Britain's Best Bakery
Independent bakeries compete in a series of challenges that put their skills to the test in a bid to find the best bakery in Britain.
- 2012-2014
- 2 seasons
- Game Show, Reality
Independent bakeries compete in a series of challenges that put their skills to the test in a bid to find the best bakery in Britain.
Season 2 Episode Guide
30 Episodes 2014
Episode 1
Episode #2.1
46 mins
Independent bakeries compete to impress judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell, beginning in Yorkshire where a contemporary baker goes head to head with a vintage-style cake maker and a Ukrainian bread specialist. Each business is challenged to come up with an original bake using polenta, and produce rhubarb and custard muffins that are good enough to see them through to the regional final.
Episode 2
Episode #2.2
46 mins
Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell visit three bakeries in Northumberland and Co Durham. A Consett-based builder-turned-baker battles against professionals from Darlington and a father-and-son team creating local classics, but the task of rolling up a lemon roulade with home-made lemon curd puts pressure on the contestants.
Episode 3
Episode #2.3
46 mins
Three bakeries from Derbyshire and Staffordshire come under the scrutiny of judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell. A pair of traditional pudding-makers come up against a husband and wife team who are self-taught pie specialists, and two self-sufficient Greek-inspired bakers. They are challenged to create a perfect Bakewell tart - but can they get them ready on time?
Episode 4
Episode #2.4
49 mins
In Scotland, a community bakery goes up against artisan bread-makers in Edinburgh and an Israeli cook in Perthshire who grinds his own flour at a 400-year-old watermill. They must create an original product combining chilli and puff pastry, along with perfecting their brandy snap recipes in the hope of impressing judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell.
Episode 5
Episode #2.5
46 mins
The week's winners go head to head in the Scottish and north-east of England regional final. Temperatures rise as the four bakeries do battle in the kitchen, with Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell scrutinising their every move. The aim is to create an afternoon tea to impress the judges, including a complicated layered hazelnut meringue gateau with hazelnut praline.
Episode 6
Episode #2.6
46 mins
Three Devon-based bakeries try to impress judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell as they compete for a place in the regional final. A former Navy chef presents rum babas, a self-taught artisan baker rustles up some fennel and spinach bread, and a cake specialist prepares puff pastry, before all are challenged to create fudge-frosted choux eclairs.
Episode 7
Episode #2.7
46 mins
Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell visit three bakeries in Somerset and Dorset. Two artisan chefs hope their garlic sourdough will impress and a mother-and-daughter duo create caramelised upside-down apple tarts under the watchful eyes of the judges, while a traditional baker struggles when challenged to incorporate goat's cheese into his food.
Episode 8
Episode #2.8
46 mins
Three Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire bakeries come under the scrutiny of judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell, with two brothers rustling up lardy cakes, an artisan mother-and-son team attempting a Genoise sponge for the first time, and a French patissier taking on a British classic - sausage rolls.
Episode 9
Episode #2.9
46 mins
Independent bakeries compete to impress judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell.
Episode 10
Episode #2.10
46 mins
Four bakeries compete in the south-west England regional final. They will all be aiming to make their mark with a tasty afternoon tea, as they create a two-tiered coffee and walnut cake with buttercream icing against the clock before judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell decide who is the winner.
Episode 11
Episode #2.11
46 mins
Independent bakeries compete to impress judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell.
Episode 12
Episode #2.12
46 mins
The competition arrives in Birmingham, where a Caribbean mother and daughter duo make jerk chicken, a pair of French brothers create a lemongrass dish and two community cupcake bakers cook up some empanadas. With judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell.
Episode 13
Episode #2.13
46 mins
Independent bakeries compete to impress judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell.
Episode 14
Episode #2.14
46 mins
Contestants from the West Midlands compete for a place in the regional final. A house husband makes a smelly scone, a brother-and-sister team creates a cake using root vegetables and a traditional baker gets into a sticky situation when he rustles up caramel apple crumble tart.
Episode 15
Episode #2.15
46 mins
The best of the contenders from Wales and central England battle it out, creating an afternoon tea with a mix of both sweet and savoury items, and attempting a layered lime and coconut cake, all against the clock. Judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell must decide which baker goes through to National Finals week.
Episode 16
Episode #2.16
46 mins
Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell visit three bakers in Lancashire and Merseyside, including a Parisian-inspired patisserie-maker who creates an elaborate fraisier, two pie manufacturers who struggle to produce tea cakes and a pair of cake-makers who are forced to bake their first bread loaf in years.
Episode 17
Episode #2.17
46 mins
Independent bakeries compete to impress judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell.
Episode 18
Episode #2.18
46 mins
Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell challenge two cake-making mothers from Perthshire, a French-style Edinburgh boulangerie and a team of traditional family bakers to create a product that combines pistachio and meringue. They are then asked to prepare Arbroath smokie tarts side by side in the same kitchen.
Episode 19
Episode #2.19
46 mins
Contestants push themselves to the limit in the hope of impressing judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell. A self-taught cake-maker competes against the owners of a traditional shop who have a passion for heritage baking and members of a family-run business from Carlisle. They must all make filo pastry, and then perfect their damson upside-down cakes.
Episode 20
Episode #2.20
46 mins
The four bakeries in the Scotland and north-west England regional final go head to head, facing two tough tasks working side by side in the same kitchen. They attempt an innovative afternoon tea to impress judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell, followed by technically challenging flourless chocolate cake with ganache and berries. Three outfits are eliminated, leaving one to go through.
Episode 21
Episode #2.21
46 mins
As the competition heads to the south-east of England, representatives of three bakeries from East Anglia - a worldly Australian, a Norfolk heritage bread baker, and a quirky pair of siblings - are put through their paces. They are challenged to get creative with enriched dough and spinach, and rustle up 13 lemon meringue pies against the clock.
Episode 22
Episode #2.22
46 mins
Three diverse London establishments go head to head, as they are challenged to make piped orange Viennese biscuits for judges Peter Sidwell and Mich Turner. Taking part are a pair of flamboyant Americans, a Turkish Cypriot and a French pattissiere.
Episode 23
Episode #2.23
46 mins
Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell oversee proceedings as contestants from the Home Counties enter the fray. A perfectionist baker brings precision to the competition, and a British traditionalist makes an impression with his bloomer loaf, while a pair of young cake-makers struggle with their shortcrust pastry.
Episode 24
Episode #2.24
46 mins
Three bakeries from Kent and Sussex compete, including a father-and-son team who cook up some Italian food. A pair of bread gurus take inspiration from the classic dessert Black Forest gateau, and a cupcake-making couple feel the pressure when they are challenged to make some savoury cheese straws.
Episode 25
Episode #2.25
46 mins
The heat winners take their place in the south-east England regional final, working side by side in the same kitchen to create an afternoon tea. The stakes are raised when Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell task the four bakeries with making a challenging orange chiffon cake with Swiss meringue butter cream - and only one can go through to the semi-final.
Episode 26
Episode #2.26
46 mins
The five remaining bakeries create 200 sweet and savoury canapes in three hours, as required for the mass catering challenge. Their efforts are then served at a black tie reception for Henley Festival-goers, and for one hopeful the competition comes to an end.
Episode 27
Episode #2.27
46 mins
The last four semi-finalists fight for the three remaining spots in the grand final. Today's Bespoke Bake challenge is to create an afternoon tea menu for special clients the Chelsea Pensioners - which must include a loaf, a fondant fancy and a Chelsea bun.
Episode 28
Episode #2.28
46 mins
The first of a three-day grand final sees judges Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell upping the stakes for the remaining three bakeries with the Market Challenge. The establishments are challenged to create a range of goods to sell to lunchtime shoppers at London's historic Old Spitalfields Market.
Episode 29
Episode #2.29
46 mins
The three remaining bakeries face the penultimate challenge - the iconic bake. The judges ask them to use all of their ingenuity and creativity to come up with a product that best represents their companies, and can put their regions on the map. However, not everything goes to plan when they are given the chance to shine.
Episode 30
Episode #2.30
46 mins
The search for the champion bakery reaches its climax with the final, featuring the best three outfits from around the country. Their ultimate challenge is to create a wedding cake for a happy couple's special day. Each has proved a worthy contender, but only one can take the title.