The Great British Baking Show
A group of British home bakers are convened for a baking competition. There is a theme to each week's competition, generally in the vein of the type of goods the competitors are to bake (i.e. cakes, cookies, pastry, etc.). Each week, they are given a set amount of time to complete each of three challenges, their finished products which are evaluated by expert judges. The first weekly challenge is the signature bake, the competitors to bake something from their home recipes which are to signify who they are as bakers within the category. The second weekly challenge is the technical challenge, where each of the competitors are provided the same recipe, in large part of something they may have never heard of let alone baked before in their lives. This challenge is to see how knowledgeable the competitors are about general baking concepts. Their finished products are evaluated blind in that the judges have no idea who baked what. The third weekly challenge is the showstopper challenge, in which the competitors are to pull out all the stops to produce a baked good which overall grand appearance is as important as taste. At the end of the week based solely on the three challenges, the judges will name the best competitor star baker, and will send one competitor home, that person whose competition has come to an end. The final three competitors enter into the finale, the winner of that week who will be crowned the overall competition winner.
- Metascore77
- 2010-2026
- 17 seasons
- Netflix
- Game Show, Reality
- TV-PG
A group of British home bakers are convened for a baking competition. There is a theme to each week's competition, generally in the vein of the type of goods the competitors are to bake (i.e. cakes, cookies, pastry, etc.). Each week, they are given a set amount of time to complete each of three challenges, their finished products which are evaluated by expert judges. The first weekly challenge is the signature bake, the competitors to bake something from their home recipes which are to signify who they are as bakers within the category. The second weekly challenge is the technical challenge, where each of the competitors are provided the same recipe, in large part of something they may have never heard of let alone baked before in their lives. This challenge is to see how knowledgeable the competitors are about general baking concepts. Their finished products are evaluated blind in that the judges have no idea who baked what. The third weekly challenge is the showstopper challenge, in which the competitors are to pull out all the stops to produce a baked good which overall grand appearance is as important as taste. At the end of the week based solely on the three challenges, the judges will name the best competitor star baker, and will send one competitor home, that person whose competition has come to an end. The final three competitors enter into the finale, the winner of that week who will be crowned the overall competition winner.
Season 16 Episode Guide
12 Episodes 2025 - 2026
Episode 1
Cake Week
Fri, Sep 5, 2025 67 mins
The bunting has been hung and the tent is up, which can only mean one thing - Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding are back to guide a new batch of amateur bakers through 10 weeks of challenges set by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith. First up is cake week, in which the hopefuls must produce a Swiss roll with an inlay design, work out how to make fondant fancies in the technical and serve up a stunning landscape cake in the showstopper round.
Episode 2
Biscuit Week
Fri, Sep 12, 2025 67 mins
It's Biscuit Week. For the signature, the bakers are to make a dozen slice and bake biscuits each. In the slicing, an intricate pattern should be revealed, the judges looking more for a "picture" than a plain geometric pattern like a checkerboard. Because the picture will most-likely contain a multitude of colored doughs, the bakers may have greater difficulty in using plain visual cues as to doneness, Paul and Prue who are looking for biscuits with a "snap" as opposed to soft biscuits that bend. For the technical, they are asked to make something that most Brits would have eaten but would have purchased from the biscuit aisle of the supermarket: chocolate hobnobs. Prue, the challenge setter, has requested them to have a caramel coating just for extra difficulty, and to have six apiece of two different feathered designs. Some bakers may be tempted to stamp the biscuits after baking, which Prue, out of the bakers' earshot, says is a mistake in how crumbly the baked biscuits are. And for the showstopper, each is to make an edible biscuit time capsule filled with at least five edible mementos. The story behind the box and what it's filled with may be just as important as the biscuits' taste.
Episode 3
Bread Week
Fri, Sep 19, 2025 66 mins
The bakers are hoping for a Hollywood handshake this week as they tackle bread, the steely-eyed judge's speciality. They begin by putting their stamp on a pull-apart monkey bread in the signature challenge, before being asked to make a sticky, messy, fast food technical. For the showstopper, they serve up sweet bread in tiers. Sadly, for one baker, this will be their last day in the tent. Who will be dusting themselves off and hanging up their apron?
Episode 4
Back to School Week
Fri, Sep 26, 2025 57 mins
The bakers return to school, starting off with the classic canteen favourite, flapjacks, before being tested with a fondly remembered school cake technical, with a catch. For their final exam, they have to produce a spectacular school fete showstopper, full of nostalgic treats. Mr Hollywood and Ms Leith judge their efforts, before deciding which of the students to expel.
Episode 5
Chocolate Week
Fri, Oct 3, 2025 57 mins
It's all about temperamental chocolate this week. For the signature, each baker will make half a dozen chocolate cups filled with chocolate mousse. In the words of Paul (paraphrasing), "chocolate in chocolate, what's not to love." They must also include one baked element inside the cup. The bakers know they are in for a ride when, for the technical, they enter the room to find a gingham covered table in the middle. What Paul has asked each of them to make is white chocolate ganache filling a short crust pastry tart shell. The gingham covered table: it is another pantry, they having five minutes to choose any extra ingredients they want to use, every ingredient they choosing which they must use. The danger is going overboard with ingredients in that initial rush. And for the showstopper, they will each make a "chocolate fondue display". A chocolate sauce will fill an edible vessel. There must also be at least two different dippable elements, and a major baked element as part of the display.
Episode 6
Pastry Week
Fri, Oct 10, 2025 57 mins
Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond lead the bakers through pastry week, where they make savoury plaits in the signature challenge before attempting a traditional gala pie in the technical. Finally, their skills are pushed to the limit with an intricately sculpted tart showstopper. Whose plaits will leave Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith tongue-tied? And whose pie will equal goodbye?
Episode 7
Meringue Week
Fri, Oct 17, 2025 57 mins
Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding present a Bake Off first as the contestants face meringue week, starting off by making mini meringue tarts in the signature, before the more delicate task of soufflés in the technical. To end, judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith challenge them to produce a showstopping meringue ice cream cake - before deciding which of the hopefuls hasn't quite come up with the goods.
Episode 8
Dessert Week
Fri, Oct 24, 2025 57 mins
Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding present dessert week, which sees the bakers get stuck into a Basque-style cheesecake and a gluten-free sponge, before serving up an elaborate free-standing trifle in the showstopper. As always, Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith taste their efforts - but who will make it through to next week's semi-final?
Episode 9
Patisserie Week
Fri, Oct 31, 2025 57 mins
Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding present as the semi-finalists take on patisserie week, serving up cream horns and tackling a recipe for a sugar glass dome in the technical round. In the showstopper, they produce a macaron sculpture that depicts something meaningful to them, before judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood decide who will be going through to the final.
Episode 10
The Final
Fri, Nov 7, 2025 57 mins
The three finalists bake a classic British iced bun in the signature, a tower of French delights in the technical and for their showstopper take on the challenge of making the largest ever cake in Bake Off history. As ever, Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding encourage the bakers, while judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith taste their efforts - but only one can be crowned winner of The Great British Bake Off 2025.
Episode 11
The Great Peep Show Christmas Bake Off
Peep Show stars compete in Bake Off's festive special. Paul, Prue, Noel and Alison judge holiday biscuit decorations, Christmas turkey pie and show-themed cakes to crown a Star Baker.
Episode 12
Great Festive Bake Off - New Year's
The 2026 New Years Bake Off Special features four pairs of former contestants. The signature challenge is a dozen decoratively shaped savory pies with a hot water crust pastry and formed into a festive design. The technical challenge is six New Year's themed Chocolate and Hazelnut Entremets' which the teams must prepare alternately switching every 15 minutes. The showstopper challenge is to reproduce a scene from a favorite Christmas movie, out of biscuits.