1227 – Biscuits Week | Great British Baking Off to Sleep S10/C7 Ep2
If you never heard of biscuit sweat don’t worry you will sleep right though this discussion of another week in a soothing tent of treats.
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Episode 1227 – Biscuits Week | Great British Baking Off to Sleep S10/C7 Ep2
[START OF RECORDING]
SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, beautiful bakers, beautifully-baked listeners, even, or anybody…people who love alliteration and people who loathe alliteration…I’m trying to…I mean, I’m sure there are people…you say, alliteration? I could do without…without it…I could do without it. That would take me…I’d say, I could try to think of an alliterative way to say that. Slowly, but it would take forever. Alliteration; I loathe it. That’s almost alliterative, but that’s not saying I could do without it. That’s different.
But whatever you’re feelings…I mean, for me, I may not even know the correct definition of…alliteration…enlighten me on…Enlightening on Alliteration; the podcast that had one episode where it was the definition of alliteration, but we had to take it down because we quoted it directly from a dictionary, and it turned out we weren’t enlightened on alliteration. Light on alliteration; that is not Great British Bake Off. By the way, welcome to Sleep With Me, the podcast that’s here to put you to sleep. If you’re confused, I don't blame you 'cause I’m…I went way off topic. This is a podcast that’s here to keep you company in the deep, dark night, a podcast that’s optional to listen to and that there’s no pressure to fall asleep. I’m here to keep you company while you fall asleep, to be a rambling friend.
I’ll be talking about the Great British Bake Off later. But first, I want you to know you deserve a good night’s sleep. Even if you never listen to this podcast again, I don't want you to forget that. You deserve a bedtime you don’t need to dread. You deserve enough sleep so your life is more manageable. If you’re looking for something else other than this show, check out sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou. It has other sleepy stuff and sleep podcasts on there. But yeah, this show’s here to take your mind off of stuff, keep you company. We’ll have…structurally what to expect; there will be some support. That’s how the show is free and twice a week whenever you need it, plus over 500+ episodes you can access, 'cause as you because a regular listener you say, well, I prefer this episode over this episode.
Then there will be a long, meandering intro. That’s to ease you into bedtime. You could fall asleep during it, you could be getting ready for bed during it, getting comfortable, but that’s meant to ease you into bedtime. Then there will be a recap of a episode of the Great British Bake Off, and that’s it. I’m so glad you’re here. Give this show a few tries. That’s what most regular listeners say, 'cause it is different and strange in a good way if it works for you. If it works for you…like, I didn’t know I was looking for this, but it turns out I was…but I’m glad you’re here. I appreciate you coming by, and thanks for making it possible, my patron peeps.
INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play, and we’ll do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake. It could be thoughts about the past, the present, the future, thinking stuff, thoughts that are just there, thoughts about the Pesky poll, which is…turns out a listener let me know about that. That’s Johnny Pesky at Fenway Park or something. It’s named after Johnny…it’s not at Pesky Park. It doesn’t have to do with the Pensky file. It’s at Fenway Park and it’s named after Johnny Pesky.
But it could be thoughts, it could be feelings, feelings related to those thoughts or feelings that are just there, feelings of anticipation or…feelings; they’re…they can be there. Holy cow, can they. Oh boy, are they. Feelings; tough to put them into words, but they’re there. You know them, or you don’t know them and then you have feelings about that. I say, I don't even know…so, feelings, could be physical sensations, anything you’re experiencing physically or coming up for you, it could be travel; that’s a big one. So, if you’re traveling…you know what…travelers or road-woers…there’s another word for it, but I’d say, people who are experienced in the woes of the road. But there’s highs, too, and there’s lows and there’s woes.
People on the second shift, third shift…and as many…as other shifts I’ve invented…which people said, that’s…kinda gets…I said, there…we can’t give a shout-out to the fifth shift? They say, well, can we go through it with you again, Scoots? There’s twenty-four hours in a day. I’d say, okay, so does that mean…? So, there can’t be…could there be twelve shifts, though? There could be twenty-four shifts. They say, well, that’s a different start time. I say, okay, you’re…sounds like you’re really exasperated. Maybe I could just talk to you about…could you…could we agree that I’m just…like, blue sky…I’m just blue-skying this. It’s not a…these aren’t proposals for shift changes even though I’m naming them.
Oh boy, people working that eighth shift…and I’d say, yeah, probably it’d be harder…I’d say, people in the middle shifts…if there were twenty-four shifts or twelve shifts, I get it; there would still be…like, if you were on the first shift or the twelfth shift, you’d say, well, we’re relatable. I guess you’d say, I could…we could be in a relationship, I guess…or even an eleventh-shifter and a second-shifter. But then if you’re a sixth shift or…that’s gonna be tougher 'cause that’s a different schedule. Is that what the song 20…? Wasn’t there…? Oh no, that was a song…Sunshine 24 Hours A Day or something? I don't know what that song was. Was that from John…? Was there a movie called Johnny…? Was that from Doc Hollywood? I think…I don't think it was. But so, where was I?
Oh, whatever’s keeping you awake, I’m here to help, and the way…the reason I bring up whatever’s keeping you awake is to let you know you’re not alone and to let you know however you’re feeling, whatever you’re dealing with, there’s someone out there — maybe it’s me, maybe it’s not — that can relate to what you’re going through, at least how it feels, if not somebody listening right now that’s experienced what you’re going through or whatever’s keeping you awake. So, I just want you to know that. That’s why I share it, to say, hey, you’re not alone. We’re here. There’s other people here listening, and you’re important. That’s the main thing about the show.
A lot of us can relate to how it feels, and a lot of people can relate to how it feels when…I guess I can, too, 'cause I get so many e-mails about people’s first time listening and their strong feelings about it. So, I can relate to how it feels when you first listen to the show and you’re not sure if it’s gonna work for you or you’re not sure you like it or you’re skeptical or you’re doubtful or you’re frustrated. I understand that, too. I can relate and a lot of other people can, too. That’s why the biggest piece of advice for the show other than, hey, I didn’t even know this would work for me, but it did…give it a try…is give it a few tries and see how it goes. But I just want you to know you deserve a good night’s sleep. That’s why I make the show.
You deserve a bedtime you don’t have to dread, a bedtime you could look forward to so your life is more manageable, so you could get the sleep you need and you could be out there flourishing. That means the world’s a better place to be in. If you’re flourishing, it’s good for everybody. So, there’s that. What else do you need to know? If you’re flourishing…oh, a bedtime you don’t need to dread…oh, a couple things that throw people off, or a bunch of things. I already said a few of them. Oh, the way the podcast works is I send my voice across the deep, dark night. I’m gonna use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, superfluous tangents. I’m gonna go off-topic, I’m gonna get mixed up, I’m gonna repeat myself, then I’m gonna double back, then I’ll get lost. I go…I turn around and then I say, where am I?
What was I talking about? So, that’s pointless meanders and superfluous tangents. This is a podcast you don’t really listen to. You could listen, but you don’t need to listen. It’s here to keep you company, 'cause you can kinda decide…I mean, that’s the nice thing about a podcast, is you could be listening under your pillow, you could have a set of sleep phones on, or you could have the phone across the room or on a smart speaker or create a feel where it’s like a TV in another room, or it could be like a roommate talking to you like a friend. But it’s a friend that you say, hey, talk to me for a while, but I’m not gonna pay…I’m not gonna really pay close attention to what you’re saying. No offense. I’m just…I want you to talk to me so I could fall asleep. So, that’s part of it. It’s a podcast you don’t listen to.
It’s also a podcast that doesn’t put you to sleep. I’m here to keep you company while you fall asleep. There’s no pressure to fall asleep. I’m gonna be here for over an hour to keep you company, and you can just drift off. Now, if you need to listen or you can't sleep or you need a break during the day, I’m here to keep you company either way, and that’s really what works, is I’m your on-call friend in the deep, dark night. So, a podcast you don’t really listen to, it doesn’t put you to sleep…tell me more good news. Okay, structure of the show. Structure of the show is very deliberate to kinda make the podcast work for as many people as it can, and it is adjustable. So, let me just tell you why the show is structured the way it is, and then you could say…if…listen a few times and then adjust from there.
So, the show come…it starts with…it comes out twice a week. That’s the frequency I found, is so that you can kinda…and there’s over 500 episodes so you have plenty of stuff to fall asleep to or to choose from. What else? It’s over an hour so you don’t have to think, oh, what if the podcast is over before I fall asleep? You say, oh, it’s over an hour, so I got plenty of time. No pressure, and there’s plenty of other episodes. So, the show’s…also starts off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, so you feel seen and welcome. You say, oh, I could check that out, maybe. So, that’s one thing, then there’s support so the show could be free, 'cause not everybody’s in a position to support the show or pay for it.
But if you don’t want to listen to the support and you’re a regular listener, you can also pay not to have ads. But the ads are what make it free for whoever wants to listen whenever they want to listen, and the people that support the sponsors. Then there’s an intro which is separate from the sponsor stuff, which is a show within a show. For some reason when you’re new and you don’t like the sponsor stuff, for some reason they lump in the intro…everything gets lumped together, which I guess I understand if you’re frustrated. But I just want…I don't want people missing out on the intro because for regular listeners, it’s…other than the regular listeners that know they don’t listen to the intro, for regular…a lot of regular listeners, the intro is an important part of the show.
One, it introduces the podcast to new people in a ineffective way or in a inefficient way, which is part of the process of the show. But the intro’s around ten to fifteen to twenty minutes long because it’s part of a lot of people’s wind down. It’s a transition to bedtime. So, you could be getting ready for bed, you could be doing some other wind-down, chill activity, even if it’s just laying on the floor or in your bed getting comfortable or drifting off. But you could be drawing or knitting, foam-rolling, or just brushing your teeth and that kinda stuff. So, the intro is a transition time, and that’s really one of the important things I’ve learned doing the show, 'cause the intro used to be a lot shorter.
Based on feedback and just reading what works and then trying to deal with my own sleep stuff is having a wind down really helps get us in the mood for bedtime. So, that’s the intro, then there’s support between the intro and the show, then we’ll talk about Great British Bake Off baking show, the Great British Baking Show or the Great British Bake Off, depending on where in the world you are, and then we’ll have some thank-yous at the end. So, that’s the structure of the show. That’s why I make the show, is because you deserve a good night’s sleep, and just see how it goes. I’m so glad you’re here. I really appreciate you coming by and checking this podcast out. I work really hard. I yearn and I strive, and I really hope I can help you fall asleep. So, thanks again for coming by, and here’s a couple ways we’re able to do it for you for free twice a week.
Alright bakers, we’re back here, and covering Collection 7, Episode 2, Biscuits Week, with the Great British Baking Bake Off baking show. It opens with Biscuit Jenga. Glue is the…spoiler alert; it’s glue. It’s Noel and Sandi playing Biscuit Jenga. Sandi’s tower goes down. Noel’s kicking back. Noel’s got a five o’clock shadow, even. Boots…they both have fabulous sweaters this episode. He tells…don't worry, you’ll get there, Sandi. It’s a steady hand. Then she realizes his is glued together, and she says, run. She throws his Biscuit Jenga at him. He dances out of the way. Then we get our opening sequence. Oh, first, everybody’s walking towards the tent. Talking heads about nerves…Michael’s talking…Alice is talking about some dreams she had last night.
Biscuit stress…I’ve heard of flop sweat. I’ve never heard of biscuit sweat, but I believe it. Phil, Jamie talk a bit. I’m still learning the characters’ names, or the people, human beings. I just noticed the color of Phil’s shirt. We’ll return to that. But yeah, it’s time for chocolate biscuit bars. Twelve decorated chocolate biscuit bars. One biscuit element coated in chocolate, beautifully decorated. Show off your personalities here, okay, in biscuit form. Not just in biscuit form; biscuits with chocolate coats on. So, they’re cracking everybody up. Two-and-a-half hours. On your mark, get set, bake. Let’s see, Jamie talked about practice. Phil talked about…his wife is a biscuit freak. Rosie makes big biscuits. Oh no, she makes dog biscuits. I looked…'cause she’s a vet, you know.
Paul says how adding chocolate’s gonna make this a tougher challenge, 'cause he wants to taste the biscuit and not just the chocolate. Snap…crumbly…and Prue is…her…the yellow…okay, let me pause it the next time…now Paul’s back talking, so I gotta rewind. So, Prue is in a coat that is a color of yellow that is like the most perfect…it’s a color of yellow that’s not too bright, but it’s just fabulous. It’s not mustard-colored, but it’s not a popping yellow. I don't know if it’s lemony. Then she has on…is that an infinity scarf? But a scarf with blues, purples, and then a little bit of yellow, but the blues and the purples complement, and then they also…then she has glasses that are a different purple, and neon kinda orange earrings. They’re just a tiny little dot circle.
I don't know, that is…I mean, holy cow, whether Prue or Prue works with somebody…probably they work together. I mean, everything on here…but I mean, that’s like baking, you know? Okay, she wants…Prue says it’s gotta be perfect, then Paul talks about timing, baking the biscuit, preparing the filling, cooling the…cooling before you put the chocolate on. Don’t want it to collapse. Timing and cooling…chocolate coats…Henry’s dressed to the nines. I say, you look like an American schoolboy. He has a tie, a sweater, and a dress shirt on. Hazelnut shortbread, though…coffee and cardamom mousse. Oh, boy. Hazelnut caramel…sounds incredible and difficult. Hope it tastes lovely. They show Henry studying.
He pays for his school by playing the organ at his church, so…and that comes in later. This episode, actually. His biscuits do look delicious. Sounds wonderful. Piping…pop…oh, there’s popping candy in there, too. Sophisticated toddler or something. They’re all laughing about that. Sophistication’s also Steph's aim, but her key flavor’s not for toddlers; coffee. Steph loves Chester's cafe culture with her mum, Jane. Chocolate caramel macchiato biscuit bars. That also sounds really good. Oh, she used semolina to make it a little bit of…more of a shortbread with a crunch. We got…who is this? Henry with…Michael…no, Michael’s using his great-granny’s Perthshire…when he visits his parents, they check out the family cookbook, but that’s not their only pastime. Then they’re playing music together, the three of them.
Lemon rosemary biscuit bars. He was playing piano, his mom was playing the cello, and his dad was playing the violin, maybe? I can’t remember already. But yeah, what else do we got here? Scottish shortbread based on a gin that he likes…then Rosie…mojitos…now, Rosie’s a vet, so we see her at work. Busman’s holiday, she talks about. Virgin mojito biscuit bar. Mint marshmallow…so, we’re getting a lot of good…then she talks about a horse with tears…how she helped the horse. Jamie’s making millionaire shortbread, but a bit different 'cause it’s too sweet…sour cherry to give it some sharpness…Jamie’s…jams when he’s…he’s a barman, but he also jams with his twin, Alex. So, they love rocking out. I mean, I’m assuming.
Cherry caramel shortbread biscuit bar…he said, they did break during practice, but he thinks they’ll hold together. Very crumbly, I guess, when you’re making these shortbread biscuits. Amelia’s adding ground pistachios, crumbly biscuit…they do a sequence of everybody mixing stuff, putting their flavors in, and some rolling…a little bit of a rolling and mixing sequence. Then we go to Helena; matcha…she’s making fingers…Lady Witchbeard fingers. Say, holy cow, really? She likes making jewelry. Used to be a professional poker player. Then she’s playing cards with her family, I’m assuming. Green-colored generous authentic crunch with almonds for fingernails, I think. They said, you’re really putting your personality into it, all over it. Then Noel makes more jokes about…what are the other ingredients?
Now, Michelle; something more traditional. Chai Bakewell bar…cherry Bakewell. Huge rugby fan. One of her sons…the man of the match is Alfie, her son. So, Bakewell bars; white chocolate, almond, marshmallow, some raspberry. So, those look pretty good, too. Then Alice’s New Zealand influence…favorite place in the world for Alice. Amazing chocolate, biscuits, and sweets. So, she’s making a peanut slab mallow puff hokey-pokey in honeycomb. She likes hitting the high seas in her spare time. She’s in the Royal Navy Combined Cadet Force. So, it’s a honeycomb peanut mallow bar. They show her in her uniform. But that really sounds delicious. I wonder if it’s the same mallow bar…honeycomb base.
Baking the biscuits…Alice puts hers in the oven…forgot to turn her oven on and they’re halfway through, so that’s…she has to wait for her oven to heat up. So, that’s a little stressful. Sandi’s using a rolling pin on Noel like a massage. We go…we do a into-the-oven sequence, timer sequence. Fifteen minutes, ten minutes…160…nine minutes. Half an hour in; let’s see where we’re at. Hard to know…with the green Lady Witchbeard ones, it’s hard to know if they’re done, Helena says. Alice gets hers in the oven, makes…starts making marshmallow. People are making…Phil’s making fudge. Somebody’s got jelly…Rosie…Rosie’s got a nice blue sweater on. Henry’s sweater is nice, too. Nice sweaters all around. Henry’s worried about stuff setting in time. Yeah, everybody’s working hard here.
Toasting the pistachios…you can’t put cold nuts in, David says. He’s making his with a nougat. Toasted nuts and nougat…he’s a international health advisor. Him and his boyfriend Nick went for a run, then they’re having some baked goods. Coco-nutty chocolate bars with a nougat in the middle. He’s putting coconut drops in simple syrup, maybe? I don't know. Amelia’s using a rose hip syrup, but can’t make it too pungent. Gotta be careful. She goes to Turkey a lot for work; they have nougat with pistachio…and her mum gave her the rosewater idea. She says it works well. When she’s not jetting off for work, though, she’s a fashion designer…does a kick-about with friends. They’re playing foosball. I don't know if a kick-about is hanging out with your friends or playing foosball. Turkish nougat-inspired. Hers come out of the oven.
Time to cool. Seconds…now you gotta be careful. Overdone or underdone…so, this is another sequence as time’s going down. Checking the ovens…Jamie’s a little bit…his is…doesn’t look like it’s done. But everybody else is looking in. A few more minutes, Jamie says. Phil is…shortbread white chocolate bars. So, white chocolate fudge covered in chocolate. Very sweet, they said, a little bit. Then we see Phil’s a lorry driver. He’s a motorcyclist, brings baked goods to his motorcycling club. Always nice to have a baker show up. Orange cranberry white chocolate fudge bar. So, orange zest…who doesn’t like that? Biscuits are cooling, but Jamie’s are not. 70% cocoa…somebody…stuff’s getting mixed together, green and white chocolate for Helena. Anything witchy I love to make.
People are painting their molds with chocolate, making sure that stuff gets set. Priya’s having a little bit of trouble. Perfectionist Priya pushing herself in the Pilates studio. I’m jelly now. Ruby barfi biscuit bar. Barfi’s a Indian milk sweet. Cardamom shortbread and ruby chocolate. It’s a specific type of cocoa bean, slightly tangy. Prue tries it; she says, oh, it’s interesting how cardamom will work with that. We’ll see. Henry jumps. He’s trying to blend stuff. Everybody’s putting their stuff in the molds, trying to get it to come together. Amelia’s not doing a mold; she’s gonna put it in the freezer and then do it. She makes a ASAP Rocky joke, I think? Somebody’s marshmallow’s a little soft. Phil’s trying to get his cooled down, too. Jamie’s…everything’s hot for Jamie.
Henry’s putting his mousse in, but it’s…might be a little too…no, somebody else’s nougat’s too soft. Trying to smooth the edges…that might work. Then we get a drone shot. Half an hour left. Cracking on. Everybody’s trying to decorate and assemble and having…dropping stuff. Rosie’s got some nice feathering going. People are crossing their fingers. A lot of working the molds then getting it in the freezer or the fridge. Fifteen minutes. So, now you get into this faster-moving sequence. People are taking stuff out of the freezer. Jamie’s shortbread’s falling apart. People are starting to get worried. Stuff’s coming out of the things, one biscuit bar, at least. Oh boy, some of them look really good and some of them don’t. Phil’s spraying stuff. Jamie’s take…Jamie’s come out, but they’re not…he’s…wow, whose are those?
They look really good. Helena’s decorating her fingers. A lot of them are really together, but the decorations…Priya’s did not freeze enough. Oh, Michelle’s ones look really…then Michelle goes over and starts to help Jamie, 'cause she’s already done and hers look really well put-together. Alice is trying to get hers done. Everybody’s…last-minute changes. Other people need help, too. Priya needs help, so everybody…Helena…a bunch of other people are helping Priya. So, real…a lot of teamwork again. Most people are helping either Jamie and…or Priya. That’s it. Time is up. A lot of hugs go around. Put your signature bakes at the end of your benches. Henry lies down on the ground. Nobody’s listening, they say.
They say, Michelle, yours look fit, but they say…she says, I haven’t tasted it, so…Amelia's are a little melted, I think, so she’s dreading the judging. Now the chocolate biscuit bars will be judged by Paul and Prue. So they say hi to Michelle first. Hers look very fancy. They look like…a little bit like Fruity Pebbles. Love the splash of color. They’re all identical, which Paul likes. Then he tastes their tastes…definitely taste like Bakewell. A little almond…good texture. Temptation to eat more, Prue says, is impossible, so she has another bite. That makes Sandi laugh. Paul says, never had anything like it before. Exceptional. Sandi says, well done. Unique. So, she’s happy. Then Amelia's up. They say, rustic. Don’t think it’s cooked properly. Could have done with more baking. It feels like a paste. Nougat’s delicious, though.
Amelia says thank you. We go to Henry; very neat, nice shine. Mousse right around the shortbread…mousse needed longer to set, but the flavors are good. Beautiful. Ambitious to do six layers. Cardamom lifts it up…pulled it off. Just gotta get that mousse. Then we go to David. They look messy on the side. Nougat sloughed out of it…sloughed out of it or something. They say, thanks, David, for using a term…then they say, I like the blend. I like the taste, but it just looks messy. Slacked and sloughed or something. Michael’s next. They look chunky but neat. Okay, good. The marshmallow’s not good, though. Textures are good except for the marshmallow. Something’s not right about it. Not set. Prue likes the lemony middle.
Genius, she says. Lemon rosemary are good. Marshmallow has a sweetness. Dark chocolate…bitter. Good blend of flavors. So, he’s really happy. He almost falls down, faints, and they say, you need a chair? Thank you, Michael. Rose cheers him on. Then we go to Steph; fairly neat, uniform. I like the idea of a coffee biscuit. Prue takes first bite. Paul’s chewing it. Very crumbly. Says, semolina, yeah, that’s it. I like the crumbliness, Prue says. Less keen on the coffee flavor. It’s too strong. Then we go to Phil; they look messy. Phil’s got a nice purple…like, a grape-purple shirt on. It’s hard to cut through it, the fudge. Sugar rush, Prue says. Pleasant…get the cranberries and the bitterness at the end, but you need that 'cause it’s so sweet. Does not look good, though. They say, take what you can get, Phil. Then we go to Helena.
They’re studying the fingers. She nailed it, they say. That’s a joke 'cause…Sandi says that. Paul’s got a look…a bit boring. Biscuits…slightly stale flavor. Maybe it’s the matcha, Prue says. Maybe you don’t like matcha. Prue says, they’re very original. Then we go to Alice; nicely made. Let’s have a look inside. I like nice, hokey-cokey flavor. You got so many textures, including the honeycomb. Peanut’s fantastic. You’ve done really well. Thank you. Well done. She sighs…relief. Thank you. Then we go to Priya…the ruby barfi biscuit. They say, it’s a little plain. She said, I ran short on time. Prue’s like, this is my first time having ruby chocolate. Nice kick, but too thick. Not getting the biscuit flavors 'cause the chocolate overpowered it. They say, thank you, thank you. They go to Jamie and they say, what happened?
He goes, the caramel was too hot. They look like biscuits after an earthquake. Awful lot of caramel in there and pretty sickly. Can’t identify flavors. Oh, poor Jamie, man. Looks dreadful. Prue said, I wish it tasted fantastic, but…and funnily, not, so that’s gotta be hard. Then they go to Rosie. Look magnificent. Nice feathering. They take a bite. They cut to Alice, they cut to Paul, cut to Rosie, cut to Prue. Prue loves it. Not too sweet. Nice balance between the lime and the mint, Paul says. Biscuit’s beautiful. This is a biscuit bar focused on the biscuits, and it’s Biscuit Week. Your biscuits are beautiful. Very good. So, she looks…she says, they liked it, they liked it. So, she’s happy, really relieved. Helena’s not happy. Matcha’s a hard flavor to sell. Jamie’s like, I was hoping the flavor would be better, but it might have been worse.
Alice is very happy. Alice has a kind of bright magenta dress on, which really pops. We see a bird on the pond. We see the stream, we see the tent, then the bakers and the shrouded…whatever that is called. Gingham shroud or whatever. Alright, everybody’s favorite part of the day, ha-ha-ha, technical challenge. Mystery. Great sweets…delightful, Paul. Any words of wisdom? These are a favorite of my dad, who said to be accurate and neat. Anybody know Paul’s dad? They all laugh at that. Then they say, okay, we’ll excuse you two for now. They say, what are they gonna be doing? It’s Sandi’s joke. She says, Prue’s crimping Paul’s hair. He likes to look nice. Worth the effort. Twelve fig rolls; these actually do sound delicious.
Compared to a fig newton, these would be comparable, but they sound much more elevated, especially 'cause it would be more…better dough, maybe? I would love to try these fresh-made. But basically a fig…a slight space…spiced fig inside of a biscuit. Is it gonna be shortbread? Is it not? Ninety minutes. Soft biscuit or…it’s kind of…is it a biscuit? Is it a cake? That’s the other thing. Lightly spiced, lightly. One person’s never had a fig roll. If it’s Paul’s dad’s favorite, we gotta remember that. Jamie needs to redeem himself. Mister Hollywood fig rolls, Prue says. A simple challenge. He goes, yeah, they’re not as easy as you think, though. Several hard parts; the biscuit dough on the outside, it’s gotta be cakey but soft and crumbly, but not too much 'cause you don’t want it to fall apart.
The accuracy of how you cut it so they all look the same…and don’t over-bake them. They should be a pale biscuit color, not over-baked. Beautifully balanced, the cinnamon and the ginger, just a hint, though. Paul says, me and my dad would watch wrestling on Saturdays and eat them. He could eat a pack of them, Paul says. Well, roll on, fig rolls. So, this is gonna be interesting. Very simple instructions; make the biscuit dough. Can't believe he makes…so, everybody’s doing it. We see a early mistake; icing sugar for dusting and muscavo sugar for the thing, but Helena mixes up the two. She wasn’t sure. I don't know if it was just…that would happen to me. I didn’t read things. Then you gotta put it in the fridge.
Then Noel…oh, also, Noel has a dinosaur junior sweat…I don't know, that’s a throwback, I guess, but for some people…but it’s like…I think it was a album cover, but he’s…has it as a sweater. I think maybe it is another piece of art from somewhere else. But he says, man, these figs do not look appetizing. Then you gotta blitz it into a paste, Amelia says. I think Michael’s…or…says, you can always add, but you can’t take away. Paul said that once; I remember it. Helena’s putting a lot in there, though, so everybody’s trying to get the balance of the flavors. Don’t want it to be too sweet, though. Amelia’s dough’s already been resting for thirty minutes, so everybody’s rolling it out, which ain’t easy. So, we have a rolling sequence. There’s forty-five minutes left. Noel says that from under a table.
He says he’s looking for Prue’s earring. Then they divide it up, pipe the filling in, make it neater…does not look appealing. Then they gotta roll it. Everybody says, well, how are we supposed to roll it? Is it a Swiss roll or a roll-and-seal, Michael says, like a fold-and-roll? Helena’s are very sticky, obviously, 'cause she had different sugars. Then you gotta cut it into six equal pieces, transfer it onto a baking sheet…Phil’s are a little bit small, he says. Then Rosie saves somebody who only has six. Michael? Then there’s a half-hour of fig roll fun left. Sandi’s got a blue sweater with a rainbow down the center. It’s just cool. Then you gotta put imprints on the top and dust them, or maybe bake them and dust them? Have they been baked yet? I guess not. Priya has biscuit in her hair. She goes, yeah, that’s how I show that I’ve been working hard.
I like having it in there. Then they don’t know how long to bake them. Let’s call Paul’s dad, Phil says. Not very long; twenty minutes? Amelia says, I’m going for golden brown. Alice says fifteen. Jamie puts a egg wash on his to give himself an extra edge, make it look nice. Then we have the oven-watching, finger-crossing sequence, a shot of the outside of the tent, more oven-watching. People are like, I don't know what I’m looking for. Sandi plays Rock, Paper, Scissors. Let’s see, there’s five minutes left. Amelia’s the first out of the oven. Five minutes remaining. She takes hers out first and everybody else is waiting. Then people start taking them out. David takes his out. Michael is like, should I? Should I? Shouldn’t I? Phil says, mine look fig-roll-ish to me. Everybody’s counting. Helena only has eleven somehow.
So, she’s like, how did I do that? One minute left. Oh, also, the…what are those called, the wrists? What are those called? Rainbows on Sandi’s sweater…okay, so, everybody’s starting to assemble and dust. The technical challenge ends. Lots of…let’s say the majority of them look good. Some people’s are small and soft. Some are puffy. Helena’s like, I can’t believe I only did eleven. They say, put it behind whoever’s photograph you want, Sandi says. Then we go through the…I’m not gonna remember everybody’s name. It was the twelve thing…they start off with…wait, I can see…no, I don't. Was that…? Phil; over-baked, but they taste good. Pastry’s nice. Alice, maybe? Look identical, don’t they? Yep. Cakey, crisp, the flavor’s good. Then Henry, maybe? Nice color. A bit small. You get the ginger? Yeah. Then, who’s that?
I don't know. They’re going fast. Now Amelia's…broken up, over-baked. Pastry’s tough, overworked. Priya…this was more like the right shape. Nice, full…nice pastry but strong ginger. Then Rosie? Huh, this is not the same shape. It’s the flavors. No cinnamon or ginger. Too dry. Then David; these aren’t flattened. Beautiful, though. Plenty of filling. Delicious. Then Helena’s…they say there’s a issue with that one. There’s only eleven, too, and this is the least of the problems. This is not a fig roll. Then they say that Jamie’s looks like a sausage roll. They’re very neat…tough. Flat and uneven. See how rough it is? Needed longer. That’s Helena, may…? Oh no, it’s…I don't know. I lost track of everybody at this point. I’m still learning, you know. Good spice for somebody…over-flavored.
Then they go back and they keep trying them to see which ones they like best. Twelfth-place; Helena. Eleven; Jamie. Ten; Steven? That can’t be right. There’s no one named Steven, is there? There’s Jamie…Steph. Then Amelia, Michelle…Priya; seventh. Henry; sixth. Rosie; fifth. Michael; fourth. Phil comes in third. They’re like, do you like fig rolls? He goes, no. Over-baked slightly…David is second and Alice comes in first. Then we go back to the talking heads. Third I’ll take…Jamie says, things aren’t looking good. Amelia’s like, oh boy, I gotta finish strong. Helena says, yeah, I really gotta do really well at this next one. So, we get the showstopper, and for the showstopper it is a edible 3D biscuit sculpture. You gotta shape and texture. Four hours. So, I guess this one is like…not a cake, though. It’s a biscuit sculpture.
So, it’s…'cause it’s made from biscuits and not cakes, I guess. So, the camera goes through…I don't know if we saw a walk-in for Day 2. Oh, Amelia has a Flavortown Fieri-style shirt on, too, which I thought was cool. Paul’s hands are in his pockets. I think that’s his…one of his signature things. Treat your biscuit dough as a sculpture would treat clay…Michelangelo dough. They say, what…are you rapping, Noel? Different shapes, textures, and thicknesses of biscuits combine together to be a stunning 3D sculpture. You have four hours. On your marks, get set, bake. So, they go to work. They get…you get your butter-mixing…Michael’s nervous. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. But it better be good, Jamie says. Helena’s like, I gotta get this. I can’t panic otherwise I’m gonna be out.
Prue says, this is a jolly challenge, technically difficult, so you’re gonna have to be really creative. Paul talks about putting the flavor…structurally sound…you’re gonna use a shortbread or gingerbread, maybe? ‘Cause that’s more structurally stable. It’s gotta look amazing, but this is a baking competition, Prue says. If it doesn’t taste good, I don't care what it looks like. They go to Helena first. They say, tell us about your sculpture. She’s making a web-based being. They say, that doesn’t sound delicious. Shortbread, egg, lemon zest, Earl Grey shortbread with tea right out of the teabag. Then Steph is making something cuddly, a cat named Ginge, a ginger cat. Play on words…Steph's Ginger the cat with brandy snap tail, nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon…a lot of ginger. She says, if they don’t like the ginger, I don't care.
Amelia’s working on lemon, cardamom, pistachio, coconut…so, everybody’s putting their biscuits in, working their doughs. It can’t be crumbly. Mixing…mixers are trying…the larger you go, the sturdier it’ll have to be. Rosie’s making a big chicken. Spicy gingerbread, spicy chicken…tough, independent chicken that they…with 288…212 biscuits. Very ambitious, but something…doing well in the other ones made me relaxed. Phil’s also doing a tortoise named Tina that him and his sister had. Tortoise has already passed on, Tina the tortoise. Citrus, cherry peel, almonds, brandy snap…could you take it for a walk? Said, maybe a skateboard ride. Say, well, what’s the thing? It lived a full life. So, they’re talking tortoises.
A new podcast; Tortoise Notes, things interesting…would you make it for tortoises or people who work with…torti? Things interesting to torti? Michael’s making Hamish the cow, a Highland cow, with chili in it, five teaspoons of chili, with a real kick, fiery. Michael has a shirt on…kinda like eighties neon. Priya’s making the Beast of Rocky Mountain; orange, cinnamon, chat biscuits. Michelle’s also doing a dragon. So, no pressure. Then I say, yours is gonna be better than mine, Priya. Michelle’s is a Welsh dragon; cardamon macroons, macroons, pistachio…her rugby team is the Scarlets. So, doing it for Wales. Body of the chicken is gonna be gingerbread for Rosie. Priya’s doing her wings. Gotta get everything in the oven, you know? Steph; a head of ginger…chocolate biscuits for Michael that bake on the gingerbread.
Oh, interesting. Phil hopes his tortoise shell holds. Equally essential are the biscuit decorations, the smaller pieces. So, they start working on those. Time pressure’s on. Henry’s up. What are you doing, Henry? He’s making an organ. Paul has to go on a thing about that, a whole joke tangent. But it’s a chapel organ with almond sweets, but Paul says…he keeps making jokes about it. He says, thanks for talking about the organ with me. Jamie’s making a guitar, 'cause I play the guitar. Various parts…the thing with the strings, the bridge, the neck, Sandi says. Chocolate gingerbread and then a lemon biscuit. He says, that went well yesterday. This is a different recipe, though, so it should be a bit better. Everybody’s measuring stuff out. Now, David…is that David…right?
Yeah, he’s doing something a little more classy, like wedding flowers. They should be out of this world. Fennel, lime, caraway. Citrusy, Prue says. Yeah, citrus first and then the spice and fragrance. I hope you can pull it off. Then Amelia starts working on piping…sea-style. She’s doing a swimming dolphin with a kid. Viennese whirl cream, orange extract, lemon shortbread. Just don’t want to run out of time. But she’s pressing assembly numbers into her biscuits, which is really smart; 1A, 2A, 12A. I thought that was brilliant. Sandi has a Noel mask on, so there’s not much time left…gingerbread wings out of the oven. Monumental test…uniform bake…we’ll find out. This is where the skill meets the road or whatever.
People are running around…different batches of biscuits…limbs out, ears, feathers…cardamom biscuits…ten minutes and check. Florentines for Phil. A lot of brandy strap. Macroons are…so, Alice is doing a New Zealand lamb in a shortbread pen. A cute lamb, like a cartoon one. Chocolate biscuits, coconut lime wool…so, then they’re talking wool and perspective and distance, Noel says. Then Noel says, I’m a bumblebee. I can’t see depth. Alice says, listen, I got…I don't have anything to say to that. I gotta work on the stuff. So, he kinda stumps her. She’s doing some building of the fences. People are starting to do their construction. Risky bits…like, if the tortoise shell didn’t come through for Phil, he’d be toast.
Caramel getting made…assembly is the hardest part 'cause you gotta kinda glue everything together. So, everybody’s using…a lot of people are using caramel. Some people are using frosting. Amelia’s got blue frosting. Alice has white frosting 'cause it’s a sheep, and she’s working on putting it together. Rosie’s using some sort of caramel; so is Steph. Henry takes his stuff out of the oven and it unfortunately falls apart, but…he says, oh no, I might be stuffed. Then everybody’s…yeah, more putting it together…different sugar glues…then Sandi makes organ jokes, two more organ jokes, with Henry. Everybody’s…people are trying to laugh. You start to see really bright colors, especially with the two dragons, like yellows, blues. Priya’s are in blues. But yeah, they’re saying, are you putting it together yet?
Then Michael’s having trouble with his assembly. He really gets down. That’s not…maybe he did…he says, it’s gonna look messy. It’s not coming together. Priya gives him a hug. She goes, come on, you can do it. Then Sandi says, you can do this, and he says, I can't. She says, I said you can do this. You can do it. A half-hour left. A lot…this is when we see all the brandy snap, which I know I’ve had before. It seems delicious. I think it’s…I don't know what it’s called here. Maybe it’s called brandy snap. There’s decorating, there’s piping, there’s sealing going on, and then we start to see what David’s working on…is very classy. Oh, spun sugar for Helena, and yeah, a lot of decorative stuff. But yeah, David’s is going for simple class, elegant, I would say. Henry’s stained glass windows of rock candy, maybe…?
Everything’s looking good. Yeah, it’s really a delicious challenge. Amelia’s trying to pipe hair on the version of her riding the dolphin or swimming with the dolphin. Henry’s piping music notes. People are working on their faces and stuff of their characters and trying to get them to stay together. The neck of Jamie’s guitar has to be propped up, which makes sense. Yeah, now you’re getting everybody trying to…sighing, stressing. Oh, my days…when they say, step away, everybody’s like, holy cow. But the sheep…there’s a lot of them that look really good. Even Jamie’s guitar, it looks like a guitar and it looks like it would taste good. Then we have everybody sitting, and they say, bring up your showstoppers. David, do you need a hand? He says, no, I can get it. Noel says, 'cause you got those great muscles.
His is wedding spray…they say, beautiful work. Amazing. Skillful decoration. Beautifully done. Very delicate. They start crunching on it and Prue says, delicious. Really, fennel and citrus work together. It’s amazing. Nice snap. You really thought it through. Excellent, David. Well done. Excellent. Then Michael’s up. They say, yours looks great. Ingenious. Some chili…just a little bit of chili. They say, oh boy, there’s a lot of chili. Prue has to inhale…under-baked, though. It’s gone soft. The heat coming through is great. Then they say Henry’s…they were a little disappointed that it’s kinda simple. No keyboard. The lid’s closed. Then they say, okay, Henry…then they do the brandy snap first. It’s crunchy, crisp, but a bit too thick. Flavors are delicious, but your stuff’s too thick. You could have done better. Then Steph’s up.
They say, very clever cat gingerbread house, kind of. They start with the ear. Nice and thin. Beautiful snap. Kick of ginger at the end. Slightly over-baked, though. They go to Phil. Very clever curved legs on the tortoise. I like how it goes along. Sandi loves…Prue does a tortoise impression. It made her day. Paul’s like, I’d like to see more color on the Florentines. Needed to be in the oven…done…way under-done. It’s too bad. They go to Amelia's. They want…the dolphin’s too simple, and…disappointed…Prue says, you stacked things instead of building it like it was clay. That’s what we asked for. But nice snap, baked well. Could carry more flavor, Paul says. Amelia nods. Didn’t blow my mind. Okay. Oof. Amelia takes hers.
She does have…she represent Flavortown, though, so she says, I did my best. Rosie…a celebration of Legs the chicken. Looks incredible. Stunning, Prue says. They love the biscuits which taste great. Very delicate. Very good. Gingerbread’s soft, so…and they say, that’s too bad. Needed longer in the oven. Fascinating, though, artistically fantastic. It’s a triumph. You’re a clever vet, Prue says. Then they got Priya. They say, elegant, exquisite piping. A work of art. Color’s lovely. Prue takes a bite. A little disappointing, though, on the chat biscuit. Tough. Should be delicate. The look of it’s good, though, but this is style and substance. We need both. They go to Michelle’s, who has a flip problem. They say, this looks clumsy.
Ran out of time, yeah. They say, tell me about the ingredients. Pistachio, cardamom, lemon zest, and coconut. They start chewing at it and Prue says, this is one of the most interesting biscuits I’ve ever tasted. Delicious. Packed with flavor, Paul says. The texture’s beautiful. You’ve done Wales proud. So, then we go to Alice. Looks great. She says, thank you. Very small…big sheep in a small field. Very sweet. Macaroons look fantastic, taste great. Coconut and…white chocolate and coconut come through. We cut from…we see an Amelia shot there, and a Helena shot. Breaks down beautifully…well-baked. Love the whole sculpture. It’s funny and a fine piece of work. Thank you so much. Then Jamie goes. They say, well, it looks like a guitar, but very simple. Thick and clumsy. Too much icing. Piping’s not the best. Ouch.
But then they bite into it, I think…no, that’s when we go to a focus-pull to Amelia there. Beautiful biscuit, though. Light lemon flavor coming through. So, biscuit’s delicious. Decoration’s not bad. I like the color; just clumsy. They say, you could have done better. Then we have Helena’s web-based being. Very sculptural, they say. Superb. Impressive. Prue takes a bite. Earl Grey is interesting. Leaves in the shortbread…never would have thought of that, but it works. They bite it. They say, this is nice and bitter. Beautiful. Very interesting. They give it to Noel as a pet, almost. Everybody laughs and they say, overall, great job. Artistic flair…magical. Then we have a talking head sequence, one more shot of Jamie looking stressed, people trying to smile. Helena’s euphoric, but…I got sweaty palms, still. I’m worried.
Jamie was happy with…that the shortbread was good, but it could have gone better. It’s just the pressure of the tent. They haven’t seen me at my best and now it’s out of my hands. Amelia’s like, I’m disappointed. This could be trouble for me. What if they have…they vote two people out? That’d make it worse for me. So, they show everybody thinking. They do a lot of focus-pulling on that, which is cool. Now it’s decision time. Who will be Star Baker? Who will be asked to leave? Sandi says, I never thought I’d say, what about that chicken? Amazing. Powerful. So, Rosie’s doing well overall. Some people excelled. David; showstopper was amazing. Those flowers…Alice…made me laugh. Well-baked. So, those are the Star Bakers, and then Helena saved…she did so well, and that’s kinda how a showstopper works, huh?
You can go up, you can go down. Amelia could be in trouble. She struggled. Biscuits aren’t her thing. Jamie; eleventh in the technical, not good in the signature, and then clumsy-looking showstopper. Either one of those could go, or two, Sandi says. They say, oh yeah, or two. Then Noel says, could we go? She says, okay. Then we get shots of the bakers. Sandi says, well done. Week 2 is done now. Now she goes, it’s not gonna be a surprise at all who Star Baker is. So, they nail…they came in first place in every single challenge, so the Star Baker is Alice. Everybody claps. There’s some smiling. Alice is clearly relieved. Noel says, well, I got the job of announcing the other side.
They zoom, and the person who’s leaving us…so, they do say person…and they switch back and forth between Amelia and Jamie with slow zooms, and they say, Jamie, sorry, mate. They nod. Everybody starts hugging one another. Amelia’s relieved. A lot of big hugs. Jamie’s like, yeah, mixed emotions. I’m gutted, but proud of myself for what I’ve done. A lot of genuine hugs here. They say…Paul says, don’t stop baking, man. He says, it’s a great experience. I don’t want it to end. I’ll miss everybody. He gets teary-eyed. Helena says…she goes, what a bittersweet moment. She goes, Jamie has to leave, but she’s also…I’m also relieved. Amelia’s kinda like…through to next week. Now I’m determined to do better and prove I’m good enough to be here. Alice says, I can't believe it. I’m Star Baker.
Thank you so much. She hugs Prue. She’s laughing. I’m happy. Over the moon. She calls two people who are eating salad. She goes, I got Star Baker and you’re on speakerphone. They say, we’re eating salad, which is kinda funny 'cause it’s like, you’re not on FaceTime. They say, oh my goodness, I got salad in my teeth. That’s how it ends; oh darling. So, another really good episode. Great cast and a lot of good hugging and loving, so that’s all we could ask for. So, goodnight, everybody.
END OF RECORDING]
(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)
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Bake Off to Sleep
Jet Lag
https://thetakeout.com/this-diet-helped-me-fight-jet-lag-1835246983
https://www.godsavethepoints.com/anti-jet-lag-diet-cia-travel-tips/
GBBO S10/C7 E2
https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/the-great-british-baking-show-season-10-episode-2-recap.html
https://ew.com/recap/the-great-british-baking-show-season-10-episode-2/
Ruby Chocolate
https://fooddrinklife.com/what-is-ruby-chocolate/
https://americasrestaurant.com/ruby-chocolate-taste/
https://www.santabarbarachocolate.com/blog/what-is-ruby-chocolate/
Fig Newton
https://www.thoughtco.com/fig-newton-history-1991793
https://www.mashed.com/1005894/the-untold-truth-of-fig-newtons/
https://www.thedailymeal.com/1282058/ultimate-history-guide-fig-newtons/
DOWN TO BUSINESS
Shoutout to the Beautiful Baked Listeners
Alliteration? I loathe it
Deep Dark Night United
Daryl (SleepPhones)
PLUGS
Hand in Hand; The Midnight Mission; Trevor Project; Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Emily Tat Artwork; NAPAWF; Anti-Racism Resources; Ukraine Relief; Crisis Textline
SPONSORS
Wild Health; Hello Fresh; Polysleep; Odoo; Helix Sleep; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive
INTRO
Thoughts about the Pesky Pole
Thanks to the listener who filled me in on the Pesky Pole
Feelings, oh boy are they there
The Lows of the Road
Why can’t there be 24 shifts? Huh?
I’m just blue skying shift thoughts
I get so many emails about strong feelings in first-time listens
I’ll talk and you don’t have to pay any attention
Don’t worry, the podcast is over an hour
You can do whatever wind down activity you like
STORY
Biscuits Week
Biscuits Jenga
Spoiler alert, glue is the secret
Noel has 5 o'clock shadow
Both have great sweaters this episode
Alice had some wild dreams because of Biscuit Stress
Chocolate Biscuit Bars
Show off your personality in biscuit form
Jamie talks about practice
Rosie makes dog biscuits, because she’s a bet
Chocolate is gonna make these biscuits harder to make
Prue’s yellow coat is the perfect color of yellow
A purple scarf
Glasses that are a different shade of purple
Then neon orange earrings
What an outfit!
It needs time to cool so the chocolate doesn’t melt
Henry looks like an American schoolboy, he’s dressed to the nines
Henry plays the church organ so he can pay for school
Ooh, popping candy in there
Steph is aiming for sophistication
Steph is making chocolate caramel macchiato biscuit bars
Michael is making a family recipe from Perthshire
Michael plays music with his family
Scottish shortbread based on a gin he likes
Rosie is making mojitos
Virgin Mojito Biscuit Bar
Mint Marshmallow
Jamie is making Millionaire Shortbread with sour cherry
Jamie loves rocking out with his twin Alex
Amelia is making ground pistachio to her crumbly biscuit
Helena is making Lady Witchbeard Fingers
She likes jewelry and used to be a professional poker player??
Michelle is making something traditional – Chai Bakewell Bar
Alice has a New Zealand influence
Peanut Slab Mallow Puff Hokie Cokie Bar
She’s in the junior cadet navy??
Alice forgot to turn her oven on!
Sandi massages Noel with a rolling pin
It’s hard to tell when green witch’s fingers are done
Phil makes fudge
Nice sweaters all around
David is making his with nougat
David is a health advisor
Coconutty Chocolate Bars w/ nougat in the middle
Amelia is using rose syrup – don’t do too much
What is a kickabout?
Turkish Nougat Inspired (TNI)
Phil – Shortbread, White chocolate bar
Phil drives a truck and brings baked goods to his motorcycle club
Jamie’s aren’t done cooling
Perfectionist Priya Pushing Herself in the Pilates Studio
Ruby Chocolate and Cardamom for Priya
Somebody else’s nougat is too soft
30 minutes left
Assembly Time
Nice feathering from Rosie
Amelia isn’t doing a mold
Jamie’s shortbread is falling apart
Some look great, some don’t
Priya’s didn’t freeze enough
Michelle’s look great
Michelle goes to help Jamie
People are helping people out here
Time’s up
Michelle – very fancy looking, like fruity pebbles, identical, tastes like Bakewell, Prue wants more, exceptional and unique
Amelia – rustic, could’ve been baked more, delicious nougat
Henry – neat, nice shine, mousse needed to set more, ambitious, delicious
David – look messy, sloughed nougat, good taste
Michael – look chunky, but neat, marshmallow isn’t right, good blend of flavors
Steph – fairly neat, uniform, very crumbly because of semolina, flavor too strong
Phil – messy (great purple shirt, though), hard to cut through, sugar rush
Helena – a bit boring, slightly stale flavor (matcha?), very original
Alice – nicely made, good flavor
Priya – a little plain, nice kick of flavor, but too thick
Jamie – caramel was too hot, look like biscuits after an earthquake
Rosie – nice feathering, Prue loves it, beautiful biscuit, very good
A Bird on the Pond
The gingham shroud
Technical Challenge
12 Fig Rolls – 90 minutes
These sound delicious – an elevated fig newton
Is it a biscuit or a cake?
Lightly spiced, please!
Biscuit dough has to balance between caky and crumbly and not over-cooked
Just a hint of spice
Very Simple Instructions
Helena mixes up the 2 types of sugar
Noel is wearing a Dinosaur Jr. sweater
You can always add, but you can’t take away
Rolling sequence
Divide up the dough and pipe the filling
How do they roll it?
Priya has some biscuit in her hair
Don’t bake too long
Jamie puts an egg wash on his
Oven Watching Finger Crossing Sequence
Amelia is the first out of the oven
Helena only has 11 somehow
Assemble & Dust
Most of them look good
Phil – overbaked, good taste, good pastry
Alice – look identical, cakey, crisp good flavor
Henry – nice color, a bit small
Amelia – overbaked
Priya – nice shape, too much ginger
Rosie – not the same shape, not spiced enough
David – flat, but plenty of delicious filling
Helena – this is not a fig roll, only 11
Jamie – looks like sausage roll, flat and uneven
12th place – Helena
11th – Jamie
10 – Steph
Amelia
Michelle
Priya
Henry
Rosie
Michael
Phil is 3rd
David is 2nd
Alice wins the Technical!
Pressure’s on for the showstopper
Showstopper
Edible 3D Biscuit Sculpture
Amelia has a Fieri Fire shirt
Treat the biscuit dough like clay
Michael is nervous
Prue says it’s a jolly challenge
Shortbread and gingerbread are good for structure
It’s good to taste good, though
Helena is making a Web-Based Being out of Earl Grey Shortbread
Steph is making a Cat named Ginger
Amelia is making a lemon cardamom, pistachio, coconut shortbread
Rosie is making an independent chicken sculpture
Phil is doing a Tortoise named Tina
Michael makes Hamish the Highland Cow, with chili in it
Priya – The Beast of Rocky Mountain
Michelle – Welsh dragon sculpture
Rosie’s chicken will be gingerbread
Chocolate biscuits for Michael
Henry is making a chapel organ
Jamie is making a guitar
David – wedding flowers – fennel, lime, and caraway
Amelia is doing a swimming dolphin with a kid
She’s pressing assembly numbers into her biscuit
Sandi wears a Noel mask
Different Batches of Biscuits
Florentines for Phil
Alice is doing a New Zealand Lamb
Talking wool and perspective
Alice doesn’t know what to say to Noel’s jokes
Henry’s fall apart out of the oven
Some serious organ jokes with Henry
Really bright colors! Yellows and blues!
Michael is really having trouble with his assembly
Sandi believes Michael can do it
I think I’ve had brandysnap before
David’s is classy
Helena is spinning a sugar web
Henry – stained glass rock candy windows
Amelia is piping hair
Henry is piping music notes
Jamie’s guitar neck has to be propped up
A lot of these look really good
David – Beautiful, amazing, very delicate, delicious flavors, excellent
Michael – great look, a lot of chili, underbaked and soft
Henry – a little disappointed because it seems simple, brandysnap is too thick, delicious flavors
Steph – very clever, nice and thin, beautiful snap, slightly overbaked
Phil – very clever curved legs on tortoise, way underbaked
Amelia – dolphin is too simple, she stacked instead of building, not mind-blowing
Rosie – Great-looking chicken, great flavor, delicate, a little soft
Priya – elegant, exquisite piping, disappointing chaat flavor
Michelle – it looks clumsy, very interesting flavors
Alice – looks great, great macarons, funny, good
Jamie – looks like a simple guitar, thick and clumsy, too much icing, beautiful biscuit, light flavor
Helena – very sculptural, superb, Earl Grey is interesting, great job, magical
Jamie looks stressed
Helena is euphoric but nervous
Amelia and Jamie are nervous
What if they vote 2 people out?
Judges Check In
Rosie, Alice, David are looking good
Helena saved herself
Amelia and Jamie are at the bottom
Alice is Star Baker!
Jamie is going home
Hug Time
Jamie has mixed emotions, gutted but proud of himself
Alice calls people who are eating salad
A lot of good hugging and loving
PATREON THANKS
Lorraine, Kerry, Stacey, Remus, Kirsten, Adam, Bong, Tom, Ashley, Jonathan, Faldwin, Liam, Theck, Emily, Phoenix, Glenn, Papa, Steven, Emma, Laura, Rishi, Evan, Leigh, Susan, Lily, Chris, Walt, Shauna, Electric Lainey, Susan, Barbara
SUMMARY:
Episode: 1,227
Title: Biscuits Week | Bake Off to Sleep S10/C7 E2
Deep Dark Night United: Daryl (SleepPhones)
Plugs: Hand in Hand; The Midnight Mission; Trevor Project; Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Emily Tat Artwork; NAPAWF; Anti-Racism Resources; Ukraine Relief; Crisis Textline
Sponsors: Wild Health; Hello Fresh; Polysleep; Odoo; Helix Sleep; Air Doctor Pro; Zocdoc; Progressive
Patreon Thanks: Lorraine, Kerry, Stacey, Remus, Kirsten, Adam, Bong, Tom, Ashley, Jonathan, Faldwin, Liam, Theck, Emily, Phoenix, Glenn, Papa, Steven, Emma, Laura, Rishi, Evan, Leigh, Susan, Lily, Chris, Walt, Shauna, Electric Lainey, Susan, Barbara
Notable Language:
- Pesky Pole
- The Lows of the Road
- Biscuit Sweat
- Mint Marshmallow
- Turkish Nougat Inspired (TNI)
- A Bird on the Pond
- The gingham shroud
- Oven Watching Finger Crossing Sequence
- Web-Based Being (WBB)
Notable Culture:
- Great British Bake Off
- Pesky Pole / Fenway Park
- A$AP Rocky
- Fruity Pebbles
- Fig Newton
- Dinosaur
- Guy Fieri
- Tortoisenotes, podcast
Notable Talking Points:
- Thoughts about the Pesky Pole
- Thanks to the listener who filled me in on the Pesky Pole
- Feelings, oh boy are they there
- The Lows of the Road
- Why can’t there be 24 shifts? Huh?
- I’m just blue skying shift thoughts
- I get so many emails about strong feelings in first-time listens
- I’ll talk and you don’t have to pay any attention
- Don’t worry, the podcast is over an hour
- You can do whatever wind down activity you like
- Biscuits Week
- Biscuits Jenga
- Spoiler alert, glue is the secret
- Noel has 5 o'clock shadow
- Both have great sweaters this episode
- Alice had some wild dreams because of Biscuit Stress
- Chocolate Biscuit Bars
- Show off your personality in biscuit form
- Jamie talks about practice
- Rosie makes dog biscuits, because she’s a bet
- Chocolate is gonna make these biscuits harder to make
- Prue’s yellow coat is the perfect color of yellow
- A purple scarf
- Glasses that are a different shade of purple
- Then neon orange earrings
- What an outfit!
- It needs time to cool so the chocolate doesn’t melt
- Henry looks like an American schoolboy, he’s dressed to the nines
- Henry plays the church organ so he can pay for school
- Ooh, popping candy in there
- Steph is aiming for sophistication
- Steph is making chocolate caramel macchiato biscuit bars
- Michael is making a family recipe from Perthshire
- Michael plays music with his family
- Scottish shortbread based on a gin he likes
- Rosie is making mojitos
- Virgin Mojito Biscuit Bar
- Mint Marshmallow
- Jamie is making Millionaire Shortbread with sour cherry
- Jamie loves rocking out with his twin Alex
- Amelia is making ground pistachio to her crumbly biscuit
- Helena is making Lady Witchbeard Fingers
- She likes jewelry and used to be a professional poker player??
- Michelle is making something traditional – Chai Bakewell Bar
- Alice has a New Zealand influence
- Peanut Slab Mallow Puff Hokie Cokie Bar
- She’s in the junior cadet navy??
- Alice forgot to turn her oven on!
- Sandi massages Noel with a rolling pin
- It’s hard to tell when green witch’s fingers are done
- Phil makes fudge
- Nice sweaters all around
- David is making his with nougat
- David is a health advisor
- Coconutty Chocolate Bars w/ nougat in the middle
- Amelia is using rose syrup – don’t do too much
- What is a kickabout?
- Turkish Nougat Inspired (TNI)
- Phil – Shortbread, White chocolate bar
- Phil drives a truck and brings baked goods to his motorcycle club
- Jamie’s aren’t done cooling
- Perfectionist Priya Pushing Herself in the Pilates Studio
- Ruby Chocolate and Cardamom for Priya
- Somebody else’s nougat is too soft
- 30 minutes left
- Assembly Time
- Nice feathering from Rosie
- Amelia isn’t doing a mold
- Jamie’s shortbread is falling apart
- Some look great, some don’t
- Priya’s didn’t freeze enough
- Michelle’s look great
- Michelle goes to help Jamie
- People are helping people out here
- Time’s up
- Michelle – very fancy looking, like fruity pebbles, identical, tastes like Bakewell, Prue wants more, exceptional and unique
- Amelia – rustic, could’ve been baked more, delicious nougat
- Henry – neat, nice shine, mousse needed to set more, ambitious, delicious
- David – look messy, sloughed nougat, good taste
- Michael – look chunky, but neat, marshmallow isn’t right, good blend of flavors
- Steph – fairly neat, uniform, very crumbly because of semolina, flavor too strong
- Phil – messy (great purple shirt, though), hard to cut through, sugar rush
- Helena – a bit boring, slightly stale flavor (matcha?), very original
- Alice – nicely made, good flavor
- Priya – a little plain, nice kick of flavor, but too thick
- Jamie – caramel was too hot, look like biscuits after an earthquake
- Rosie – nice feathering, Prue loves it, beautiful biscuit, very good
- A Bird on the Pond
- The gingham shroud
- Technical Challenge
- 12 Fig Rolls – 90 minutes
- These sound delicious – an elevated fig newton
- Is it a biscuit or a cake?
- Lightly spiced, please!
- Biscuit dough has to balance between caky and crumbly and not over-cooked
- Just a hint of spice
- Very Simple Instructions
- Helena mixes up the 2 types of sugar
- Noel is wearing a Dinosaur Jr. sweater
- You can always add, but you can’t take away
- Rolling sequence
- Divide up the dough and pipe the filling
- How do they roll it?
- Priya has some biscuit in her hair
- Don’t bake too long
- Jamie puts an egg wash on his
- Oven Watching Finger Crossing Sequence
- Amelia is the first out of the oven
- Helena only has 11 somehow
- Assemble & Dust
- Most of them look good
- Phil – overbaked, good taste, good pastry
- Alice – look identical, cakey, crisp good flavor
- Henry – nice color, a bit small
- Amelia – overbaked
- Priya – nice shape, too much ginger
- Rosie – not the same shape, not spiced enough
- David – flat, but plenty of delicious filling
- Helena – this is not a fig roll, only 11
- Jamie – looks like sausage roll, flat and uneven
- 12th place – Helena
- 11th – Jamie
- 10 – Steph
- Amelia
- Michelle
- Priya
- Henry
- Rosie
- Michael
- Phil is 3rd
- David is 2nd
- Alice wins the Technical!
- Pressure’s on for the showstopper
- Showstopper
- Edible 3D Biscuit Sculpture
- Amelia has a Fieri Fire shirt
- Treat the biscuit dough like clay
- Michael is nervous
- Prue says it’s a jolly challenge
- Shortbread and gingerbread are good for structure
- It’s good to taste good, though
- Helena is making a Web-Based Being out of Earl Grey Shortbread
- Steph is making a Cat named Ginger
- Amelia is making a lemon cardamom, pistachio, coconut shortbread
- Rosie is making an independent chicken sculpture
- Phil is doing a Tortoise named Tina
- Michael makes Hamish the Highland Cow, with chili in it
- Priya – The Beast of Rocky Mountain
- Michelle – Welsh dragon sculpture
- Rosie’s chicken will be gingerbread
- Chocolate biscuits for Michael
- Henry is making a chapel organ
- Jamie is making a guitar
- David – wedding flowers – fennel, lime, and caraway
- Amelia is doing a swimming dolphin with a kid
- She’s pressing assembly numbers into her biscuit
- Sandi wears a Noel mask
- Different Batches of Biscuits
- Florentines for Phil
- Alice is doing a New Zealand Lamb
- Talking wool and perspective
- Alice doesn’t know what to say to Noel’s jokes
- Henry’s fall apart out of the oven
- Some serious organ jokes with Henry
- Really bright colors! Yellows and blues!
- Michael is really having trouble with his assembly
- Sandi believes Michael can do it
- I think I’ve had brandysnap before
- David’s is classy
- Helena is spinning a sugar web
- Henry – stained glass rock candy windows
- Amelia is piping hair
- Henry is piping music notes
- Jamie’s guitar neck has to be propped up
- A lot of these look really good
- David – Beautiful, amazing, very delicate, delicious flavors, excellent
- Michael – great look, a lot of chili, underbaked and soft
- Henry – a little disappointed because it seems simple, brandysnap is too thick, delicious flavors
- Steph – very clever, nice and thin, beautiful snap, slightly overbaked
- Phil – very clever curved legs on tortoise, way underbaked
- Amelia – dolphin is too simple, she stacked instead of building, not mind-blowing
- Rosie – Great-looking chicken, great flavor, delicate, a little soft
- Priya – elegant, exquisite piping, disappointing chaat flavor
- Michelle – it looks clumsy, very interesting flavors
- Alice – looks great, great macarons, funny, good
- Jamie – looks like a simple guitar, thick and clumsy, too much icing, beautiful biscuit, light flavor
- Helena – very sculptural, superb, Earl Grey is interesting, great job, magical
- Jamie looks stressed
- Helena is euphoric but nervous
- Amelia and Jamie are nervous
- What if they vote 2 people out?
- Judges Check In
- Rosie, Alice, David are looking good
- Helena saved herself
- Amelia and Jamie are at the bottom
- Alice is Star Baker!
- Jamie is going home
- Hug Time
- Jamie has mixed emotions, gutted but proud of himself
- Alice calls people who are eating salad
- A lot of good hugging and loving
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