Bread Week. The two words that send shivers down the spine of any Bake Off contestant or fan. It is the week that has felled seemingly unstoppable Star Bakers and embarrassed countless others.
Bread Week this season was somehow worse than any year before.
This week’s technical challenge called for the bakers to create “flatbreads” filled with roasted grapes and bleu cheese. Sounds delicious, right? Well, not if you were in the tent this week, and your name was either Paul Hollywood or Nigella Lawson. Even the best of the best this season had nothing wholly edible to offer. In the annals of Bake Off, rarely have we seen such a colossal failure across the board.
However, we need to call ol’ Paul Hollywood out on this one. How on Gaia’s green earth are you supposed to stuff a flatbread? Obviously, he has done it, and has done it well. This, however, felt like setting literally everyone up to fail.
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Regardless, there sadly was one baker who ultimately did fail this week — the wonderfully whimsical Molly.  The 31-year-old accessibility coordinator from London was the first non-celebrity baker in the tent to use a wheelchair. A wonderful personality in the tent, Molly often teetered on the brink of elimination from the get-go. So, while it is a bit sad to see her go, it’s not unexpected. Yannis, who has also been on the bubble, survived this week with his very fun “Viennese Winter Market” Bread Display.
Sadly, another baker left the competition this week. The ebullient Nikki left right after the Signature Challenge, for personal reasons. Last week, we learned she officially withdrew from the competition because her mother fell ill. Sadly, Nikki’s mom ultimately passed away. Our hearts go out to her.
Tom Whittaker, who snagged the Star Baker crown during Biscuit Week, took home the Star Baker crown again, this time with his “The Great Gonk” Bread Display. This was a wildly creative Scandinavian Christmas-themed bake. The crown jewel of the display was a gingerbread gonk (or gnome) filled with sticky dates. The display featured a “Julekake,” a Norwegian fruit bread flavored with cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Tom accompanied his Star Baker piece with spiced gingerbread and orange-cranberry Chelsea buns.
Ultimately, Bread Week remains a killer week, and from an enjoyment factor, it’s always hard to watch a week where everyone has the worst week. Also, aside from Tom, the creative factor wasn’t high, as most bakers opted for a Christmas-themed enriched bread for the showstopper. The choices felt uninspired, unlike last week during Audience Choice Week. Next week is Dessert Week (isn’t that most weeks?), so let’s hope for a much better time in the tent.
