A tougher Technical challenge left some viewers questioning whether it was needed
The Great British Bake Off marked autumn’s near-arrival when it returned to screens on Tuesday, but a new feature introduced in the series debut episode left many viewers calling for a change.
Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith were back to oversee a new batch of hopeful bakers, but not long into the episode, a major change was confirmed.
The Channel 4 competition moved from the BBC in 2017, but has largely followed the same format since the show debuted in 2010.
Each week focuses on a different theme, with three challenges in each: The Signature, Technical and Showstopper.
View this post on Instagram
However, as the 12 new bakers were getting stuck into the competition in the iconic tent, they were informed the Technical challenge would now have an added layer of difficulty.
Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond announced during Cake Week that the Technical would now have no recipe provided, with bakers relying on taste alone to create a tricky bake.
Mr Fielding explained: “In a change from the norm, this is a taste and bake challenge. Under your gingham cloth is the perfect mini Battenburg.
“You’ll have five minutes to inspect your Battenburg, then you’ll have to recreate that with no recipe.”
View this post on Instagram
The contestants were concerned by the added pressure of the task, with many fans also complaining online.
“It’s the first week & they’ve been well harsh to them #GBBO,” one wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“First week and no recipe at all for the technical?! Harsh! #GBBO,” another agreed.
“Seems a very harsh technical. Especially for week 1 #gbbo,” someone else wrote.
Quoting one of the judges’ criticisms, another penned: “‘Why did you add a completely different flavour in there? WHY DID YOU GIVE THEM DIFFERENT FLAVOURS?!?! On a technical!!! Super cruel week 1 technical. #GBBO.”
“‘These poor bakers, that’s putting it lightly. They’ve been through enough after the technical & now the landscape cake showstopper challenge too. And this is only week 1… #GBBO,” another shared.
Someone else commented: “#GBBO no recipe thing was a nonsense too. You’re not testing technical skills properly, you’re asking for guesswork and then criticising guesswork.”
“This is such a stupid technical challenge. Don’t give them no recipe and purposefully give them the wrong ingredients if you don’t want them to use them. It’s setting the bakers up for failure #GBBO,” one more added.
Hassan became the first baker to leave the tent in Tuesday’s Great British Bake Off
| CHANNEL 4
However, some praised the decision, with one adding: “Oooh that’s a harsh technical for week one… I love it! #GBBO.”
Despite it being the opening episode of the series, one baker was eliminated at the end.
Noel Fielding, Alison Hammond, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith returned to screens on Tuesday
| CHANNEL 4
Chemistry graduate Hassan became the first to be eliminated, and while disappointed, he took the news gracefully.
“I think I am a bit upset, but I did expect it,” he admitted. “Everyone is such a phenomenal baker; they are all such lovely people.
“And even though it’s been a short-lived experience, I have enjoyed it. Hopefully I can reflect on some things and then maybe get back to baking when I get a chance.”
News
The Scent Bridge
On the afternoon Rory disappeared, the light in Ashby Park had the soft gold of early October, the kind that made even the worn benches look forgiving. Eli Turner had always loved that hour. The city relaxed in it….
The Dog They Called a Monster
Prologue Before the town of Marlow learned his heart, they knew him only by his size. They knew the breadth of his chest when he stood in the middle of Hollow Street and forced pickup trucks to slow around him….
The Dog Knew First
Chapter One By the time the patrol lights came on behind Hannah Cole, the sky over Route 47 had already gone from steel blue to bruised purple. She checked the mirror once, then again, her pulse skipping in the strange…
Where He Buried the Evidence
By the time the patrol lights came on behind me, dusk had already flattened the world into strips of blue and black. I checked the rearview mirror once, then again, the way people do when they know they have…
He Waited 731 Days
Chapter One The Card on Kennel Twelve By the time the shelter opened each morning, Lena Morales had already changed the number on Rex’s kennel card. Day 729. Day 730. Day 731. She peeled yesterday’s square of white tape…
They Called Him “Too Broken” to Be Loved
I found Gunner at 2:15 in the morning because pregnancy had turned sleep into a rumor. By the seventh month, my body had become a country of strange laws. I was hungry at midnight, crying at detergent commercials, too hot…
End of content
No more pages to load
