What is a Dauphinoise Potato Pithivier? How Dana Accidentally Aced ‘The Great British Baking Show’ “Pastry Week” Technical Challenge

The Great British Baking Show “Pastry Week” threw something of a curveball the bakers’ way with a Technical Challenge that stumped everyone, even the one person in the tent who accidentally did the bulk of the Technical as their Signature! For this week’s episode of The Great British Baking Show on Netflix, Paul Hollywood asked the bakers to make a Dauphinoise Potato Pithivier. While most of the bakers knew what a Dauphinoise was — even though I had no clue — they were stumped by the Pithivier part. So what exactly is this week’s Technical Challenge on The Great British Baking Show “Pastry Week”? And why was it so hilarious that Dana Conway had already made a Dauphinoise (without even knowing what that was in the first place)?? Let’s grab a fork and dive into this latest foreign treat…

The Great British Baking Show “Pastry Week” tests the bakers’ knowledge of rough puffs, hot water crust, and traditional pastries. Essentially, it’s what we ignorant Americans would probably just call “Pie Week.” For the first challenge, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith tasked the bakers with making twelve individual savory picnic pies. While other bakers took inspiration from Spanokopita and Christmas pies, Dana decided to go Dauphinoise. This led to a rather intriguing moment when Paul pointed out that her picnic pies were a lot like a Pithivier. To which Dana asked, “What’s that?” Paul and company seemed quite amused by this, because Dana had no idea her “Spud-tacular” pies were a riff on the Technical Challenge to come. (Dana would go on to come in second place in the Technical, though her super sour Showstopper almost put her on the chopping block.)

But what exactly is a Dauphinoise Potato Pithivier? And where can you find a recipe online for the French pastry? Here’s everything you need to know about The Great British Baking Show “Pastry Week” Technical Challenge: Dauphinoise Potato Pithivier…

What is Dauphinoise Potato Pithivier? The Great British Baking Show “Pastry Week” Technical Challenge:

Paul Hollywood asked the bakers to make a Dauphinoise Potato Pithivier for the Technical Challenge on The Great British Baking Show this week. What exactly is that? Well, first, let’s look at what Dauphinoise is and then let’s get into the Pithivier…

Gratin Dauphinoise, or Dauphinoise potatoes, is a French dish dating back to the late 1700s. It’s a gratin dish that layers raw potatoes with cream in a buttered dish that is then slowly baked in an oven. Sometimes there may be cheese in the dish. What makes it different from our American gratin potatoes is that the spuds are raw when they are put in the dish, and not pre-boiled. The name Dauphinoise is a direct reference to the Dauphiné region of France, where it was first served at a dinner in 1788.

A Pithivier is a round enclosed pie that is made with two layers of puff pastry, with a filling stuffed between them. It should have a round hump and the top layer of pastry should be decorated with spiraling lines. It is named after the French town of Pithiviers, which coincidentally is nowhere near the Dauphiné region.

So basically a Dauphinoise Potato Pithivier is a Pithivier stuffed with Dauphinoise potatoes. Simple as that! Which is probably why sweet Dana, who had been unwittingly practicing making pies with a Dauphinoise potato filling all week wound up doing so well in the Technical Challenge on The Great British Baking Show “Pastry Week.”

If you’d like to try your hand at baking Paul Hollywood’s Dauphinoise Potato Pithivier, you can find the recipe on the official British site for The Great British Baking Show.