Did ‘The Great British Baking Show’ “Bread Week” Ruin the Netflix Show’s Positive Momentum?

“Well, ‘Bread Week’s ended up as dread week, didn’t it?” The Great British Baking Show host Alison Hammond asked tentatively towards the end of this week’s all-new episode of the Netflix show. I, personally, would argue — and already have — that Alison’s effervescent energy and super-powered empathy saved the episode from being awful, but that doesn’t mean judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith would agree. While bakers Tasha Stones and Josh Smalley continued to impress in the tent, it seemed the rest of the bakers let the infamously hard-to-please Paul and Prue down.

So what went wrong for the bakers on The Great British Baking Show “Bread Week”? And was “Bread Week” really “Dread Week,” or was it better than the show’s stars want to admit?

“Bread Week” has long been considered one of the most stressful episodes in any Great British Baking Show season. It always comes early in the season and almost always reveals at least one otherwise great baker’s weak spot. Of course, the real reason why tensions always run high during “Bread Week” is because Paul Hollywood is considered one of the most talented bakers in the world. It’s impossible to get any mistake by him and he’s happy to point out, in withering details, exactly what the show’s collection of amateur bakers did wrong.

Knowing the stakes were high, many bakers expressed nerves before the episode even really began. “I’ve definitely got the ‘bread dread,'” eventual Star Baker Tasha admitted up top. Dana — who also did quite well — undersold herself by admitting that she doesn’t bake bread, period. Cristy’s nerves were so high that Alison Hammond repeatedly came to her rescue with pep talks. While all three women wound up safe, even if Dana’s glass mixing bowl broke into pieces during the Signature Challenge, other bakers found themselves quickly spiraling.

Rowan Claughton and Abbi Lawson were the two bakers (and bench neighbors) who continually found themselves struggling during The Great British Baking Show “Bread Week.” Rowan made a “monstrous” Cottage Loaf for his Signature, prompting Paul and Prue to be villainously snide to the 21-year-old baker. Meanwhile, Abbi’s Cottage Loaf lost all its volume during the second prove and came out flat. Dan Hunter, aka the season’s first Star Baker, forgot to add caster sugar to his Devonshire Splits during the Technical, putting him in last place. Joining him at the bottom? You guessed it: Rowan and Abbi.

Even though Saku Chandrasekara and Tasha performed quite well in the Technical Challenge, the bakers’ overall performance disappointed Paul. When Alison asked him in the interim what he thought of the quality of the bakers so far, he bluntly said, “Pretty poorly.” Alison and her co-host Noel Fielding burst into hysterics over Paul’s cutting reply, but was it true? Well, even I have to admit, the bakers didn’t do as well on the Devonshire Splits as they did for the first two Technical Challenges. So does that mean “Bread Week” truly was “Dread Week”? I’m still not so sure…

From where I’m sitting (on a loveseat in a tiny NYC apartment), The Great British Baking Show Collection 11 “Bread Week” was a pretty darn entertaining episode of the series. Sure, I didn’t really care for how Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith ganged up on Rowan, nor was I totally on board with the idea that Abbi should be cut over Rowan. Still, I was dazzled by multiple bakers’ Showstoppers, delighted by the bubbly banter we got in the tent, and halfway inspired to look up some Cottage Loaf recipes. The bakers might have been stressed out, Paul Hollywood might have been underwhelmed, but I sure as heck enjoyed myself!

None of the mistakes the bakers made were shockingly catastrophic. Rowan overreached with the volume of his bakes and the amount of flavoring inside. Dan forgot sugar and to make enough dough for five breads. Abbi’s flavors and ideas were there, but she was let down by timing. These are all mistakes any baker could make in their home kitchen.

Which is sort of what’s been so delightful so far about this season of The Great British Baking Show. It’s the first installment in years where I don’t walk away from an episode thinking, “That was an insanely impossible challenge.” Rather, I wonder, “Hey, could I make that?” Sure, we’ve always watched The Great British Baking Show for the bawdy jokes and parasocial relationships we develop with the bakers. But in the early days of the series, it also served as a point of creative inspiration.

The Great British Baking Show “Bread Week” wasn’t a “Dread Week,” as it was a return to what gave “Bread Week” its dreadful reputation in the first place.