Bake Off review: Jürgen warns Dan's "experimenting" could be "downfall" in semi-final
Dan opted for sausage rolls inspired by his "love of dim sum" during Party Week, and Paul Hollywood wasn't a fan...
It was all about party bakes on this week's episode of The Great British Bake Off.
For the Bake Off theme, the five remaining bakers in the line-up took on sausage rolls for the Signature, followed by a caterpillar cake for the Technical and a spread that was "anything but a beige buffet" for the final Showstopper.
While the party ended early for Cristy, as she became the first contestant to leave the show, Matty was the life of the party, winning his second Star Baker accolade of the season.
When it came to deciding who to send home, judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood had their concerns about Dan after he opted for less traditional flavours for his sausage rolls, using a water chestnut, ginger, garlic and five-spice flavour combo, with a soy sauce dip to express his "love for dim sum".
Read more:
- Jürgen predicts 2023 finalists and shares advice ahead of quarter-final
- Jürgen on contestants at risk and Paul Hollywood's critiquing
While Prue enjoyed the flavours, they weren't to Paul's liking – something RadioTimes.com columnist Jürgen Krauss thinks could go against Dan in next week's semi-final.
You can watch Jürgen give his verdict on Party Week below.
Keep watching at the end of each video for more from the expert baker.
Jürgen on Party Week
Party Week was quite a fun one. I thought the Showstopper was a great variety of ideas and skills, so I enjoyed it. And again, in the tradition of the lot this year, they were very varied and not entirely predictable.
Favourite bake
The favourite was probably Josh's Showstopper. I would have loved to try that. Yes, just a great one all through. Well thought through, good flavours, good execution.
Least favourite bake
That's quite tricky to say. They all looked flavourful, all the sausage rolls, but probably Cristy's sausage rolls which weren't baked through with the soggy pastry. Just because of the bake.
Dan the man
I think he has great ideas and I think of all the bakers at this stage of the competition he is trying to invent something, He's trying to go out and really do things that are not on the beaten track and I appreciate that very much. It might be his downfall in the semi-finals, who knows? Playing it safe might secure him in a place in the finals, but where's the fun?
Tip of the week
I don't do many sausage rolls at home, but what they said is to start with a high temperature to set the pastry – that's important so that the product doesn't come out – and then watch the temperature once the baking [starts]. If the bake needs longer, just turn the temperature of the oven a bit down so that your filling doesn't get too dry.
Jürgen answers...
Do you think Cristy was the right person to go?
I suppose it was a hard decision for the judges. I think it was quite sad to see, but she was the least consistent in this week. I do think it was the right decision. I think Dan had more to offer. And I don't quite get Paul Hollywood's remark that Dan's sausage rolls weren't sausage rolls because the brief apparently stated 'use any flavour possible'. And I'm not sure how much a personal preference should be taken into account for judging. Controversial.
Who needs to worry in the semi-final?
Matty was really great and consistent this time, although not perfect, just consistent which put him above the others, so he needs to be careful. Josh was up and down - he needs to be careful. Tasha wasn't so much talked about this time. She delivered amazing flavours, but I think every one of the four has reasons to be careful, and reasons to be proud, but you can't let it slip.
What do you think of the remaining bakers?
It's surprising that it arrived at such an even level. They are not the same, but they are kind of even in what they can produce. They all can produce fantastic stuff, they have different skill sets, they have different strengths, but they all have their areas where they have to be on their toes and they all have their areas where they really shine. So I think it's going to be an interesting semi-final.
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A Week in the life of Jürgen
So Saturday, I did my pretzel class, which was great. Sunday, I just relaxed and then this week at work we have to switch over the IT systems, so I've been quite busy with that these days. But I had also a few nice chats – one with a journalist from the newspaper from my hometown and I look forward to her article.
And I'll have another chat this week online with musicians from Luxembourg. One of them has a cooking blog, and she's planning a really exciting video blog on YouTube. She already has some footage where she cooks with musicians from symphony orchestras around the world and they want me there, so that's going to be exciting!
German Baking: Cakes, tarts, traybakes and breads from the Black Forest and beyond by Jürgen Krauss is available to buy now.
The Great British Bake Off airs at 8pm on Tuesdays on Channel 4.
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