The Great British Bake Off: Recapping season 15 ahead of episode 3

Hazel got eliminated in week 2 of The Great British Bake Off 2024/ Image via Instagram @britishbakeoff
Hazel got eliminated in week 2 of The Great British Bake Off 2024/ Image via Instagram @britishbakeoff

The Great British Bake Off premiered season 15 on September 24, on Channel 4 for British fans. The baking series first started in 2010, and it has been more than a decade since it created its unique fan base. Netflix is the streaming partner of the show for American fans and releases a fresh episode every Friday starting from September 27.

Season 15 welcomed 12 non-professional home-based bakers who either started baking as a pastime or a family tradition to carry forward. The bakers of the show are given three baking challenges namely, Signature Challenge, Technical Challenge, and Showstopper Challenge every week. The contestant who stands out in all three challenges is awarded the 'Star Baker' of the Week by Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith.

Season 15 is hosted by Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, and released two episodes so far. The theme of the Week 1 challenge was 'Illusion Cakes', where bakers had to fake a cake design and make it as real as possible.

The Star Baker of Week 1 was John Mincher, who created a Denim look-alike cake. Week 2 threw the contestants on a journey of creating a puppet theatre but with biscuits. Sumayah won all the challenges taking the badge of Star Baker for Week 2.


What happened in The Great British Bake Off Season 15 so far?

With two episodes out, The Great British Bake Off 2024 has given its fans some major moments of thrill already. Be it larger-than-life bakes and challenges or contestants giving their all to excel in the weekly challenges, the show has been nothing short of entertainment.

Besides watching these home bakers make delicious and back-breaking sweet treats for the judges, the show also serves fans with moments of laughter, emotions, and creativity.

In these two weeks, contestants have gone through two challenges and one elimination round. Week 1 had no elimination, but Jeff, one of the bakers, got severely sick and had to leave in the middle of the technical challenge. He appeared for the Week 2 'Biscuit Week' but had to withdraw from the competition for health reasons.

In Week 1 of The Great British Bake Off, the 'Cake Week' had three challenges as per the format. For the Signature Challenge, bakers had to make a loaf cake, which must have a perfect rise along with taste and texture.

For the technical round, judges introduced 'taste and bake,' where bakers were given a few minutes to taste the mini Battenberg cake and identify the ingredients and process.

Georgie won the technical round by coming the closest to the sample given by the judges. The showstopper round increased the difficulty level for the bakers by challenging them to create a hyper-realistic cake. John won the Week 1 Star Baker award for his consistent efforts and creativity.

Week 2 of The Great British Bake Off, Biscuit Week, posed demanding challenges that ranged from creating the perfect Viennese wheel to mint cream biscuits and, lastly, an edible puppet theatre.

The bakers created different variations of Viennese wheel biscuits by adding their twists. For the technical round, the bakers had to make thin biscuits with mint cream in them, keeping the texture in mind. Mike came out on top by achieving the texture and thickness demanded by the judges.

For the last showstopper round, the challenge was creating an edible puppet theatre made up of biscuits. Here is the list of bakes made by contestants:

  • Nelly’s ‘Forest Dance’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • Christiaan’s ‘Finding Home’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • Sumayah’s ‘Enchanted Garden’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • Dylan’s ‘Rabbit In The Moon’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • Mike’s ‘Go Farming’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • John’s ‘Welsh Adventure’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • Andy’s ‘If Pigs Could Fly’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • Gill’s ‘The Gingerbread Man’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • Hazel’s ‘Punch And Judy’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • Georgie’s ‘Welsh Festival’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre
  • Illiyin’s ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ Biscuit Puppet Theatre

Sumayah won the Star Baker for Week 2, and Hazel was eliminated from The Great British Bake Off 2024.


Episode 3 of The Great British Bake Off Season 15 will air on October 8 at 8 pm ET on Channel 4. Netflix releases a fresh episode every Friday for the US audiences.

comment icon
Comment
Edited by Sezal Srivastava