01x02 - Biscuits

[bunniefuu]

[Mel] It's week two of our tour
of the country

to find Britain's best amateur baker.

We've sifted them down
from ten to eight bakers.

-Sadly, today, we'll lose two more.
-[birds chirping]

And we are in Scotland,
home of the digestive, custard cream,

shortbread, the elasticated waistband
and the scone.

Where better to begin our journey
than here at Scone Palace?

Welcome

[both] to The Great British Bake Off.

[narrator] This is the first ever
Great British Bake Off.

I don't know where I'd be without baking
and I wish

that I'd discovered it
a lot earlier in my life.

[narrator] Thousands came forward,
but only the most passionate

and skilled home bakers were chosen
to take part.

[Ruth] I wanted to do this
because baking is like

another member of the family,
it's a big part of my life.

[narrator] As they travel the country,

every aspect of their baking
skills is being tested.

And each week, only the very best
will go through to the next round.

Baking, you've got to have it,
you can just miss a simple thing

and it can change everything for you.

[narrator] Last time, the home bakers were
in the Cotswolds, creating cakes.

-That you could put in front of royalty.
-[gasps]

[narrator] Ruth, Annetha, Miranda
and Edd all impressed the judges.

To have Mary Berry and Paul, that was
the best. I was really, really happy.

[narrator] But Louise and David
narrowly avoided going home.

Very relieved, very lucky.

[narrator] Now, just eight remain.

I think this is going to be
a fantastic round for you.

-I've got a good feeling.
-I jolly hope so.

[narrator] And The Bake Off
gets even tougher.

As many of my school reports said,
"Must do better!"

[theme music plays]

[narrator] The Bake Off
has come to Scone Palace,

for centuries, the coronation seat
of Scottish monarchs.

But this summer, someone will be
crowned the victor

of The Great British Bake Off.

This week, the eight remaining bakers
will be asked to produce biscuits

and tea-time bakes in three
increasingly difficult challenges.

The least successful two
must leave The Bake Off.

-[Sue] Good morning, lovely bakers.
-[Mel] Ah, morning.

Today, you'll be asked, this morning,
to do your Signature biscuit.

[Sue] Now, this is basically
your personality in a biscuit.

I've done this challenge myself
and came up with an all-bitter shortbread.

Um... That was my personality,
but yours obviously will vary.

Whether they are grandmother's recipe,
or...

something that you've nicked
from a tea room you went to.

You've got one shot at this,
you've got one batch

and the whole batch is going
to be served to the judges.

-[Sue] You've got two hours.
-On your marks, get set...

[both] Bake!

[narrator]
In the Signature Bake challenge,

the home bakers have free rein
to use whatever recipe they like.

But must produce a perfect full batch
of biscuits to impress the judges...

Paul Hollywood, master baker,

and renowned cookery writer, Mary Berry.

[Mary] We are going to be looking
for their Signature biscuits,

for something with a bit of a history,

something that perhaps they invented
themselves, something unique.

Technically, to make a good biscuit,

it's making the consistency right
to start with.

Cutting it, adding your flavours to it,

and then, baking it correctly.

[Mary] To get a perfect, even colour,
slightly darker at the edges,

and the middle cooked through,
really is quite difficult.

[Paul] It's about two minutes each way
on how it's gonna turn out

and we want it to be absolutely bang on.

So, it's got the consistency, it's got
the colour, it's got the flavour

and it's got the bite,
which is what you're looking for.

What gives me most pleasure in baking is
eating something that tastes really good,

and then giving it to someone else
and them agreeing with me.

That's probably the best thing.

[narrator] Twenty-five-year-old
Jonathan Shepherd dreams of following

in his grandfather's footsteps
by opening a bakery,

but he's currently working
in market research.

His ambitions could rest
on the success of his Signature biscuit.

A modern twist on his granddad's
favourite, the classic ginger nut.

A cookie with honey and candied ginger.

[Jonathan] I'm an analyst.

One thing I don't like about it is
I don't have the opportunity

to be a bit more creative,

and I feel I can be a bit more
creative in my baking.

[narrator] All biscuits are created
from three basic ingredients,

sugar, fat and flour.

Beyond that, the home bakers are free
to add anything they wish.

[Jonathan] I'm putting grated ginger

and my own crystallised candied ginger
which I'm boiling over there.

[narrator] Adding more sugar
in a recipe creates a crisper biscuit.

More fat or butter,

and you'll end up with a crumbly,
melt-in-the-mouth shortbread.

Use golden syrup or honey, as Jonathan is,

and the result should be a chewy cookie.

Tell me how you candy your ginger.

I've boiled them for ten minutes
in plain water, then I've strained them

and now, I've added some more water,
some demerara sugar

-I'm bringing them to 160 degrees...
-[Mary] Hmm.

...and then I'm going to sort
of toss them in the Demerara sugar.

It's something I've never done,
so Jonathan is teaching me

-something today.
-Never!

Yeah, you can take that home with you.

"I taught Mary Berry a thing or two."

[Miranda] Biscuits don't just have
to be for children,

I think they can be
quite sophisticated as well.

I think they can be for a hen do
or for friends.

I think biscuits can be so personal.
And I love--

Hopefully, you'll be able to see
a bit of my personality on these.

I've tried to make these
a little bit more, sort of, chic.

[narrator] Married mum of two, Miranda
Gore-Brown, lives in West Sussex

and has been baking
since she was three-years-old.

She aims to create a highly-decorated
batch of fresh vanilla biscuits

in the shape of teapots, teacups,
dresses, handbags and high heels.

[Miranda] I really like this kind
of baking because I can be quite artistic.

I like choosing the colours
and making a little design so,

hopefully, it will pay off.

[narrator] No matter
what ingredients are added,

mixing is a critical stage
for any biscuit dough.

[Paul] Did you not want
to put that into the mixer?

No, I can control it like this.

Right, okay.

[narrator] Under-mixing can result
in an uneven bake.

Over-mixing activates the gluten
in the flour

creating a tough dough
and biscuits that won't melt in the mouth.

Miranda has decided
to chill her finished dough.

Normally, I'd sort of do this bit, then go
for-- Pick up our children from school.

[narrator] This relaxes the gluten,
making the dough easier to handle.

I haven't been driving myself mad
about the competition

um, because I'm trying to keep
a really calm approach,

um, staying calm and focused.

[narrator] Thirty-one-year-old
Annetha Mills lives in Essex

and is a full-time mum to 10-year-old
Cairo and five-year-old Abigail.

Baking has been an obsession
for over ten years.

Her Signature biscuit
is a rose-shaped shortbread

flavoured with real rose petals.

[Annetha] I thought of shortbread,
it's traditional and it's British.

The rose, as in the English rose.

I thought it would be nice
to bring them together.

The fragile bit is making sure
the biscuit comes out of the mould

and also to make sure
that it cooks just right

and that there's flavour there
and the judges can taste the rose.

[Louise] My aim this week is
to show off more technical ability.

I felt, last week, after the feedback
that I'd got,

that the keep-it-simple approach
that I'd used didn't display enough

of my skills and abilities, so I'm trying
to cram as much in it as I can for this.

[narrator] Police Sergeant
Louise Brimlow, from Salford,

prides herself
on her no-nonsense home baking.

But this week, she's attempting
something a bit more complex.

A crumbly shortbread,
featuring a sugar-stained-glass window.

And these boiled sweets,
I'm going to smash them up.

And then, when you put those
into the middle, into the oven,

they melt again so it comes out
like a stained-glass effect.

[Paul] The stained-glass idea,
I'm fascinated.

Last week, she said, "I'm going
to do something really stunning."

[Mary] The one thing
I'm a bit worried about,

she's got a high proportion
of sugar in there

and she's put all the biscuits
very close together.

[Paul] It depends on how well
she has chilled it.

You know, i-- if it's been chilled right--
You must have a little bit of a gap.

The main reason being so the heat
can circulate the baking properly.

[Louise] I've got a clear picture
in my head,

but come back and have a look
at the end and I'll tell you

if it's the picture that was in my head.
It might not be!

[narrator] With the rolling
and cutting done,

the first biscuits of The Great
British Bake Off are in the oven.

[peacock cries]

This is the most successful biscuit
in British history.

We, Britons, consume 52 of these
per second.

Although once, I managed 57,
a personal Perkins record.

But this isn't just a successful biscuit,

it's testament to the ingenuity
of British design.

Just like the telephone
and the television, it's Scots in origin,

although our story begins in London.

[Mel] The modern biscuit is a product
of the Industrial Revolution.

Biscuits had been around
for a long time,

but usually as an occasional treat
or something you might find at a fare.

With the arrival in the 1830s
of the railways,

there came a new phenomenon,
thousands of travellers.

And one traveller was also
a biscuit baker called Joseph Huntly,

and he came up
with the perfect travelling solution.

Small, compact...

very delicious.

Would you like a biscuit to go
with your travel this morning?

Crumbly ginger, melt in the mouth.

[Mel] Biscuits lasted well
and you could eat them on the move

without getting messy,
save for a few crumbs.

Soon, every first-class passenger
leaving London

was given a Huntly's biscuit
in a neat little wrapper.

Biscuits truly were the food
of the travel age,

and British biscuit mania had begun.

As demand for biscuits increased,

family-run bakeries grew into colossal
factories that dominated whole towns.

Reading, where Huntley's was based,
became known as biscuit town.

The factory swelled
from 16 to 5,000 workers

and was so big
it even had its own internal railway.

Huntley's wasn't alone.

From Peek Freans in Bermondsey
to Carr's in Carlisle,

biscuit factories were opening
all over Britain,

producing new varieties of biscuits
for the burgeoning mass market.

So, biscuits were hugely popular
and judging by these early catalogues,

some of them looked rather lovely.

Lots of fancy icing here, little twiddly
bits, one in the shape of a walnut.

Look, there's strangely Mel 48,
which is clearly wrong,

obviously, it should say Mel 36.

But we know from the recipes
of these lovely biscuits that...

actually, they would have tasted
quite austere.

Very low on fat, very low on sugar.

Mary Berry would not approve.

Not the kind of crumbly biscuit-y texture
that we associate with today's biscuit.

Which is why I'm on the way to Scotland,
because it was the Scots

that first started mass-producing
a delicious, crumbly biscuit

that we still know and love today.

For more than 100 years,

the digestive has been a best-selling
accompaniment to the British cup of tea.

Peter Senior is manager
at the McVitie's Glasgow factory

which now makes digestives.

[Mel] Who invented this?

What happened is, Robert Pryce,
who owned some shops in Edinburgh,

was at the time manufacturing
breads, scones, soft goods.

When Alexander Grant, an employee,
came along and said,

"I can do better than that."

He came up with the recipe
that you now see before you.

[Mel] The recipe
that McVitie's put into production

used whole wheat and baking soda.

It looked sensible,
but it tasted delicious.

And, what's more, it made claims
to have wonderful health benefits.

Literally, the name digestive comes
from the reduction of flatulence.

-Oh, really?
-Absolutely.

-So, that's exactly where it came from.
-Is that still true today?

-Very much so.
-[Mel] Where is the recipe?

-[Peter] I'm not gonna tell you that.
-Do you have it under lock and key?

-We do, absolutely.
-Do you really?

We do. It's a top-secret recipe,
very unique in the industry.

And nobody else has the same recipe,
and I know that,

because we make different digestives
for other people.

Do you know the original
digestive recipe, Peter?

-I do, but I'm not going to tell you.
-[gasps]

[Mel] Throughout the 20th century,
the Scots continued to lead the world

in creating new biscuit bestsellers.

Hobnobs, second in popularity
to the chocolate digestive,

are produced from the same factory.

A hobnob at its best. Fresh as a daisy.

[Mel] And however insatiable our demands,
they should be able to cope.

This factory can produce
up to 10 million biscuits a day.

It's amazing to think that so many of
the biscuits that we know and love today have all come from the biscuit powerhouse
that is Scotland.

Your custard cream, your hobnob,
your teacake, your Tunnock's,

to name but a few.

And, of course,
the mother of them all,

I like mine with a little bit
of apricot jam...

the good old digestive,

which, let's not forget, was invented
as a cure for flatulence.

[peacock cries]

[narrator] Half-an-hour to go
in the Signature Bake.

I'm just trying to get
some fresh air to come in here

to... cool them down-- a little bit!

[David] I wanna make sure that they all
got a bit of a browning underneath,

because they'll carry on cooking and
they'll dry out a little bit on the racks,

so it's-- I can't get them perfect here,

you kinda need to get them
just right before.

[narrator] Entrepreneur David always aims
for something a bit different.

And today, he's the only one
who's chosen savoury over sweet.

His Signature bake is a cheese
and fresh rosemary biscuit.

After last week, with kind of lots
of finicky bits and chocolate and orange

and candied peel and things,
so this biscuit's just gonna be

very straight down the line
and hopefully have good flavour.

I'm gonna go with that. I was criticized
last week for over-baking.

I think they want to go back in,
but I'm gonna resist the temptation.

[Jas] I'm going to try
and cool this down quickly.

I've only got half an hour till we finish
so I want to put the caramel on

and everything and I can't do that
until these have cooled down.

So I'll put them in the fridge perhaps,
for about five to ten minutes.

[narrator] Jasminda Randhawa

is a credit control manager
from Birmingham.

She began baking when her son,
Evan, left for university.

Her Signature biscuits are a twist
on millionaire's shortbread.

She's adding stem ginger and toasted
macadamia nuts to her caramel topping.

[Jas] Normally, I do plain biscuits
and I just prettify them.

So it's not necessarily about the biscuit,
it's about the decorating.

And I thought, "No, I want to try
and show my skill

by making the caramel
and making the biscuit."

It's all about challenging yourself
and that's what I'm doing today.

[Edd] I'm not a very traditional person
in general, I'm not a traditional baker.

I really like this recipe, I think it's
a really interesting and different cookie.

But the only thing is, they may find it
maybe a little bit too sweet.

[narrator] Edd Kimber works
as a litigation clerk for a bank.

But it is travelling that's inspired
his Signature oatmeal raisin cookie.

I was inspired by a cookie
I had in New York,

it's called "Blueberries and Cream."

And so, as soon as I saw the recipe,
the idea instantly came about

having oatmeal raisin and a glass of milk,

so, I tried to got--
Put the two flavours together

so it has milk powder and a little white
chocolate, very, very, finely chopped.

It gives like a--
the slight creaminess to it.

Mary is salivating, I can hear--
I can hear the glands just working.

-[Mary] Lovely to be original.
-[Edd] Yes.

Also, to maybe amp it up a bit,
I was in Paris about two weeks ago

-and I had Sauternes-soaked raisins.
-[Paul] Sauternes.

-Yeah. It's just-- it's not strong.
-[Paul] Yeah.

It's just like delicate, maybe aftertaste
that you'll get from it, so...

So this is basically
a Parisian-New York hybrid

-which is certainly get you off to sleep.
-With a Yorkshire twist. [chuckles]

[Ruth] It's looking good so far.

I like eating these biscuits,
they are all about me.

It really is my personality on the plate.

The sweet and sour taste
of the filling, the peanuts, it's great.

The kids don't like peanuts so
they don't eat them. More for me!

[narrator] Ruth Clemence lives
in Poynton, Cheshire,

with her husband, Damian, and her
three sons, Ashley, Dylan and Finn.

Baking is her escape
in an all-male household.

Her Signature biscuit
is a peanut shortbread

with a salted peanut caramel filling.

[Sue] Mary, Paul and I are pretty sold
on this whole peanut cookie thing.

You've got a few reservations.

I'm concerned with the amount of salt.

I like salt, but she's got a lot of salt
in it as well as salted peanuts.

It's one of my favourites.
If that comes off,

with the peanut butter, with the caramel,
it's just a win-win.

Louise, how's it going, old bean?

-[Louise] I'm having a nightmare.
-I'm sorry, what can I do?

I've just gone to put my second
lot into the oven, my orange ones.

These are my lemon ones and I've had
a bit of a disaster with those.

-What happened?
-I don't know.

-[Mel] They've had a bit of a merging.
-[Louise] It's not a merging.

They've just completely collapsed
and I don't know why.

-Have you made these before, Louise?
-Yeah.

Yeah, I've made loads.
Let's see if I can just get one off.

[Louise grunts] Oh! Oh!

-[Mel] Louise, you've got a broken heart.
-[Louise] You're telling me! -[Mel] Oh, mate-y, listen, courage.
-[Louise] Not the end of the world.

It's not the end of the world.
You've got this batch...

-Yeah, but--
-...due to come out.

But if it is to do with the mixture,
that mixture is exactly the same.

Okay, everyone, you've got 10 minutes.

I know that I'm probably
behind because of the detail

that I'm trying to put into these.

[Miranda] I'm just trying not to think
what stage everyone else is at.

Who do you think is the front runner, and
who do you think's bringing up the rear?

I think Ruth's peanut biscuits
are fascinating.

-[Paul] David, with the cheese.
-[Sue] Mm, lovely, yeah.

That's gonna be -- I think Miranda's,
I'm looking forward to seeing--

[Paul] Um... Is the icing gonna be ready?

-Do not walk near my table. Sorry, Ruth.
-Oh, sorry!

I'm having a nightmare of a time
when someone walks by.

Tiptoe.

[Louise] I think we can safely say

these are not coming off the plate,
can't we?

There is trouble with Louise.
Her biscuits are spreading.

-Which you predicted.
-Yes.

At the end of the day,
they are there, and they're made,

and they will go on the plate
with everything else,

you can't change it now.

Cookie countdown. Three, two, one
and you are out of time!

[narrator] It's judgment time
for the home bakers' Signature biscuits.

[Paul] Visually, they look great.

Visually, that's a very marketable,
very commercial looking biscuit.

I'm interested to taste this ginger
on the top.

I think you've done very well
to cook that ginger.

The honey in there you've got
to be really careful.

The more honey you put in,
the quicker it's going to bake

and you've actually baked
this one perfect.

Oh, great!

I'm getting the rose through,
that's for sure. It's slightly overworked.

[Mary] I noticed when you were
pressing them into the mould,

-I-- That's made those just a bit--
-[Paul] You overworked it.

It's just taken it over the edge.

[Paul] I love the texture,
I love the chewiness of it.

-I can't taste the Sauternes.
-It is quite subtle.

But I can taste
the fleshiness of the raisin

because the raisin would have been dry.

[Paul] I think it's a nice biscuit.
Well done.

-[Mary] Thank you.
-[Edd] Thanks.

It's a nice blend between
the rosemary and the cheese.

I think if that was thinner, it would
have been absolutely perfect.

-[Paul] The overall look is not very neat.
-[Mary] Hmm.

I'd have liked to have seen them
a bit sharper, a bit cleaner.

-[Jas] Yes.
-[Mary] Hmm-mm.

That one could have done
with just a little more cooking.

[Paul] I think you've got an issue
with salt.

-Yeah, it is.
-It's too salty, far too salty.

Rather than concentrating on salt,
concentrate on the peanuts,

because the biscuit itself is fantastic. -Louise. How are you?
-There we are.

Not so good.

[Sue] Okay, so what's happened?

I misread the recipe and I've added...

seven times more sugar
than I should have done.

[Louise] And when I've put them into
the oven, obviously because the sugar

would then melt and gone like syrup,
they've gone all over the place, so...

I've done the best I can to recoup
some shape and some sort of display.

I'm just gutted because
I've practiced them so much.

[Mary] I bet you did.

I had them at the right, um, consistency
and everything.

[Mary] I thought this was a very
clever idea, melting the...

[Paul] I do like the idea
of the stained-glass.

[Mary] ...stained-glass, yes.

As a chewy biscuit goes,
I think the flavour is all right

-but obviously technically, big mess-up.
-[Louise] Yup.

[Mary] How about that, then?

[Sue] They are a delight, couldn't be
more beautiful. Could I just snap a heel?

I might never wear a shoe like that,
anyway, so I'll just break a heel off.

[Paul] It's very commercial,
I mean, very commercial.

[Mary] Look at that texture there.
Absolutely perfect.

-[Mary] Underneath, a good colour.
-[Miranda] Good, I haven't broken--

The taste of that is fantastic.

But you're a clever girl to do royal icing
because if you do water icing,

the wet goes straight back
into the biscuit and this has not.

There's no sogginess
in the top of that biscuit.

I think you should be delighted.

[Sue] You should be, you should
be really, really chuffed with yourself.

I-- I'm going to stay here for a
little bit if that's all right.

Come on, let's go.

I just want to stay here,
everything's so pretty here.

[narrator] Miranda, Edd and Jonathan
have had a good first challenge.

But Jasminda, Ruth, Annetha,
David and Louise need to do better

in the remaining two challenges
if they want to stay in The Bake Off.

You do have to pick yourself up
and you do have to dust yourself off.

There will be people at home
watching and saying,

"She's getting emotional
over a shortbread biscuit."

But if I can give somebody some pleasure

by something that I've made,
that means a lot to me.

So if somebody could go away going,

"Wow, that's not Louise, the police woman,

wow, that's, you know,
the lady who bakes cakes."

That means a lot to me.

So and-- and I [sighs] missed my chance
to do that this morning

but, hey h*, there's an afternoon
and another day tomorrow

so, we will see what that brings.

[peacock cries]

We couldn't possibly come to Scotland

and not dig in to the history
of shortbread.

Now, surely my old mucker, Sue, would not
have the audacity to go to Edinburgh,

to rootle around in those old,
familiar tartan tins

and question its Scottishness...
Surely?

Good luck, Sue.

-Do you think shortbread is Scottish?
-Oh, yes.

Shortbread? I think it's Scottish.
Very Scottish.

-Definitely Scottish?
-Scottish, aye.

Do you think this shortbread is Scottish?

-It looks it, it's tartan.
-Yeah.

[Sue] Shortbread is one
of Scotland's most successful

and most loved exports.

It's as Scottish as golf,
Nessie and "Och aye the noo."

But what is it about
that particular buttery biscuit

that's made it so big
north of the border?

What is so Scottish about shortbread?

Today, shortbread's association
with Scotland is indisputable,

but early recipe books reveal
it was not originally

a purely Scottish creation.

Food expert, Sue Lawrence,
has traced those recipes.

It was based on a medieval biscuit bread
and it was all over Europe,

it wasn't quintessentially Scottish then.

It was basically a bread dough,
the usual components of water,

yeast and flour and that was enriched
with some butter and then baked again.

And that was for-- Was the basis
of what we now call shortbread.

What was it about Scotland
that made it particularly

kind of take hold here, culturally?

Well, I think a couple of things.

First of all, the dairy industry
was very important in Scotland.

So everybody would have
a Highland cow on their croft,

so there'd be lovely rich butter
so they'd make their own.

So it wasn't necessarily
that the Scots gravitated

towards the taste, it's just
that they had the reserves...

-Absolutely.
-...and the resources.

And then, during the 17th century,
the final ingredient, the sugar, came in.

And Glasgow was a very major
sugar importer.

We would have latched on to that
and added it to as much as we could.

It wasn't cheap,
but everyone could get it.

I mean, it's "short bread,"
and when we think of bread,

you know, bread has to have
the active ingredient, yeast.

And yet, it keeps the name bread.
Why is that?

There is a story about a tax.

The Scots managed to avoid
paying tax on it because they said

it was a bread and not a biscuit or cake,
which apparently was taxed.

Well, this is fantastic.
Shortbread not only tastes great,

but they got one over the Inland Revenue.

-Exactly.
-I'm a huge fan!

Exactly!

[Sue] So, shortbread flourished
in Scotland

because of its rich agricultural heritage.

But what are the myths
surrounding shortbread

and its long association
with historical figures?

Did Mary Queen of Scots really bring
the recipe for Petticoat Tails with her

when she travelled to Scotland in 1560?

Or is that, like Nessie,
a load of old hokum?

Historian Louise Yeoman is dedicated
to separating fact from fiction

and she's been investigating
these royal claims.

So Louise, rumours abound
about shortbread, um,

but mainly that Mary Queen of Scots
absolutely loved it

and it was her favourite snack,
is that true?

Well, you know, people like
these romantic myths

-but it absolutely wasn't true.
-[Sue sighs]

-No?
-We first hear of shortbread

in Scotland about ten years
after Mary's death,

this is coming in late 16th,
early 17th century,

much too late for Mary, she's dead.

Okay, so where does
the myth come from then?

People love coming up to Scotland
for the legends

and while they're up here, sometimes

they make up a few legends
while they’re at it.

So people are wilfully contributing
to the folklore of Scotland?

That's it.

Till it becomes part of a sort of--
Its brand identity almost?

That's right. The thing about shortbread,

it's a very safe way
to express national identity.

It's none of that dangerous
political stuff,

unless you were to thwack
somebody over the head with the tin.

So, it's a way of saying, "Here is
Scots' identity in the 19th century."

Don't break my heart and tell me
that Bonnie Prince Charlie,

wee Bonnie Prince Charlie,

who has graced a million tins
across the world, te-- tell me, he must have
eaten shortbread.

I'm pleased to announce
that Bonnie Prince Charlie,

the star of many shortbread tins,
did actually eat shortbread.

We have the household accounts
from his butler,

and in his account, yes,
the shortbread is in there.

[Sue] So at least one royal figure
does deserve his place

on those shortbread tins.

But so too do some Highland cattle
and the Glasgow docks

because they are just as key to shortbread
and Scotland's culinary history.

[narrator] After the flamboyance
and creativity of the Signature Bake,

the second challenge in The Bake Off
is strictly controlled.

And the bakers have no idea
what they will be asked to create.

Bakers, it's time
for the Technical Challenge.

This is about discipline, not creativity.

I can tell you now
that your challenge, this afternoon...

will be scones.

[Sue] Not just any scones.

You've got a recipe there,
it's Paul Hollywood's. It's his recipe.

So, get it wrong, the wrath of
the Silver Fox will be brought upon you.

-[all laughing]
-Um... Now, we need a whole batch, so this is more difficult
than last week's Technical Challenge

because we are looking for consistency
across the entire batch.

They've all got to be flawless.

No pressure! Enjoy yourselves,
you got one hour, and it starts now.

[narrator] To reveal
who has a natural gift for baking,

all they've been given is Paul's list
of ingredients and measurements.

Everything else is down to them.

[Paul] I've been making scones
for over 30 years

for royalty and some of the best hotels
in the world.

That recipe is a good recipe.
It's got lots of butter in it,

a good amount of sugar,
a perfect amount of milk.

The recipe is fool proof.

[narrator] Paul hasn't specified

how to combine
his precisely-measured ingredients.

[Mary] They've got to know that
they should rub the fat into the flour

until it's like breadcrumbs.

Then they add the liquid
and the egg and a little bit of sugar.

And they've got to mix that.
A knife to start with, a hand to finish.

And the secret of a good scone is
that it's really moist

and it should stick to their fingers
at the end.

[narrator] Even before
their scones are in the oven,

the bakers could be destroying
their chances of impressing

in the Technical Challenge.

[Paul] If they overwork a scone,
we call it chaffing.

It's when you aerate the scone
by lifting your thumbs underneath it

and folding the mixture.

If you aerate it too much
and overwork it, it goes like rubber.

[Louise] It's important to do well
in this task and the remaining task

'cause otherwise I'm going home
and I don't really want to do that.

[narrator] Jonathan is hoping to build
on the success of his biscuits.

-[Mel] Oh, he's getting scientific.
-I reckon that's about right.

[Mel] How much are you
expecting them to rise?

-Is-- Do you know?
-Um...

Probably double again,
they'll probably be about there.

[Mel] Okay.

[narrator] The strict rules
of the Technical Bake

leave little room
for Miranda's imagination.

[Miranda] I'm not very accurate.
I'm quite a creative cook.

-[Sue] But then--
-I'm looking at those, I'm thinking,

"Is that half an inch?"
To me that is half an inch.

[narrator] David's downfall
in the previous challenge

was rolling his biscuit dough too thick.

You are going
for a slightly thinner scone.

You've got more likelihood
of them rising

if you get a straight down punch
rather than going for a twist.

Which will then move as that bread
comes apart, you twist it like that,

-you've got it going.
-Oh, I didn't know that.

[narrator] Once cut,
the crucial final touch is egg wash,

which helps give the scones
a golden gloss in the oven.

[Paul] What everybody tends to do
when they slap the egg wash on top,

egg wash runs down the side and
it prevents them from growing.

So they come up at a funny angle.

You must egg wash it right to the end
so it doesn't drip down the sides.

That's how bad I am
when it comes to judging scones.

[narrator] Half an hour to go.

[Jas] This one just doesn't want
to stand up.

[Sue] That's okay. Then it can be
the leaning tower of gluten.

-So now they're gonna go the oven.
-Cool.

[narrator] Oven temperature
and baking time have not been specified.

So I'll have a look at them
in about 15 minutes time.

[narrator] The bakers only have
their instinct to guide them.

[Miranda] I've actually just taken a bit
of a gamble and put them

right at the top because scones
really do need to have it quite hot.

I'll probably swap them
around in a minute. We'll see.

[narrator] Fifteen minutes remaining.

[Jonathan] I'm expecting
my bad boys to rise pretty high.

The bottom aren't rising like
the other ones so I'm switching them
around just to hopefully...

give them a better chance.

[Ruth] It kind of splits as it rises,

so you can kind of just see in
and it's generally by the colour.

They still feel a little bit
doughy-doughy, a couple more minutes.

[Jas] I had them on the middle shelf, um,

for about 12 minutes
and the tops looked cooked.

I don't want to risk it
so, in about two minutes

I'm going to take them out.

[Jonathan] My scones have risen
beautifully but they were getting a bit

too gold and brown
so I didn't want them to burn,

so I've turned down the temperature
and added-- I've given them a top,

some other baking trays,
just to absorb some of the heat

so they don't burn too much.

[David] There's one or two in there
which I'd be happy with,

and there's one or two
that are gonna end up

a little off convention.

At the moment, I'm just
a little concerned about time.

Okay, five minutes, thank you.

I'm going to take these out
because these are going

a little bit too brown
for my liking on the top.

They don't look likes scones,
they look like bread rolls.

[Sue] My sort of inclination is
to just bust them open

-and try one of the bad boys but--
-My inclination is throw it in the bin.

-You can't.
-I know.

I think I'm happy with that.

[Mel] You should be pleased with those,
mate, they look bloody terrific.

I'm pleased, yeah, they've risen
like chef's hats.

[Mel] Yeah.

[Miranda] He'll notice that.

-He's the Super Detective.
-Yeah, I wouldn't, I'd leave them.

-He'll-- he'll-- he'll sniff it out.
-What I'll do, I'll pile them.

Ladies and gents
of the baking fraternity slash sorority,

your time is very much up.

[narrator] Having all been working
from the same recipe,

the baker's scones will now
be judged side-by-side.

It's a blind tasting. Mary and Paul
have no idea whose scone is whose

but will rank them from best to worst.

[Paul] Do you want to start
with this side?

[Mary] He puts his whole nose into it,
let's have a look.

It's got to be mixed properly,
this hasn't been mixed properly.

-See the way that's split?
-Yeah.

[Paul] It's an indication that there's
too much flour been added to it.

[Mary] It's a nice texture, though.

A little bit brown on the top.

I just feel it's a little bit over-baked,
a little bit too crisp.

[Paul] Mm. It's too dry.

[Paul] Some of these
actually don't look too bad.

-[Mary] That is huge praise!
-[Paul laughs]

But the ones underneath,
it's consistency.

If you walked into a shop,

and each one was selling for 50 pence,
which one would you go for?

The actual taste is right, I reckon.
Not too much sugar.

This has risen beautifully, evenly.

[Paul] What I like is the colour.

It's nice and light there,
it's got a lovely colour on the top.

I think they are well baked
and they taste good.

These have had a nice, shiny
top put on them, beaten egg.

[Paul] These are going to be moist inside.

-[Mary] They smell good.
-[Paul] A bit light on the sugar.

[Mary] They are well baked
underneath and on top.

These have got
a sort of motley look on the top.

There's been hardly any egg wash
on this at all, if any.

It's been overworked too much.

It's not chaffing, that's been kneaded,
that's been pounded.

[Mary] Again, they look
slightly over baked.

[Paul] They look like rolls,
they don't look like scones.

Yeah, I-- This one is overworked
again, isn't it?

[Paul] The more you work a scone,
the more flour goes on the table.

What happens is the recipe is perfect,
it goes on to a table

and you add another scoopful of flour.

Then, you work that into the dough
and all of a sudden

-the recipe is finished.
-And it gets a bit dry.

And that's why you lose the sugar,

you lose the rise, because
the proportion has been altered.

[Mary] Got an awful lot of scones here
but they're--

-Um... Rather--
-[Paul] It's because they're too thin.

-[Mary] they're rather like baps.
-[Paul] They've been cooked too thin.

-[Paul] Far too thin.
-[Mary] Yes, I mean, you'd have difficulty

putting it with cream and so forth.

[narrator] Paul and Mary must
now decide

whose scones show
the most technical ability

and who has to improve
if they're to stay in The Bake Off.

The last place is this one.
Whose is this?

[Paul] David.

[David] Yeah, I'm afraid I didn't do
your recipe much justice, really.

And the next one,
this one is seventh place.

Annetha.

They've just been kneaded
a little bit too much.

[narrator] With Edward only
in sixth place and Ruth in fifth,

Louise has regained
some lost ground in fourth.

[Mary] Well done, Louise.

-Who’s at bronze?
-Right here.

[Sue] Well done. Well done.

Um, we thought they were a nice
even texture and a good flavour.

-And in second place...
-[Mel and Sue] Well done, Jas.

-[Paul] The flavour was good.
-[Mary] I think those look jolly good.

-[Paul] Very good. Well done.
-[Mary] Well done.

-Thanks very much.
-[Mel and Sue] Well done, Jas.

-[Mary] Who's the clever d*ck?
-[Paul and Sue] Jonathan!

[all cheering]

[Mary] Now, you've made scones
quite a lot before, haven't you?

I haven't made them that much because
my mum makes incredible scones

so I've just eaten a lot of hers.

I think she'd be very proud of you.
Well done.

-Thank you very much.
-[Mary] King of the scones.

[Paul] Well done, Jon.

[Jonathan] Today was a good day for me.

But, coming from Devon, I mean,
it's just, that's cool winning.

It's kind of like, winning
on your home turf, kind of thing.

[Jas] This morning,
I was a little bit deflated

because I didn't get really good reviews
and that made me a little bit down,

and I thought, "I really want
to do well in the next round."

Um... And when I came second,
oh, I was elated.

[Miranda] I was quite nervous
about the Technical Challenge

and I'm just delighted
to end a really positive day

on a really positive note.

[narrator] Louise's fourth place
has improved her chances

of staying in The Bake Off.

I'm certainly not gonna rock back
on my heels tomorrow.

I'm gonna go in and I'll do what I do,

and I'll do what I do
to the best of my ability.

And if it's enough tomorrow,
then it's enough.

And if it's not, then it's not.

But there's no way that I'm giving up.
No way, I want it too much.

[narrator] David and Annetha have one
final chance in tomorrow's challenge.

That's baking. Some days,
it all comes together and other days

it just all falls apart, where your scones
are about a centimetre high.

All I can do is prepare
for the next challenge.

[peacock cries]

[narrator] It's the final day
in the second round of The Bake Off.

The home bakers have just
one remaining challenge.

It's their last chance to impress
the judges before two of them

will have to leave The Bake Off.

[Paul] Because of the situation
with the biscuits and the scones,

it's all up in the air.

I mean, it really is
a level playing-field. -[Sue] Who's in danger?
-David, definitely.

[Mary] But he may pull out the stops.

Louise needs to come up.
She's had misfortune.

I think Ruth is also, as a bit of a shock,
is in trouble.

Annetha, as well, was a bit of a shock.

[Paul] I was expecting Annetha to do
really well, based on last week.

[Mary] She was flummoxed.

I think today is going to be
absolutely fascinating.

Today, we've got something
rather special for you.

This, it's the Petit Four Challenge.

You've got four and a half hours

and you've got to produce three
different types of petits fours.

Meringues, choux buns and macaroons.

[Sue] So of course, at the end of today,
we are losing two of you

and the judges have that unenviable task
ahead of them.

Bakers, it's all in your hands now.
Really, really good luck.

And please, get baking.

[clinking]

[narrator] This is the most
complicated and demanding challenge

of The Bake Off so far.
For the first time,

the bakers must produce
a batch of three different items.

Petits fours describes a selection
of miniature baked delicacies,

traditionally served at afternoon tea.

The bakers have been asked
to bring in their own recipes

for three of the most challenging.

Most have started
with their filled meringues.

The ultimate test in achieving
consistency for any baker.

[David] It's just too wet.

It's too wet and shiny.
I whisked and whisked it.

It didn't get stiffer
and just started to collapse. [narrator] The basic recipe
is three egg whites

to every 175 grams of sugar,
and the proportions are crucial.

Too much egg white, and the mixture
won't stand in peaks,

too much sugar, and the meringue
may not be soft enough when baked.

If a meringue is good, if you put it
on top of your head,

it shouldn't fall down.
So one, two, three...

[whisks whirring]

[chuckles]

[narrator] David's first batch
of meringues are too wet to bake.

I didn't do very well on the--
I did atrociously on the scones,

so it puts you in a bit
of a spot for today, really.

As many of my school reports said,
"Must do better."

[narrator] Other bakers' meringues
are already out of the oven.

The meringues are going to be
glued together with whisky cream.

You're in Scotland, well done.

You're trying to get the judges drunk,
Jonathan.

-[Mary] Yes, please.
-[Mel chuckles]

[Sue] These are just beautiful.

I'm going to put some whipped cream
with fresh mashed strawberries,

chopped with some mint into those.

Just mash them up, pop them in,

a bit of mint on the top
with a quarter of strawberry.

I didn't really hear anything after
that went into my mouth

because it was so delicious.

Good. Thank you.

[Sue] I think this is going to be
a fantastic round for you.

I jolly hope so. And I hope
it's enough, that's the thing.

[Sue] Well, so do I.

[Jas] I've done them very small because

I want the sides to still be small
when they're joined together.

[narrator] Jasminder is hoping
to build on her success

in the Technical Bake with a secret
ingredient in her meringues.

[Jas] I'm going to join two together
and put chocolate in there.

And then, in the middle,
I'm going to put popping candy.

-What, stuff that sparkles on your tongue?
-[Paul] Click, click, click, click.

-Oh, brilliant!
-It's like moon dust.

-Oh, yes!
-That's typical of me, isn't it?

[narrator] Annetha has moved on
to her macaroons.

Traditionally, they're made
from a gently folded mixture

of egg whites, sugar
and ground almonds.

[Annetha] I'm going for delicate.
It's nice to have delicate things.

[narrator] Here, the judges
are looking for the bakers

to show their attention
to flavour, colour and texture.

The ones that I've seen
are like all one colour,

very bright, bold colour. I've gone
for something quite delicate.

[narrator] To make hers stand out,

Annetha is adding food dye
to create a pink swirl.

[Annetha] When you're a kid, when
you're in front of the painting board

and you've got your paint pots

and you can just do anything
you want to do.

-The freedom of being a child.
-The freedom. Yeah.

So that's what baking is for you.

It's just sort of recapturing that sense
of "anything's possible."

Anything's possible.

[narrator] Annetha isn't the only
home baker experimenting with colour.

-[Paul] What have you made this with?
-It's pistachio.

[Miranda] I don't particularly
like ground almond.

I'm not very good at refining recipes

if I don't like them
because I can't taste them.

[Miranda] But I do really like
pistachio nuts.

-But they're a lovely colour, aren't they?
-[Mary stutters] Well,

-pistachios, they are a lovely colour.
-[Mel] Gorgeous.

I think they'll be quite tasty.
It's a nice idea.

[narrator] Before baking,

macaroons should always
be left to dry out slightly.

This ensures the final product
is crisp on the outside,

but stays soft and chewy in the middle.

They're just a plain almond macaroon

with a crystallised violet on the top,

-and then I'm doing a violet buttercream.
-[Mel] Ooh!

Controversially, I've used
the violet-flavoured perfumed sweets.

-Oh, right, yes.
-And pulverized them to...

-[Mel] Parma Violets!
-[Ruth] ...absolutely, to icing sugar,

-and you g-- you get a good--
-[Mary] It's all right.

[Ruth] a good violet taste from that.

[narrator] Two hours to go.

Which should be long enough
for the home bakers

to complete their choux buns.

So I'm making a choux pastry,
but I've added a touch of coffee

-because I'm making coffee choux pastry.
-Because it's Jas,

-there has to be that little bit extra.
-[Jas chuckling]

[narrator] Choux is a unique
pastry based on a roux,

a cooked mixture of butter and flour.

[Jas] And then, you keep stirring it
till it forms a nice ball

and it comes away from the edges.

[Jas] And then, when it cools
down a little bit, add the egg.

[narrator] Egg is essential
to help the choux rise in the oven,

but too much creates
a runny dough that will spread

and the buns won't hold their shape.

It looks like it's never going
to mix into it.

And you think, "Oh, my God,
I've done something wrong."

[Jas] But you've just got to keep
working at it and working at it.

[narrator] It can then be piped into
eclairs, profiteroles or even swans,

baked in a high oven
and dried out before filling.

-I see you've done your choux pastry.
-And have you dried them out?

[Annetha] Um...

[narrator] With just 90 minutes remaining,

Annetha has missed a crucial detail.

I mean the process of cooking eclairs
is to put them in a hot over first

and so they puff up
and you get this lovely shape.

Then, you make a hole in them,
put them back into the oven,

and she hasn't done that,
to dry out the middle.

Otherwise, they'll all be
a little bit soggy.

[narrator] But Annetha's not the only one
struggling in the final challenge,

David's meringues still aren't ready.

-[Paul] How is everything going today?
-We're a little behind time.

-Have you done your meringues?
-On my meringues.

-Choux pastry?
-No, I haven't done that yet.

So you've got macaroons
and your choux pastry?

Yeah.

You like working to a tight old deadline,

-don't you?
-No, I don't.

-He likes a bit of pressure.
-You like it.

It just ends up being like that.

-It's that deadline, David.
-Thank you.

He hasn't achieved enough. He's going
to be really rushed at the end.

But I know the way he wants
to finish things off properly

-and he's just not gonna have the time.
-[Mary] Yeah.

[Sue] So, our bakers are putting
the finishing touches

to some of the most delightful
confections ever created.

Worth their weight in gold, you could say.

But, no. Because the most
expensive biscuit ever produced is one that's so revolting,
so brittle, so vile, so unpalatable,

you wouldn't want it anywhere
near your mouth.

And yet, at the same time, apparently,
it's the thing that put the Great...

in Great Britain.

[Mel] Sir Ranulph Fiennes,

thank you very much for letting me
into your enclave.

-Not at all.
-I understand that you have something...

calorific, possibly edible,
which is pretty special.

Yeah. It doesn't look
particularly special.

[Mel] Ah, there it is.

You have a look at it and see
if you can work out what it is. Now, this is very precious.
I understand you paid

-quite a lot of money...
-Over £4,000, I paid for it.

Wow! Is it Fanny Cradock's
first Bourbon biscuit?

Guess again.

-Delia Smith's cupcake.
-That's £4,000,

Delia Smith's not reached that stage yet.

[Mel] Very hard.

I'll let you out of your misery.
Open it up.

-[Sir Ranulph] It is a...
-[Mel] Is it something--

-...hard-baked biscuit basically,
-[Mel gasps]

and so it's probably the most
expensive biscuit

-in the world, and...
-[Mel giggles]

...it belonged to a guy
called Captain Scott.

Wow. This is Captain Scott
of the Antarctic's very own biscuit?

Their rations were very, very simple
and one of their most satisfying items

that they ate on a given day,

were their Huntley & Palmers'
special biscuits.

[Mel] In 1910, Robert Falcon Scott
set out to become the first man

to reach the South Pole.
It was an enormous undertaking.

He set sail with 64 men, numerous
animals, and tons of supplies,

including all the food they would
need for the gruelling expedition.

Scott was meticulous in his care
to research pretty much everything.

-[Mel] Yeah.
-And it wasn't very easy for him,

because when he went down there
on the first expedition,

nobody had ever been there before.

And every single thing, including food,

was researched very, very carefully,
all over the world,

and the results were state-of-the-art
baked biscuits from his day.

[Mel] Biscuits, or hardtack,
had been the staple food for soldiers

and sailors for centuries, because
they were high-energy and durable.

At their Reading factory,
Huntley & Palmers refined

the basic wheat and fat recipe
for Scott and his men

to make biscuits that were as light
as possible for their trek to the Pole.

[Sir Ranulph] If you carry heavy calories,
you need calories,

so it's a sort of bitter circle,
and you've got to get it exactly right,

and you've got to have
maximum calories for minimum weight.

[Mel] On 17th of January 1912, Scott
and four others reached the Pole,

only to find they had been beaten to it
by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen.

On the return journey,
Scott and his men all perished.

A rescue party discovered
their frozen bodies in their tent.

Exhaustion and extreme cold

had beaten them before they could
consume their final rations.

When the rescue party arrived
at the place where the death tent was,

there was only about six inches
of the top of the tent still visible

as the snowdrifts had gone up.

It could have slipped down,
disappeared under a groundsheet.

Just imagine, that would
have been wolfed down...

-[Mel sighs]
-...and maybe one of them

could have survived another day,
even, probably.

[narrator] Half an hour to go
in the final challenge.

[David] I'm gonna make some necks
for my choux pastry swans,

and then I've got to get
some crème patisserie made,

and some ganache for the eclairs,
make a strawberry coul--

Well, puree, really, and then,
mix that with some cream.

[Sue] Think you're gonna make it?

I don't know!

[Louise] These have gone dead sticky,
so we'll just have to wait and see

if the judges like stick--
sticky meringues.

[narrator] These finishing touches
are the bakers' last opportunity

to impress the judges.

[Louise] I need some double cream,
please, really quickly.

[Annetha] They don't look good.

I'm going to just drizzle chocolate
over them to hide it.

[David] Now, I've got to cut
some swans open. How long, please?

Bakers, you have one minute left.

[narrator] Of these eight,
just six will go forward

to have a chance to win
The Great British Bake Off.

Annetha, can you bring
your arrangement up to us now?

That's just lovely.

[Paul] The meringues are good.

[Mary] Inside. Just nicely,
just soft inside.

The macaroons have become
well-absorbed with the--

[Paul] It's just softened it, yeah.

[Mary] The choux pastry needed
drying out a bit more.

The idea of choux pastry is
that the outside is crisp,

and-- and it's dry in the middle.

And then, we come to Edd.

[Paul] I think, visually,
that looks fantastic.

[Mary] For some people,
those would be too bright pink,

but I really think
they're enormous fun.

[Paul] No, that's fine.

-[Mary] You can hear, when I do this--
-[dull tapping]

That's how macaroons should be.

-They are excellent.
-[Mary grunts] Mm! Delicious.

[Mary] Those look lovely.

I'm quiet because I've got the moon dust
dancing around on my tongue at the moment!

-Good, isn't it?
-Ah, there it is! Yes, yes.

-The idea was to--
-[Mary] Ideal for children, yes.

[narrator] Ruth has iced her choux buns,

and filled them
with raspberries and cream.

Oh, that's good. Isn't it? Mm.

[Paul] The structural integrity
of that is still there.

[Mary] Crispy, and you've got a very
wet filling, and it's very good.

-[Paul] Very good.
-Yeah?

[narrator] Louise knows
that her strawberry meringues

have already lost their crispness.

[Paul] The reason they've gone
like that is they're so thin.

Yeah.

[Paul] I don't think anybody here
today has got meringues that thin.

[Paul] You're always in danger,
as soon as you put liquid

in something like that,
that it was gonna go wet.

[narrator] But can the rest
of her tower redeem her?

Again, these have taken up
the moisture.

They're not quite hard enough,
because they're squidgy.

The eclairs, they have a lovely flavour.

But again, we haven't been able
to keep the choux-pastry crisp.

[Mary] These have stayed crisp.

-They're are unusual and they're nice.
-I'm getting the pistachio.

-[Paul] Thanks, Miranda.
-Quite different, well done.

-[Mary] Those are the whisky?
-Yes, the whisky, yes.

[Mary] Well, we're in Scotland,

-we must have whisky.
-[Jonathan] Yeah, I thought we should--

There's too much in there.
It's overwhelming everything.

And now, David, it's your turn.

Well, you really had
quite a feat to do, didn't you?

-Yeah, this is my...
-[Mary] You just got there!

...my petit fours farce, really.

[narrator] David ran out
of time to fill his meringues.

[Mary] They're just a little bit
underdone.

[Paul] You could have got away with that

-if you'd filled that.
-If you'd filled it.

[narrator] But he did manage to complete
his ornate choux pastry swans.

These are good. That's good.

[Paul] Those profiteroles are very good.

It hasn't really been
my best weekend, baking-wise,

but it's not really
my best subject either. But that's-- Yeah,

they don't want somebody who can
do some of it and not the others.

I don't think a great result at the end
of the day, but I'm not unhappy.

I've done my best and
that's all you can ask for.

It's over now, and I just want
to get the judges' feedback.

[narrator] Taking into account
their performance

in all the challenges so far,

Paul and Mary must now decide
which two bakers to lose.

[Mary] How do you feel about Louise?

-[Paul] Her biscuit was terrible.
-[Mary] Yeah.

I thought the scone wasn't
the best scone I've had.

[Paul] And today, she let it down again.

Annetha, her eclairs were really messy
and they weren't dried out.

[Paul] I thought her meringues, though,
were all right,

compared with David's for instance.

[Paul] I thought David's meringues
had a big hole in the middle.

They weren't baked enough
and they never had enough sugar.

[Mary] But his eclairs were stunning.

When it came to the scones,
they were both at the bottom.

Well, the scones were the worst
of the lot.

-[Mary] And she was second worst.
-It's very tight between those two.

It's very difficult.

We've got a bit of a dilemma,
haven't we?

We have.

The judges have decided,

and only six of you will be coming
with us on our next Bake Off.

And I can tell you now that

the two people who won't be coming
with us on that Bake Off...

are Louise... and Annetha.

We're very sorry to see you go.

Thank you so much for making this
a wonderful weekend at Scone.

And we'll see the rest of you next week.

[Paul] I am sad to see Louise go.
If she hadn't messed up her biscuits

and created those stained glass
window biscuits, the shortbreads,

I think she'd be safe.

[Louise] I am proud of myself.
I've achieved a lot.

It's another chapter in my life,
and when I'm old and grey,

and I'm showing my grandkids
how to make Paul Hollywood scones,

God bless him,

you know, it's a story to tell them.
Which will be lovely.

[Mary] We were very sad
to lose Annetha, but today

the final results really weren't up
to the standard of the others.

[Annetha] I'm wishing everybody
all the best of luck.

And for me, I'm going to go back home
to my kids.

They'll be very proud.

You know, and I'm happy.

It's been a really hard day, but I'm
delighted. Really, really thrilled.

[Ruth] When Paul and Mary
just say positive things

about what you've created, especially
when it's three different items, um...

It really gives you a high. [Jonathan] You want to continue
to the next round,

because you're going to be
in another beautiful setting,

you're going to get
to learn and bake again,

and also spend time with all the other
people for another week, so...

There's so many elements
about wanting to go through.

It's not just about the competition.

Really honestly quite gobsmacked, really.

[Mary] I reckon David was dead lucky.

How did we decide that we just kept him?

It was those beautiful swans.
They were absolutely perfect.

He really, really has to raise his game,
I'll be watching him like a hawk.

I suppose now I've got
a lot to live up to, really.

I've been kind of,
let off a very big hook.

[narrator] Next time...

I can't cope with it. [narrator] ...the six remaining bakers

travel to Sandwich in Kent,
to prove their bread-making skills.

[Paul] This is by far and away

the most technically challenging.
All of them will find it difficult.

[narrator] It's Paul Hollywood's
lifetime obsession.

The dough is alive.
It becomes a monster.

-[narrator] So the challenges...
-You really need to do it by hand.

[narrator] ...and the judging...

[Paul] And that denotes
that the dough is quite tight.

[narrator] ...are harder than ever.

-The Mars bar doesn't work in there.
-Okay.

[narrator] But only five can make it
through to the next round

of The Great British Bake Off. The standard is way up there.

I think the atmosphere's
a bit more tense, today.

[Ruth] But if you
don't get your timings right,

you could be in a big, big mess.