Brace yourself for Soggy Bottom Bingo – it’s Pastry Week!

Hands down, this is my favourite week! Pastry is the king of beige foods. And for one very good reason: life is better wrapped in pastry.

So what did the pastry-themed week have in store for the remaining seven bakers? Would it be all puff and nonsense? Would the bakers crack and flake under the time pressures?

Let’s find out!

**** SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the outcomes of each of the challenges, this week’s star baker and the sixth of The Class of 2025 to go home. Please don’t read on if you have yet to watch the Pastry Week episode and don’t want to know the outcome! ****

THE SIGN OF A GOOD BAKER

According to Prue, pastry week is one of the most important weeks in Bake Off because if you can’t make pastry then ‘frankly, you’re not much of a baker.’

Phew, that’s me flying under the radar for a little while longer then

Aside from my love of all things pastry, I think that’s why it’s my favourite week. This week (and bread week) are the two that I feel really show more of the bakers’ technical talents rather than their creativity and artistic flair as some of the other weeks tend to major on.

THE SIGNATURE: SAVOURY PASTRY PLAITS

For the first of the pastry challenges, the judges were expecting the bakers to produce crisp, flaky, laminated pastry with a savoury filling, shaped into a beautifully plaited design.

They were given two and a half hours to complete this task, which for once seemed like a decent amount of time! Even though the pastry making process is quite protracted (laminated doughs require chill time in between each roll and fold), the fillings typically go into the oven uncooked, so this takes away the time that would otherwise be needed to make and cool the filling.

Hopefully the bakers remembered that and didn’t try to make their lives harder by choosing a pre-cooked filling…

AMAZINGLY BRAVE

As we learnt what each of the bakers had chosen to create for the pastry signature, Lesley told us that she was using a Paul Hollywood recipe for her filling. But she had decided to pimp it up a little bit to improve it. Bold.

And then there was Toby. Who decided he was going to do a full puff pastry, even though it wasn’t required for the challenge (rough puff pastry is a lot quicker to make and is still a laminated dough). Amazingly brave is how Prue described him. Paul looked slightly incredulous and told him he wouldn’t have enough time to make it.

I must admit that I feared Toby may become a victim of his own ambitions on this one. I’ve seen [more than] enough TV reality food programmes in my time to know that, for those contestants who decide to go over and above the brief, it usually doesn’t end well. It’s so much better – and safer – to knock it out of the park with what is expected than to go rogue and not quite pull it off.

But then Toby has shown us time and again that he’s a risk taker. And I kinda like that about him.

FORTUNE FLAVOURS THE BRAVE

Anyone who works a lot with pastry knows that you need really punchy flavours for your fillings. For them to cut through the pastry, they need to be a bit, well, extra.

So what did the bakers opt for in an attempt to wow the judges?

Tom used his time living in Hong Kong as inspiration for a fermented soy and chilli oil infused sausagemeat filling, wrapped in red pastry shaped like the severed tail of a dragon. Lesley’s take on Paul’s sausage plait had a layer of homemade gooseberry compote through the middle. And Jasmine added leek, apple, thyme and smoked paprika to her sausagemeat.

Toby and Nataliia both picked chicken as their main meat content, with Toby adding bacon, leek and cheese and Nataliia wrapping her chicken and bacon around garlic butter sticks in a nod to her Ukranian roots and its national dish, chicken Kiev.

Aaron chose beef as his meat filling, which he flavoured with vibrant Jamaican curry spices and Scotch bonnet chilli.

And Iain’s meat-free savoury plait was created from tofu, broccoli and potato (see earlier note about pastry needing punchy flavours )

PLAIT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT

So what did the judges make of their flavour combinations? And their plaiting skills? Did they live up to Paul’s expectations of neat, precise and incredible tasting savoury pastry plaits?

Lesley’s take on a Hollywood classic was a hit, with Paul admiring the colour, structure and overall look of it but saying that it could have been improved with slightly thicker pastry to give it more flake. Prue thought the addition of the gooseberry compote was a little bit of genius.

Tom, Nataliia and Aaron were all told that their pastry was slightly underbaked. Paul found Toby’s flavours boring and Iain’s needing more punch. And Prue said if sausage rolls all tasted like Jasmine’s, she’d eat a lot more of them.

Despite his pastry being ‘a few minutes under’, Aaron received some incredible feedback for his Jamaican beef plaity – none more so than both judges taking a chunk away to eat for their lunch! Nice one, Aaron.

So did Toby pull off the full puff? Kinda. It wasn’t a disaster, but neither was it brilliant. Paul said it had some lamination but with full puff pastry you would expect double what he had achieved. So you probably put yourself through the extra stress for no additional gain there, Toby,

THE TECHNICAL: gala pie

Set by Paul, the technical challenge was a gala pie, described as a spectacular rectangular pork pie made with hot water crust pastry and a line of eggs running through the middle. They had three hours to make it, which would need to be split into roughly two equal parts of making and baking time.

As always, the technical challenge is presented to the bakers with scant instructions. Paul did tell them that they needed to be neat and precise for the recipe to work. And out of their earshot, he told us that it was vitally important they create a steam hole in the lid of the pie. Without it, the chances of pastry blowouts and soggy bottoms are waaaaaay higher.

This was shortly followed by:

Iain: “I don’t think it needs an air hole, but maybe it does?”. Yes, Iain. It does.

And Aaron: “I didn’t put a steam hole in it but I think it’s going to be OK.” No Aaron. It is not.

KNOWING WHICH WAY IS UP

Something I was surprised we didn’t see discussed or highlighted during this week’s technical was which way up your eggs need to go in the tin when you’re making a gala pie.

As a gala pie is sliced through once baked, you need to lay your eggs down horizontally in the tin so that each slice has a full ‘O’ of yolk. If you put them in vertically, you’ll end up with a line of yolk.

I’m not entirely convinced there wasn’t some ‘selective’ footage during both the baking and the judging on this one

Call me a cynic, if you will.

If you’re going for the full aesthetic with a gala pie, you also need to trim the egg white ends off before placing them in the tin. This means that you won’t end up with a slice that is all white with no yolk. The beady-eyed amongst y’all would have spotted during the judging that Lesley didn’t know this

LEAF IT OUT, PAUL

So what did the judges make of the seven gala pies waiting for them on the gingham altar?

Well first off, Paul seemed to have a little bit of an obsession with the number of leaves the bakers had (or, more accurately, had not) decorated their pies with. I mean, in the grand scheme of things and considering it wasn’t specified exactly in the instructions…

Both Nataliia and Toby received those dreaded words that should never be said in the same sentence – soggy and pastry – in their feedback. Prue said she thought Iain’s pie looked like it had been crimped by two different people! Aaron’s was underbaked, Lesley’s was well-baked, Tom’s was a bit of a mess and Jasmine’s was robust with good flavour.

So this week’s baker at the bottom of the technical was Aaron. He did have a great signature, so slightly less worrying for him than if he’d also had a bad first round. Tom was sixth, Nataliia fifth, Toby fourth, Lesley third, Iain second and Jasmine first.

THE SHOWSTOPPER: SCULPTED TARTS

After probably two of his worst rounds in the competition so far, Tom was going to need something pretty special in the pastry showstopper to dig himself out of danger. I was also a little nervous for Toby as I can’t help thinking he’s a little under-marked and over-harshly criticised for his baking.

Anyhoo, onto the pastry week showstopper, which this year was to be visually stunning sculpted tarts. The judges were looking for great textures and flavours and beautifully sculpted tarts that showcased their engineering, design and baking skills and also told a bit of a story.

To make the task trickier, the bakers’ structures needed to be at least a foot tall and could not be made from anything other than the pastry used for their tarts. They had just four hours.

A ROLLERCOASTER OF EMOTIONS

Paul told us that this year’s pastry showstopper was an opportunity for us to be a bit nosey and dig around in the lives of the bakers.

Aaron had other ideas, however, as he told us that he didn’t really want to say on camera what his sculpture was because he would then be admitting to something that had been a secret for years. Relenting eventually, he let out to millions of viewers that his ‘Nobody Gnomes’ tart was based on his antics with a friend and the period of time where they used to move his friend’s mum’s gnome around the garden without her knowing [until now!]

Toby told us that he used to work at a theme park and spent some considerable time trying to tame a goat called Milly that lived underneath a rollercoaster there. He thought he had achieved it – only to be rammed by her

MASTERING THE [T]ART OF PASTRY SCULPTURES IN JUST FOUR HOURS

Yes Toby, that’s four hours and not the four and a half hours you thought you were getting. Kudos for pulling it back, though!

And with Tom’s two biggest fears being structural pastry and Paul Hollywood, how did he – and the rest of the bakers get on?

Lesley delighted the judges with her ‘exquisite’ pastry bees and the depth of flavour of her honey-glazed pecan tart. Aaron divided the judges with his use of jasmine extract – which Paul didn’t like but Prue said was nice although she couldn’t eat much of it.

Ian’s retelling of the story of how the Giant’s Causeway came to be was a hit, described as detailed, clever and a great work of art. Although Prue did say that she thought he’d gone a bit OTT with the whiskey (and we all know that Prue likes her boozy bakes!)

Despite having half an hour less than he thought, Toby managed to pull off his pastry rollercoaster showstopper. His pastry was considered ‘exceptional’, although his structure was a little on the wonky side.

Nataliia’s sculpted swans were a visual triumph but the judges thought her pastry was too thick, overworked and a bit on the tough side. Jasmine’s sculpted tree looked like something you’d seen in a professional patisserie shop window according to Paul, although her tart was missing a texture (like a curd or jam) and was a little on the dry side.

And Tom needn’t have worried about either Paul or the structural pastry as he got a ‘Tom’s back in the tent’ for his Connect Four pastry sculpture.

FAREWELL TO THE SIXTH BAKER OF THE CLASS OF 2025

I thought this was a pretty tough one to predict this week as nobody had a total car crash week and while there were some issues in the signature and technical, everybody put up a great pastry showstopper.

I feared for Toby a little because, as I mentioned earlier, I think he’s judged a little harshly sometimes. Thankfully, those fears were baseless

The judges’ discussions with Alison and Noel centred around Nataliia and Aaron at the bottom. Tom saved himself from joining them with his great showstopper. Jasmine and Lesley were both in line for star baker after having three great rounds each.

Sadness for Nataliia as she became the sixth baker to leave the tent.

And a third star baker crown for Jasmine this week. Unquestionably well-deserved as she’s exceptionally talented, but I so very much wanted Lesley to get it this week. Let meringue week be yours, Lesley!

Until next week!

The post THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF 2025: WEEK SIX – PASTRY WEEK appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

CRIMP MY PIE! TWO EASY WAYS TO CRIMP AND SEAL YOUR PIES…

Let’s face it, pie is generally delicious no matter what it looks like. But a pretty pie is a next level pie

So if you’re about to embark on a spot of pie baking, have a quick read of my tutorial first, which shows you two different ways to crimp your pie lid.

WHY CRIMP YOUR PASTRY LID?

Well aside from anything else, it makes your finished pie look altogether more fancy pants. And who doesn’t love a fancy pants pie?

But it also helps to give your pastry lid a good seal onto the shell, keeping the contents firmly tucked inside and guarding against pie boil-out when it goes in the oven.

HOW TO CRIMP YOUR PASTRY LID

There are lots of different and creative ways to crimp your pie top, but here I have just two quick and easy examples that don’t require anything other than your fingers.

The first thing you need to do before crimping your pastry lid is seal the lid to the shell. You do this by brushing the top of the shell (and any overhang) with egg wash. Then you carefully place your pastry lid on top and gently press down to form a seal. Now you’re ready to choose your crimping method!

TOP TIP!

Have a little pot of flour on your workbench so that you can dip your fingers in it to stop them sticking to the pastry as you crimp.

POKE IT!

Use your index finger for this one and hold it about 1cm in from the edge of the pie and at a slight downward angle.

Press gently down and forward into the pastry to create an imprint of your finger in the top.

Continue all the way round the pie until you are back to where you started.

And there you have it – a beautifully poked pie lid!

PINCH IT!

You will be using the thumb and index fingers of your left hand on the outside of the pie and the index finger of your right hand on the top (or the reverse if you are left-handed).

Place your thumb and index finger up against the side of the pastry. Press gently down and forward into the pastry with your right index finger and pinch the pastry between your left thumb and index finger.

Continue all the way round the pie until you are back to where you started.

And there you have it – a beautifully pinched pie lid!

HAPPINESS IS A WELL-CRIMPED PIE

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HOW TO: A GLUTEN-FREE ROUGH PUFF PASTRY PICTURE TUTORIAL…

Since launching the gluten-free rough puff pastry mix, I’ve had quite a few requests from people purchasing it asking me if I do lessons on how to make it. Unfortunately I am not in a position to run classes at the moment. So I have put together this short pictorial guide on how to make rough puff pastry using the mix.

The pictures are a little rough and ready, but they should give you enough of an idea of each of the steps involved.

You may also find my simple six stage process to becoming the best baker you can be (Prep like a boss: bake like a pro) helpful to read.

A PICTURE TUTORIAL ON MAKING GLUTEN-FREE ROUGH PUFF PASTRY WITH OUR MAGICAL MIX…

STEP ONE: MAKE THE DOUGH

Tip the mix into a bowl and add the Stork. Rub it into the flour with your fingers. You can use a stand mixer for this if you wish (I do!).

Next, add the iced water and mix until the flour is hydrated and you can bring everything together to form a pliable dough.

STEP TWO: ROLL THE DOUGH

If you have a silicone rolling mat, place this on your work surface and lightly flour it. If not, lay a piece of clingfilm on your work surface and sprinkle lightly with flour.

Place the ball of dough on the work surface, cover with another layer of clingfilm and gently roll the dough out to a rectangle measuring roughly 45cm x 15cm.

STEP three: KEEP THE PASTRY MOVING

After every few strokes of the rolling pin, check to ensure that your pastry isn’t sticking to the work surface. If it is, sprinkle a little more flour on your worktop underneath the dough.

Keeping the pastry moving will also help stop it from sticking – so after every few strokes, gently lift the pastry just off the worktop and put it back down again.

STEP FOUR: NEATEN THE EDGES

Once your dough is rolled out, you can fix any cracks that might have appeared at the edges of the pastry by gently massaging the dough with your fingertips.

You can also push a ruler up to the sides of the dough to neaten the edges.

STEP FIVE: SCATTER THE BUTTER

You are now ready to add the butter to your dough. Remove the first portion of grated butter from the freezer and scatter over the bottom two thirds of the pastry.

Aim for a nice, even coverage but don’t spend too much time trying to get it perfect or the warmth from your fingers will melt the butter!

STEP SIX: FOLD THE DOUGH

You are now going to make a ‘letter fold’ with the pastry.

To make this easier, you can make two little indentations along the length of the pastry at the 15cm and 30cm mark so that you know where to make the folds.

The first step is to fold the top third of the pastry down towards you, as shown in the picture.

STEP SIX: FOLD THE DOUGH

Now fold the bottom third up to the top.

Do this carefully but with determination and with one swift motion. This will help the butter stay in place and not make a bid for freedom across your worktop!

STEP SEVEN: NEATEN THE PASTRY PARCEL

You have now completed your first letter fold of the pastry. You now need to neaten the parcel you have created so that it is ready for the second fold.

Use your fingertips to seal the edges of the pastry and to close up any cracks that may have appeared as you made the folds.

Then use your rolling pin to gently but firmly press down across the width of the parcel to further seal the contents.

STEP EIGHT: REPEAT STEPS TWO – SEVEN

Turn your pastry parcel through 90 degrees so that the long edge is vertical.

Repeat the steps outlined above of rolling the pastry into a rectangle, adding the butter, folding the dough like a letter, sealing the butter in and neatening the packet.

STEP NINE: your gluten-free rough puff pastry is ready!

Your gluten-free rough puff pastry is now ready! Wrap it in clingfilm / food safe wrap and chill it until you are ready to bake.

You can also freeze the dough at this point.

Follow the instructions on your recipe and enjoy the fruits of your labour

A NOTE ON DOUGH TEMPERATURE

It is very important that your ingredients (water and butter) are very cold when you start to work with them. So keep them in the fridge/freezer right up until the moment you are ready to use them.

If your kitchen is warm, you may need to chill the dough after the first fold before starting the second fold to stop the butter from melting.

When you are ready to use your gluten-free rough puff pastry to make something delicious, don’t use the dough straight from the fridge. If it is too cold, it may crack as you roll it. So allow it to warm up by a few degrees before starting to work with it.

HAPPY BAKING

The post HOW TO: A GLUTEN-FREE ROUGH PUFF PASTRY PICTURE TUTORIAL appeared first on The Little Bakery of Happiness.

FOLLOW MY METHOD TO CONFIDENTLY LINE A TIN WITH GLUTEN-FREE PASTRY…

This little tutorial shows you how to line a pie tin with gluten-free pastry. It will help you to avoid the rips, splits and tears that sometimes appear when handling pastry.

The pictures and detailed descriptions below will take you through a five-step process to lining and lidding a 20cm (8″) round sandwich tin with gluten-free sweet pastry.

You may find it useful to read through the whole tutorial a few times before lining your tin with pastry.

STEP ONE: PREPARE YOUR WORK SURFACE

Line your worksurface with enough clingfilm to cover an area just larger than the size you want to roll your pastry to.

Place your ball of chilled* pastry in the middle and then place more clingfilm over the top.

*For best results, lift your pastry from the fridge around 15mins before you want to use it (but don’t skip or shorten the initial chill time!)

STEP TWO: ROLL OUT YOUR PASTRY

To line a 20cm (8″) sandwich tin, I use a 650g ball of pastry. Our gluten-free sweet pastry mix makes up roughly 800g pastry.

Roll your pastry out between the two sheet of clingfilm until it is the right size and thickness.

I use a set of green (4mm) rolling pin spacers for this type of pie.

You will need to roll to a length and width of around 27.5cm (11″).

STEP THREE: CUT YOUR BASE

Remove the top layer of clingfilm and gently place a 25cm (10″) circle on top of your pastry. Mine is the base of a cake tin, but you could use a plate or a circle of baking paper if you don’t have a 10″ cake tin.

Cut around the circle with a knife.

Gather up the pastry trimmings (which you will use for the lid) and carefully remove the cutting circle you placed on top of your pastry.

STEP FOUR: LINE THE TIN

Place the top layer of clingfilm back over your pastry circle then slide one hand underneath the bottom layer of clingfilm. Place the other hand on the top layer.

Quickly but carefully flip the pastry over and place it back down on your work surface. Remove the top layer of clingfilm (which was the bottom!)

This is simply to loosen the pastry from the worksurface, making it easier to lift again when you move it to the tin.

STEP FOUR: LINE THE TIN…

Leaving your pastry on the worksurface, place the base of your sandwich tin in the centre of the rolled out pastry. If, like mine, your base has a rim on one side, you want this rim facing up towards you.

Now place the wall of the tin gently in place over the base of the tin. You need to have the bottom of the tin wall facing up towards you.

You need the base and wall facing this way so that you are definitely lining the inside of the tin!

STEP FOUR: LINING THE TIN…

Now place your hand, wrist and the lower part of your arm over the sandwich tin. Slide your other hand under the clingfilm on your worksurface.

Now, in one swift movement, flip the tin over and put it down on your worksurface.

This action will result in the base dropping to the bottom of the tin, taking the pastry with it.

STEP FOUR: LINING THE TIN…

Leaving the clingfilm where it is for the time being, gently press the pastry into the base and around the walls of the tin so that it sits flush with the tin and there are no gaps.

Gently peel the clingfilm away from the pastry then use a sharp knife to trim away the excess pastry. This will leave you with a nice neat rim at the top of the tin for your pastry lid to attach to.

STEP FIVE: MAKING AND ATTACHING THE LID

Set your beautifully pastry-lined tin to one side so that you have enough space to make the lid.

Prepare your worksurface in the exactly the same way you did in step one.

Roll the remainder of your pastry out so that it is at least 22.5cm (9″) in diameter. Remove the top layer of clingfilm.

STEP FIVE: MAKING AND ATTACHING THE LID…

Place a 20c, (8″) circle gently on top of the pastry. Cut around the circle, removing any offcuts (which you can use to decorate the top of your pie if you are feeling creative).

Fill your pastry-lined tin with your filling of choice and now you are ready to attach the lid.

STEP FIVE: MAKING AND ATTACHING THE LID…

Crack an egg into a small bowl and lightly beat it with a fork. Lightly brush the egg around the rim of the pastry to give your lid something to stick to.

Slide your hand under the clingfilm that is underneath your pastry lid. Position your hand so that the rim of the pastry lid is right next to the edge of the tin.

With one swift movement, flip the pastry lid over onto the top of your tin.

STEP FIVE: MAKING AND ATTACHING THE LID…

You can make slight adjustments at this stage by gently wiggling the clingfilm if your flip was slightly off centre

Once you’re happy with the alignment of your lid, carefully peel away the clingfilm. Using your fingertips, press the edges of the lid into the rim to create a seal.

AND FINALLY

Congratulations! You now have a delicious gluten-free pie waiting to be baked and devoured

Egg wash your pastry lid for a lovely golden finish. Bake according to the instructions in your recipe, then kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labour

Happy baking!

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