‘The Great British Bake Off’ Made a Mistake Last Week

(spoilers for episode three of The Great British Baking Show)

Season 15 of The Great British Baking Show (labeled as collection 12 for U.S. Netflix viewers) has been off to a rollicking start with twelve solid bakers and just enough non-manufactured drama to make people sit up in their seats, e.g. the abrupt departure of the tent’s first American, Jeff, due to illness, and Illiyin fainting in the tent. Episode three, which aired this weekend here in the U.S., ushered in ‘Bread Week’ with a series of reasonably difficult baking-centered challenges—the memory of disastrous stunt challenges of previous seasons are still fresh enough that seeing a Technical Challenge revolve around replicating Paul’s intricate seven-strand plait is a blessed relief. After all the bakes were completed and judged, it was first-week Star Baker John who left the tent after a bad week made him tumble to the bottom despite his initial success —a fair decision that says more about the overall quality of this season’s contestants than his baking abilities.

Yet I finished this episode feeling miffed. Although the right contestant was sent home, when it came time to announce who had won Star Baker for the week, the name said aloud wasn’t the name I had anticipated. Is Dylan, the individual who was awarded Star Baker this week, great at bread? Definitely. He’s a gifted baker, especially considering his young age (20 years old!), and without a doubt a lead contender for Star Baker. However, I maintain that the title should have gone to Nelly.

Nelly, a self-taught baker who originally hails from Slovakia (with the charming accent to go with it), is potentially one of this season’s upper-tier bakers, thanks to her consistency and familiarity with a broad spectrum of flavors. Between this and her bread technique, I was sure she was a lock for Star Baker. When Dylan’s name was announced, I had to go back and rewatch the episode because how close was it really?

Yes, Dylan’s gochujang and garlic buns, along with that undeniably fantastic crust he managed to achieve, did earn him the coveted Paul Hollywood Handshake—brief aside: am I the only one surprised that Paul has only just now encountered gochujang? Admittedly, it’s a staple in my house, but I was under the impression that the condiment had reached peak popularity at this point—in the Signature Bake, whereas Nelly’s veggie curry-filled buns received an admittedly tepid, “it works,” from Paul. But the Technical Challenge? That was all Nelly. She handily won this round with her stellar plaiting and bake, and the judges’ praise was well-deserved (“It’s very hard for me to take compliments, ‘cause all my life, I wasn’t good enough.” Nelly, I’m going to hug you now!). Dylan, on the other hand, came dead last. Nothing to be ashamed of, considering how challenging it was, but I think it’s fair to consider these two contestants neck and neck for the week at this point.

It comes down to the Showstopper from here.

Nelly’s cornucopia, an onion and potato bread deemed “spectacular” by Paul, was accompanied by two different buns filled with either poppy seed orange filling (enough poppy seed to completely tank a drug test), which earned praise for both flavor and bread quality from Paul and Prue, or a sweet cheese with cinnamon and lemon draped with a butter walnut crumble. Dylan’s cat-inspired cornucopia was excellent to look at and paired with mini amaretto crème pat doughnuts, generously sized maple bacon cinnamon knots, and a loaf paired with the deeply stylish addition of a whipped bone marrow dip. All of these received moderate praise, with Paul’s parting compliment, “You’re a decent bread baker, Dylan.”

Perhaps that’s what pushed the final judges’ decision over the edge. Maybe it’s on me for forgetting that Brits liberally wield the art of the understatement, and what Paul really meant was “you just won this entire damn week.” But from where I’m sitting, it’s 2-1 for Nelly as far as bread week goes. It was nice to see self-professed bread fan Dylan’s pride over winning this week, but I feel a bit robbed of seeing what would have undoubtedly been outright jubilation from Nelly had she won. I wouldn’t count her out for winning the title eventually, but I can’t help but feel like she was a bit robbed this week. This will likely be a source of debate but really, is it a season of Bake Show without us disputing a decision?

Each new episode of The Great British Baking Show collection 12 (as it’s labeled here in the U.S.) is available to stream each Friday on Netflix.

Kaleena Rivera is the TV Editor for Pajiba. She can be found on Bluesky here.