Pastry week

This is the fifth week of Season 14 of The Great British Baking Show ™ and focuses on the skill of pastry-making.

This page is all about the food that the show brings to our screens. The goal is to have a lasting memory of some of the flavors and taste combinations, to bring some creativity and ideas to your own cooking. I hope you find it fun and useful.

Signature Dish

In episode 5 of Season 11 of The Great British Baking Show ™, the 9 remaining contestants were required to create twelve individual savory picnic pies. The fillings were completely freestyle, but the pies needed to be made using hot water crust pastry.

Prue Leith said of hot water crust pies "These are traditionally made with lard". Paul Hollywood added "The other element is butter which adds flavor."

Prue Leith "Hot water crust pastry is made by pouring ALMOST boiling water and melted fat into the flour."

Paul Hollywood "You've got to put filling inside that is going to (a) be moist in the mouth and (b) carry a lot of punchy flavours. Finally, you want a beautiful bit of crimping on the lid."

Prue Leith " Yes, you need to drop the lid INTO the pie where it will get trapped and won't rise up and fall off."

Spanakopita Pie

Matty filled his hot water crust pastry pies with spinach, feta, ricotta, roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and herbs. This is a variation on the famous Greek Spanakopita dish.

You can see from the image that Matty went to the trouble of forming a lattice with his pastry.

Prue Leith judged this "Strong flavors. Lovely",

Spud-tacular Pies

Dana's creamy dauphinoise potatoes were sandwiched with caramelized onions and melted Gruyere de Comte cheese in a rosemary-infused hot water crust pastry.

There were some problems with the pastry that prevented this dish from being a complete hit.

Sausage, Apple & Cranberry

Tasha lined her picnic pies with a floor of mustard and then mixed sausage meat with nutmeg and sage, apples and cranberries.

Prue Leith raved about the addition of mustard. There were also complements for the thin, crisp pastry and the fact that sausage, which is notorious for shrinking during cooking, was perfectly packed.

Spicy Tuna Pie

This dish is inspired by Saku's home in Sri Lanka. Spiced potato and tuna filling surround a whole quail's egg. The dish is enlivened with leeks, carrots and onion.

In the presentation, Saku's pastry was criticized for being too pale and thick (therefore slightly undercooked) but Prue Leith loved the flavor of the filling - worth trying at home if you're a tuna fan.

Pork and Apple Pies

Josh, unusually, baked his pie and then added a layer of melted cheese and pickle. His filling was sausage with herbs, onions and apples.

Prue Leith liked the flavor of the dish but warned that there was a substantial air pocket in the pie where the sausage had shrunk.

Lamb Keema Pie

Dan added turmeric and cumin to his hot water crust pastry to augment a lamb keema filling flavored with his proprietary spice mix.

Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith both complemented the spiced pastry, which was thin and delicious. They also loved the lamb keema but found it a little too dense and a little dry.

Pork and Cheese Pie

Nicky blended sausage, ham and saucisson (a dry-cured sausage) with 5 different cheeses including sharp cheddar and Roblochon.

The judges found the filling a little 'gluey' and the pastry didn't work out well, although the traditional boat-shaped pie tins were much appreciated.

Creamy Mushroom & Leek

Cristy (who won Star Baker in this episode) was the second contestant to make (in her case, very successfully) lattice lids which concealed a filling of cream sauce with leeks and garlic mushrooms. During the preparation, Prue Leith told her "it's amazing how much garlic mushrooms will take".

Cristy won a Paul Hollywood handshake for these picnic pies. He loved the flavor and particularly called out the delight of having the filling wrapped in a sauce.

My version of Cristy's winning dish is here.

Pork and Sweet Potato Pies

Before crimping his lids in place, Rowan added a 'surprise' layer of smoked streaky bacon to his Cumberland Sausage filling

Whilst his pastry was broken and imperfect, Paul Hollywood described the flavor as an 'absolute triumph'.

Technical Challenge

Decadent Dauphinoise Pithivier

Buttery crisp rough puff pastry encasing creamy potato and caramelized onion, served with a pour-on blue cheese cream sauce.

Paul Hollywood said "The key thing when you're working a rough puff pastry is to add grated frozen butter between each term to create the 'lamination' of flaky layers." He also said "I recommend Roquefort for the sauce because it's a lovely salty blue cheese and adds a lot of flavor."

It's worth noting that three of the contestants did NOT add the frozen grated butter slowly between turns, but added it in a single batch. In a blind judging, these three came last, so it's fair to say that's a good tip!

The problems witnessed during the technical challenge were that the Pithivier was:

flat
pale
uneven
missing lamination
undercooked potatoes

Show Stopper - trio of pies

The pies were expected to be highly decorative and use a rich sweet pastry

Josh

(Used colored vanilla pastry)

Pineapple and Apricot

Apple, Blackberry & Coconut

Rowan

Lemon and Blueberry

Chocolate and Frangipane

Cherry and Vanilla

Nicky

Apple, Pear & Hazelnut

Plum and Frangipane

Rhubarb, Ginger & Custard

Cristy

Spiced Apple and Sultana

Blueberry

Raspberry Frangipane

Dana

Baklava and Frangipane

Mulled Wine, Apple & Blackcurrant

Dan

Cherry (Peru)

Grape (Argentina)

Tropical Fruits (Brazil)

Tasha

Chestnut and Blueberry

Apricot and Ricotta

Pecan

Saku

Apple and Cinnamon

Pineapple Cherry and Rum

Saku added cream cheese to her pastry in place of butter, which was complemented

Matty

Rhubarb and Custard

Apple and Cinnamon

Plum with Ginger and Orange

Cooking tips from pastry week

Frangipane

Frangipane is a sweet almond-flavored custard that is used in a variety of pastries, especially in French baking. It is typically made with butter, eggs, sugar, ground almonds, and almond extract. Frangipane has a rich, nutty flavor and a smooth, creamy texture. It is often used as a filling for tarts, cakes, and pastries.

Dauphinoise Potatoes

I've always found Dauphinoise potatoes to be a comforting and elegant dish that's surprisingly easy to make. It's the kind of side dish that can elevate any meal, from a simple weeknight dinner to a fancy holiday feast.

The beauty of Dauphinoise potatoes lies in its simplicity. It's essentially just thin slices of potatoes baked in a creamy sauce. But the result is so much more than the sum of its parts. The potatoes become tender and buttery, while the sauce takes on a rich, savory flavor that's enhanced by garlic and nutmeg.

I like to use a combination of Yukon Gold and russet potatoes for my Dauphinoise. Yukon Golds hold their shape well and have a nice, creamy texture, while russets add a bit of starchiness that helps to thicken the sauce.

Saucisson Sec

Saucisson is a dry-cured sausage, often referred to as French salami, and is a staple in French charcuterie, offering a delightful balance of savory, salty, and sometimes slightly sweet notes.

It is typically made with coarsely ground pork, seasoned with a blend of salt, pepper, garlic, and other spices. The mixture is then stuffed into natural casings, and left to cure for several weeks or even months. During this curing process, the meat loses moisture, develops a firm texture, and intensifies in flavor.

When sliced thinly, saucisson sec reveals a beautiful marbling of fat and meat. Its texture is delightfully firm but not hard, offering a slight chewiness that is satisfying and enjoyable.

Recipes

Cristy's Pot Pies