it went brilliantly.

Once, it kind of went boom, boom, boom, straight down.

Danny's gingerbread, made with ginger syrup and pomegranate molasses,

should rise in the form of Big Ben.

-How tall is it going to be?

-Two feet tall.

-Two feet tall?!

-Yeah.

-That's nearly as big as Mel!

And how are you going to bind it all together?

Caramel to hold the weight, really.

And then I'll probably use some icing,

just to kind of fill in the gaps.

Well, caramel is a very good sticking agent.

And it's a lovely, dry day.

If it was a wet day, and all damp, that would affect the caramel.

But, today, it'll hold it together beautifully.

I hope so. I mean, the issue I've had is actually...

I've realised how much respect I have for the Ancient Egyptians

..is getting a square-based pyramid! That took me ages!

All of the bakers, except James,

have made templates for their buildings.

They're shaping their dough into pieces before they go into the oven.

It took a week to design these,

like, get the logistics and the measurements

and then Paul, my amazing partner, he did it.

-Paul printed that up?

-He printed that for me.

-Is he an architect?

He's a graphic designer and works for an architect.

-This is where you come into your own, then.

-Yeah. It is.

So you've been looking for a baking building project, the two of you,

and now you've found one.

John is adding black treacle

and spices to his epic gingerbread Coliseum.

He'll also be making a peanut praline gravel.

-This looks very complicated.

-Over 100 pieces.

-Over 100 pieces?

-Yeah.

So I'll get all of these pieces

and then, with the sugar caramel, I'll stick them together.

-Oh, my days.

-And then up again.

What sort of flavour? Are we going to expect something hot and fiery?

Not too hot and fiery, but it'll have a strong ginger flavour,

because the Coliseum is about strength and fighting.

-All right. Thanks, John.

-As they say in Latin, bona fortunas.

Bona fortunas.

-Bona fortorna. Fortuna?

-Grazie.

This isn't at all my sort of baking,

but I have come round to this challenge.

It's not baking, it's building. And I like building.

James's pristine barn will be built out of gingerbread biscuit planks,

with a softer gingerbread cake for cladding.

So you're starting off by baking all the gingerbread -

the walls, the tiles, the roof -

and then you're going to assemble it and stick it together with what?

-Caramel. Yes, caramel.

-Well, that should hold it firmly.

-What sort of size are we looking at here?

-Life size.

-Two foot by one foot.

-Sorry? Two foot.

-Two foot by how high?

-I don't know.

You don't know.

-However big I can get away with pitching the angle at.

-MARY:

-This is the construction plan?

-This is my rough plan, yes.

-Good luck, James.

-Have a nice relaxing day.

-Oh, I will.

'Planning is essential. The bakers should prioritise

'baking the pieces of gingerbread they need to build with first

'if they're to finish on time.'

For me, it needs to be all crisp, or else it's going to bend and fall down.

'Depending on the size of the pieces,

'baking time can vary wildly from five to 20 minutes.'

Bit longer.

When it comes to artistic expression,

Britain's bakers have been turning to gingerbread for centuries.

And although styles and shapes may change, one town in particular

has been granted the moniker "home of gingerbread".

In the beautiful setting of the Cumbrian countryside

lies Grasmere, a town with a rich tradition of gingerbread baking.

And at the world famous gingerbread shop, a unique romantic gift

is sold that revives a tradition dating back to medieval times.

Gingerbread was given originally as a love token,

usually by knights

given to fair maidens before jousting competitions,

so it's like an original favour.

These little love tokens were absolutely gorgeous.

They were little shield-shaped gingerbreads

or heart-shaped gingerbreads and it was obviously because ginger

was very expensive spice and it warms the blood and encourages love.

And that's what made them very, very special. It was a very sought-after thing.

Over time, the celebratory gift of gingerbread

increased in popularity throughout Europe

and by the 16th and 17th centuries, these highly prized biscuits

had evolved into spectacular works of art.

In the Netherlands, there was a tradition

of giving a ritual token of two gingerbreads at a wedding.

One was in the form of Abraham and the other one

was in the form of his wife, Sarah, from the Old Testament.

Now, they thought they couldn't conceive because they were too old,

but an angel appeared to them

and said, "You're going to have a child," - Isaac, which they did.

So, in Holland, what they did, they had these figures

which represented Abraham and Sarah and they were given

to the bride and groom in the hope

that they too would conceive and have lots of children.

Such intricately detailed gingerbread men and women

weren't just presented at weddings.

They were sold as gifts to celebrate a huge variety of events.

Some of the most elaborate were reserved for royal occasions.

This mould, which dates from the late 17th century, represents

King William III and on the other side, it's got Mary, his queen.

And it may have been sold

at the time of the coronation on the streets of London.

The remarkable casts that you get from these are some of

the most beautiful gingerbreads in the history of England.

I mean, just look at King William here,

with this incredible detail on his waistcoat and coat.

Every part of it is just completely covered.

So, this is really a work of art.

Smaller gingerbread figures would have been presented

at 17th century aristocratic banquets,

using a popular recipe known as white gingerbread.

Flavoured with almonds and coated with sugar paste,

it provided a fine texture for picking up such ornate detail.

This little Shakespearian gingerbread I've got here

was used for making a very high-status type of gingerbread.

These gingerbreads were frequently gilded

and, obviously, gold leaf is a precious metal.

So it was expensive. But the idea was to have

something on the table that looked sensational.

As ginger has become more common,

gingerbread has now lost much of its romanticism,

but whilst we can now find a card for any occasion,

for our ancestors, there was nothing that couldn't be said

without the help of a piece of gingerbread.

'There are just two hours to go in the Showstopper Challenge.'

I've still got 18 windows to make.

'The baking time is crucial.

'Any variation in bake or thickness could create

'a weakness in the structure.'

No idea how this is going to turn out.

Don't even know if it's going to be soft or hard.

I hope, right now, it's hard enough to cool,

but I may need to bake it again.

That's one roof.

You know your life is taking a strange twist and turn

when you find yourself asking questions about

what's a good edible material that would make

a good thatched roof on a gingerbread house.

'Brendan's thatched gingerbread bird house will be surrounded by

'grass made from dried coconut and be home to two fondant icing residents.'

That's interesting. You've baked it and then you trim it after baking.

It's a slight spread you get with it.

Of course, to hold it all together, you need to keep it very accurate.

-PAUL:

-While it's warm, it's the best time to do it.

-Absolutely.

Even if it does hurt your fingers a little bit.

I'm going to put it into a lovely, cute Walt Disney-type setting.

There's going to be lots of flowering clematis all over it,

climbing up the sides and across the roof.

-I'm going to make two blue birds out of icing.

-Fantastic.

Well, it'll give us a piece of your little mind then when we look at your construction later.

Knowing Brendan, the birds will actually be tweeting as well.

-They probably will.

-They will be.

-On the hour.

-Good luck, Brendan.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, bye-bye.

I'm making a few small changes

in order to have something that looks better at the end,

cos I don't want to steam roller through and then have something

that looks really shoddy at the end.

So you think you might be a bit pushed for time?

I'm totally pushed for time.

So, you're going to modify our monarch's home?

-I'm going to slightly tweak Buck House.

-What are you doing?

-A little extension? Conservatory? Patio?

-No, I'm downsizing.

It's a bungalow. I've changed my mind. It's a royal bungalow.

Time for the grand assembly.

Most of the bakers are using caramel as the glue.

I don't know if that's burnt or not.

But it has to be kept at exactly the right temperature

to stick the structure together.

That caramel's just rubbish. Not gluing anything. It's far too hard.

It's quite fun when things go your way. Like, this is horrible.

This is a horrible situation.

It needs to be soft, really soft in order for it to stick. It's not.

To cement his structure, Brendan is using royal icing.

It takes longer to dry than caramel,

but once set, is more stable.

-I catch you mid-roofing.

-You do. Under pressure now.

This is the trickiest bit - getting the roof to adhere.

So far, so good.

I'm going to start assembling the front,

so that's got time to set and then crack on.

This competition means the world to me and to win it would be amazing.

Everything I want to do in my life is bake.

So, that's why I'm taking the care now,

cos I can't afford to make any more stupid mistakes.

Well, it's the quarter finals and I think nobody's safe.

So, you could easily be on your way out if something goes wrong.

Time is getting the better of James and, with the build under way,

he's only just getting the ginger cake that will form

the wall of his barn in the oven.

It's got the roof to go on. I've got the bricks to be built.

All the slates to be made, cut and put on.

We don't have enough time to do it all, so we're going to have to start cutting bits.

I'm not sure which bits are going to go.

The male will have a coxcomb and the female doesn't,

so, I thought I would give her some mascara.

You know, I've spent years creating a certain image,

which is now going to be blown apart.

I don't believe my life. I really don't.

OK, bakers, 15 minutes left on your bake/build.

Time-wise, I'm running a bit behind now.

I mean, I'm going to be able to finish the structure, the coliseum.

It's just going to be an issue of decoration.

I don't think the Queen would like this much.

I think she'd be a bit naffed off with me if she saw this.

It's a total disaster.

It's gone from looking rather lovely to absolute disaster.

Oh, Sue.

-What have you done, darling?

-I don't know.

The barn seems to have changed from the original plans submitted.

Yes.

It's a derelict barn. I think I should get marks for ambition.

Ah!

It's literally buckling under its own sorry weight.

Bakers, one minute before the gingerbread repossession people

come and take your houses away from you.

It's OK. I've got the tower constructed.

There's a crack in the clock tower, which is slightly unfortunate.

So, I'm literally going to leave it to the very last moment

to put the roof on.

I don't think Paul will be that impressed.

I mean, it's certainly not the standard of Brendan's

beauteous edifice over there.

I'm quite close to completion. It's just a bit messier than I'd have liked it to be.

But, you know, it is an old building.

It's bound to, you know, not look great.

Stable. Really quite strong.

But not happy with it.

This is like Meccano for boys with baking.

It's on. Please, stay there.

OK, bakers, out of time.

Shutting the build down as of now. Step away.

Danny, away from the massive clock.

That looks wicked, Danny.

That's pretty good, to be honest.

-Oh, don't break it.

-The sacking of Rome.

-Oh, no!

I think it's a magnificent construction. The flavour of the ginger is coming through,

-but not strongly enough for me.

-OK.

The whole colour of the bake is the same

and, overall, you've come up with something that is spectacular.

-You've really lifted your game.

-Thank you.

-And you had to.

-Yeah, I did.

-And you've done it.

-Thank you.

It's a bit much for me, to be honest.

It's like knifing Walt Disney.

It's a very crisp gingerbread.

-Probably a little bit too spicy.

-OK.

And I'm somewhat disappointed

that we've got a breakfast cereal as the tiles.

We know how creative you are.

You could have taken it to another level.

To create something that's probably a bit more

structurally demanding.

Right.

It could probably have been a bit straighter.

It's an interesting flavour.

The biscuit's softening up quite dramatically.

You can feel the biscuit softening up.

It probably needed a little bit longer in the oven.

-It's more sort of cookie gingerbread, which I like.

-Yeah.

It's a very bold construction.

You've done well to get that structure in one piece and still standing.

Cathryn. There is no doubt this is Buckingham Palace.

It doesn't look exactly as I would have hoped.

Interesting flavour.

-Is that chocolate and ginger?

-Yeah. And orange.

It needs to choose one and run with it.

It looks stunning from the front.

All those windows. You were so brave to do it so tall.

-I like the flavour of the chocolate, ginger and orange. I think it's good.

-Thank you.

That looks amazing. There are even cobwebs here.

I was under the understanding it was meant to be finished with a barn.

No it wasn't. This is exactly how I intended. It's a piece of modern art.

Now we've got a door. We didn't have a door before.

This is the only one you couldn't get in.

That biscuit, the ginger is superb.

And the cake's part of it, too?

Yeah, not a biscuit, technically, but, you know.

Everything that you eat as part of this is absolutely delicious.

You'd be able to eat it till the last crumb.

I wonder how many of the others we would enjoy eating to the last part.

If that's the look you were going for, top marks.

If it isn't, I would still give you good marks,

because the structure that you've built is very tricky to do.

-Well done.

-Thanks, James.

-Thank you so much.

It's been an odd birthday.

'That was a lovely surprise. What's come over the judges?'

Beautiful weather must be getting to them.

But which bakers do Paul and Mary feel deserve a place

in the semi final of the Great British Bake Off?

Well of course the Coliseum was absolutely great, technically.

Original.

I've definitely exhausted myself with the fight this week

and I hope they appreciate that.

But what fun James' was. His flavours were absolutely brilliant.

Does Brendan deserve to go in there again? Possibly.

My aim was to deliver cuteness - Walt Disney-like cuteness

in that bake.

Whatever he does, he does well.

Now, whether you like it or not, it comes down to personal opinion.

Time has come to cast our minds to who might be leaving.

I think we've both actually made our minds up on who's going.

At this stage, you have to be prepared to stay or go,

because it is a very, very close competition.

For once, we're absolutely unanimous.

We don't want anyone to go, but we've sort of made a decision.

This has been a crummy week.

Yeah, definitely haven't shown what I could have done.

Let's focus on the positive

and we're going to announce this week's Star Baker.

Who is somebody who, across all three challenges,

has shown excellence in technical ability and also flavours.

And, amazingly, did not use whisky in any single one of those.

It's our barn-stormer birthday boy, James, this week's Star Baker.

-Well done, James.

-Well done.

The next task is more onerous, as you know.

Oh God, here we go.

But, unfortunately for one of you, the journey has to end today.

And so the person leaving us today is...

..Cathryn.

We're going to really, really, really miss you.

-Thanks.

-We're going to miss you so much. It's ludicrous.

Come and have a Mel and Sue sandwich. Come on.

-Yes, please.

-It's a scary thought, but there you go.

-Very unpleasant.

I am... not surprised,

little bit heartbroken,

but it's been the best thing ever.

-Seriously, you're so good.

-You are.

Sadly, it was Cathryn's turn to go. She's done magnificently up to now,

but sometimes things just don't go right.

I am bloody proud of you and you...

My daughter will be disappointed,

cos she thinks that her mum is the best at everything,

so she thought I was going to win.

But my son will be so happy that I'm not in it any more,

cos he just wants me to be back at home.

'I'm glad that I'm through, but I'm just'

absolutely gutted that Cathryn's going home.

In terms of this competition and in terms of anyone who enters

this competition, Star Baker on their birthday would be, you know,

their ultimate dream.

Maybe they only gave it to me because it was my birthday.

'Everybody left now, going into the semi finals, has been Star Baker.'

Danny, John, James and Brendan.

Next week it's going to be extremely difficult for both them and us.

This competition has thrown me in at the deep end, but I've been

kicking and kicking and kicking and I think I'm still swimming.

I think now everything you do is going to be so closely scrutinised.

You know, one mistake could literally mean

you lose your place in the final.

So, I'm going to give it a real go.

'Next time...'

-Worst comes to the worst, you've got a couple of perfect breasts.

-Oui.

'..it's a French semi final...'

There's nothing I can do. Everything's just gone to pot.

'..with signature petit four...'

I've got a whole chilli in here. Not sure how wise that was.

'..a technical challenge straight from a French patisserie.'

You could hear a penny drop.

'..and choux pastry show stoppers.'

My creme pat's got cellulite at the moment.

'But one baker will fall at the final hurdle.'

The person who will not be joining us

next week for the Great British Bake Off final is...

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