PBS Heats Up Sundays With the U.K.’s Smash-Hit Competition Series
THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW
Sundays, December 28 – March 1 at 7:00 PM on Ch.5.1
– The 10-week series provides a delicious appetizer to 5th season of
DOWNTON ABBEY on MASTERPIECE, beginning January 4 ‒
On the heels of a record-breaking U.K. ratings bonanza — with its recent season finale reaching half of the country’s television viewership, beating the ratings of the World Cup finale — THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW (called “The Great British Bake Off” in the U.K.) makes its U.S. premiere on Sundays from 7:00-8:00 p.m., starting December 28.
Renowned British bakers Mary Berry, the U.K.’s “doyenne of baking” and a leading cookbook writer, and Paul Hollywood, one of Britain’s top artisan bakers, serve as the series’ judges. Together with hosts and comic foils Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, Berry and Hollywood search for the country’s best amateur bakers by testing their competitors’ skills on cakes, breads, pastries and desserts of all kinds, ultimately crowning a winner after 10 weeks of competition. The U.K. version of “Bake Off” has become the highest-rated food show ever made in Britain.
THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW features 12 passionate amateur bakers whose goal is to be the U.K.’s best. The series follows the trials and tribulations of the competitors — young and old, from diverse backgrounds across Britain — as they work to prove their baking prowess. Each week, the bakers tackle a different skill, the difficulty of which increases as the competition unfolds. PBS will present the BBC’s recent 5th season of the series, which received both critical and audience acclaim for its quick pace, lively comedic tone, and competitor diversity.
In each episode, the challenges come in three categories: the Signature Bake that tests the bakers’ personality, creative flair and baking ability; the Technical Bake, when bakers are given one basic recipe, with the same ingredients and instructions, but no other guidance; and the Showstopper Bake, in which the competitors showcase their depth of skill and talent. In this category, judges seek the most impressive and elaborate creations — which must taste first-class, too.
Co-hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc are a successful British comedy writing duo whose antics add lighthearted flare and a dash of naughtiness to the kitchen, as they tease and encourage the bakers while serving as comedic foils to Berry and Hollywood.
“From Julia Child to Jacques Pepin to Martha Stewart, PBS has had a long history of presenting fun and educational cooking shows to the American viewer, and THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW continues that tradition,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming at PBS. “This series encourages contestants to succeed, emphasizing warmth and humor over humiliation and intimidation. We’re proud to share this delicious and hilarious series with our audience.”
THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW will be available to stream through PBS stations’ video sites each morning after broadcast, including PBS station-branded digital platforms, such as ROKU, Apple TV and Xbox, and on PBS iPad and iPhone apps. Throughout the season, fans can visit PBS Food to learn more about the contestants and get exclusive recipes, photos and video clips from the program.
CAKE
Premiere: Sunday 12/28 at 7:00 pm
Follow 12 amateur bakers as they enter the competition tent for their first hurdle: cake. The Signature Bake requires a Swiss roll, a seemingly simple task fraught with risks. For the Technical Bake, bakers must duplicate Mary Berry’s classic cherry cake, to Berry’s exacting standard. In the Showstopper Bake, the competitors tackle classic British cakes — in perfect miniature — 36 of them.
BISCUITS (COOKIES)
Sunday 1/4 at 7:00 pm
One week down and 11 amateur bakers remain. Let the biscuit baking begin. The Signature challenge is to create biscuits that go well with a cheese course. For the Technical, the bakers must follow Mary’s basic instructions for her Florentines recipe. In the Showstopper, bakers are tasked with creating three-dimensional “biscuit scenes.” Who will leave the competition tent?
BREAD
Sunday 1/11 at 7:00 pm
It’s week three and the remaining 10 bakers get ready to brave bread. For the Signature, they must bake 12 perfect rye bread rolls, shaped as they prefer. The Technical calls for ciabatta loaves, using judge Paul’s recipe. For the Showstopper, the bakers have to make a filled centerpiece loaf with as much impact on a table as on the judges. Who will rise to the occasion?
DESERTS
Sunday 1/18 at 7:00 pm
The competition stiffens like whipped peaks. For the Signature, bakers must create so-called “saucy puds” — delicate cakes hiding a gooey filling or saucy surprise at the bottom. In the Technical, bakers take on Mary’s tiramisu. In the Showstopper, they have to beat the odds and the heat to make the perfect baked Alaska. Meltdowns ensue.
PIES & TARTS
Sunday 1/25 at 7:00 pm
Almost half-way through the baking competition, the remaining bakers face pies and tarts. Custard tarts are their Signature challenge, followed by mini pear pies — one of the more unusual Technical challenges in the competition tent. Finally, contestants battle their biggest bake yet: three-tiered pies. The Showstopper allows them only four hours to create a towering collection of pies.
CONTINENTAL CAKES
Sunday 2/1 at 7:00 pm
And then there were six. The remaining bakers now face three European cakes. For the Signature, bakers are asked to make yeast-leavened cakes. Their work’s cut out for them in the most demanding Technical challenge yet: they have two hours to make the 24-step Swedish Princess torte. And finally, for the Showstopper, they must create a contemporary version of the Hungarian Dobos torte.
PASTRIES
Sunday 2/8 at 7:00 pm
Enter the competition tent to see the bakers tested on all kinds of weird and wonderful pastries.
Week seven in the tent sees the bakers tested on all kinds of weird, wonderful pastries. They’re assigned Signature savory parcels, ranging from pasties to samosas. The Technical challenge throws them into uncharted territory with a pastry none has heard of … the round and crusty kouign amann. Paul tests the bakers’ patience in a challenge to create this multi-layered, buttery pastry. Finally, Showstopper éclairs will give five lucky bakers a spot in the quarter-finals.
ADVANCED DOUGH
Sunday 2/15 at 7:00 pm
It’s the quarter-finals of the competition and only five bakers remain. Mary and Paul up the ante to see which bakers will rise to the challenge. The competitors must make enriched sweet fruit loaves for their Signature, followed by a Technical challenge that stretches them to the limit. Finally, the bakers must make 36 showstopping doughnuts, demonstrating skills and ideas that take baking to a new level.
PATISSERIE
Sunday 2/22 at 7:00 pm
It’s semi-finals time and the tension is palpable as the bakers take on patisseries. First, they’re challenged with Signature baklava. Next is a most demanding Technical task — making the tricky German schichttorte, cooked in stages under a grill to create 20 layers. The Showstopper raises the bar even higher: the final four work non-stop to create two elegant entremets.
FINAL
Sunday 3/1 at 7:00 pm
Learn which of the three remaining bakers will be crowned the winter.
Just three challenges lie between the three finalists and the trophy. And what a trio of challenges they are: mastery of a classic pastry technique that normally takes a day — in just three hours; a Technical test that requires mastering the basics — with no recipe; and a Showstopper that demands delivery of perfect sponge, caramel, choux pastry and petit four in the bakers’ final five hours in the tent.