The holidays may be over but The Great American Baking Show: Holiday Edition still had one finale hurrah last night with the semifinals and finals. The best of the best competed to show that they were the best amateur baker in America, which means we as viewers reaped all the benefits. Here are some of the best lessons we've learned.
Episode Seven: Semifinals
1. You can incorporate all the butter to a puff pastry at once.
You don't necessarily need to break it up, if you know what you're doing.
2. Lamination is important to pastries.
That's what gives them their shine. This comes from layers of dough and cold butter, which brings me to my next point.
3. Never ever let the butter melt while making puff pastry.
This is a total pain and may require you to refrigerate it often.
4. Making a souffle seems hard.
I think we all knew this on some base level, but still.
5. Fold in egg whites just so when making souffles.
Don't overfold them or else they won't rise! AH.
6. It's really easy for souffles to be raw in the middle.
This will likely be your biggest challenge. But don't over-bake them either! It just takes practice.
7. Singing while baking really helps
Try it! All the bakers did.
8. Too many layers can make a cake look inelegant.
Keep it simple! Unless you really know what you're doing.
9. Under-baking things makes them lose their flavor.
Plus it's just gross.
10. Life isn't fair.
SPOILER but, Alex got sent home which is TOTAL BS. He got Star Baker twice and is so fun! Rude!
Episode eight: The finals
11. Less is more when it comes to spice in baking.
You can always add more later!
12. Stop opening the damn oven.
This is particularly important when making choux buns, but we could all stand to learn this lesson.
13. You need passion to be a good baker.
Otherwise, it's just a whole lot of frustration for nothing!
14. Store bought is FINE.
Ina said it best. Two bakers struggled when they made homemade elements to put inside their pastries. If you're not crunched on time, making all elements homemade is encouraged! If you're being timed on a baking show...maybe just used canned Dulce de Leche.
15. When making choux, the balance of eggs is important.
Too few, it'll collapse, too many, and it'll be too runny.
16. When making sponge cake, add ingredients carefully.
Otherwise, it could collapse.
17. Blooming gelatin is like a science.
You have to get it nice and cold before adding it to hot water.
18. Emma Bunton looks amazing with pink hair.
OK, this isn't a baking lesson, but yes, girl! She added this for the finale.
19. Timing your bakes is like a science.
If you're trying to cook and bake different things at once, you need to have a plan. The finale challenge was making lots of miniature treats, which proved to be a challenge.
20 Tenacity pays off.
Brother Andrew had some blunders during his time, but he stayed true to himself, didn't get frustrated, and ended up taking home the prize. Yay!
