All The Baking Lessons We Learned On The Premiere Of 'The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition'

The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition finally returned to our television sets last night and it was truly as delightful as I remember. Though the best part is the people on it (how cute are Emma Bunton and Spice Adams?!), I guess they do compete and bake and stuff. Not surprisingly, there was a lot for at-home bakers to learn from this week's double episode, which was Cake Week and Bread Week.

Below are just a few lessons you can take away if you're making cake and bread at home (or just for life generally...trust me, it translates!).

Episode 1: Cake Week

1. Baking is a science.

Seriously! A ton of these contestants are in the sciences and you can quickly see why: Both in baking and science, you have to be super careful and precise.

2. Olive oil cake is TOUGH.

This was their first challenge, and it's not a treat for the faint of heart. You have to add enough olive oil so you can taste it, but not so much that it tastes weird.

3. Don't over-mix!

If you mix your batter too much, it will rise too far and then collapse!

4. Keep. It. Simple.

This is good for baking and for life.

5. Balance your spices.

When cooking or baking, figure out how strong your spices are and don't be afraid to use them...but don't use so much that you're overwhelming people.

6. Your choice of tin? Critical!

It's not just what type of cake you make, it's what you put it in. One contestant had too shallow a tin, and Paul Hollywood was most unpleased.

7. Accessories are key.

Alex's knife earring? AMAZING. No wonder he got Star Baker.

8. If you get hurt, take a break.

Bianca hurt her finger and then her bandage fell off INTO HER CAKE. It was hard to watch, but taught us that, yeah, even in the tent, you must give yourself a break if you get hurt.

9. Curd should never be too runny.

Come on, you guys! A lot of our bakers had that problem.

10. When it doubt? Cover it in icing.

A few people did this (I've done this a lot of times before, TBH) Paul said, if your cake is a little messy, there is nothing a bit of icing can’t cover.

Episode 2: Bread Week

11. Bread also seems hard.

OK, I know I said olive oil cake seems hard but bread seems HARD. There are so many things to get wrong, you have to be reaaaallly careful.

12. Don't add too much moisture.

So many delicious things you want to add to bread—like olive oil or fruit—add moisture, which can throw off the balance of your bread. You need to adjust your recipe.

13. Use smell when baking.

OK, pretty much all of the contestants smelled their spices before baking their bread, and it's genius. I've never thought of deploying this before seasoning something so you know if you get a good flavor profile.

14. Work with what you can.

Brother Andrew, one of the bakers, is a friar, and he stressed how baking in a seminary is not always easy, so he has to get creative. Though we're probably not in the same sitch, it's a lesson for us all, truly!

15. Time things right.

Like I said, baking bread is HARD. Whether you use a mixer or not, don't add your ingredients too soon after you knead the dough or it'll be way too heavy. Like I said: Bread is hard!

16. Proofing is everything.

You have to let it proof enough to get it crispy and caramelized once it bakes. Otherwise, YOU'RE DOOMED.

17. Consistency is KEY.

It doesn't matter if you make one amazing treat. If you then serve a terrible thing next, people won't care.

18. Make sure your bread dough is tight.

When you shape your bread dough in a ball to proof, you want to make sure it's tight so that it can then rise and become light and airy.

19. You need to have fun in baking.

While their bread proofed, the bakers arm wrestled, meditated, and goofed off, which is and important part of baking, IMO.

20. Cutting is important in bread, too.

Many of the bakers struggled with cutting their bread before it baked. Some cut too deeply and some cut too shallow. I...didn't know this was a thing, so I guess I should be spending more time baking and less time watching TV. Oh well!