Bake Off 2021 episode 5 review: German Week helps stale series feel fresh

Who impressed during German Week? (Picture: Channel 4)

Great British Bake Off has been losing its way over the first four weeks of this year’s run, but Tuesday’s episode served up a show first – adding a hint of freshness to an otherwise stale series. 

It was the inaugural German Week in the tent on Tuesday, with Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith setting a series of Bavarian-themed challenges. The contestants were tasked with creating traditional biscuits in the signature, torte cakes in the technical and three-tiered cakes with yeast in the showstopper. 

Many would have expected that it would be Jurgen who walked it this week as he created bakes from his home country. In fact, when he got a handshake from Paul for his biscuits in the technical, it looked like the other bakers could barely bring the energy themselves to clap and congratulate him. 

He schooled Paul on the inauthenticity of three-tiered yeast cakes in German, and Matt Lucas even jokingly awarded Jurgen Star Baker before the first challenge. In the end, though, Giuseppe who was named star baker, showing himself as a real contender in this year’s series.

Viewers might not have been happy about it, but it was Freya who lost her place in the competition on Tuesday. Sadly, the 19-year-old’s vegan creations showed a familiar story – nice flavours let down with some fundamental mistakes. 

Freya lost her place in the competition (Picture: Channel 4)

She can count herself unlucky to lose out to George, with the latter serving up biscuits so tough that Paul said they were ‘asking him out for a fight’. He also created a tasty creation in the signature which was let down by unprofessional presentation, as well as a raw final bake. He has to up his game massively if he’s to survive past next week.

In the end, it was an Italian who won German Week – something the Jurgen fans in the audience would never have seen coming. 

Giuseppe was named star baker (Picture: Channel 4)

It was a show first, but where does Tuesday night German Week leave the series? We’re five episodes in now, and it’s still clear that the Bake Off isn’t quite what it was. 

The show was a saviour in lockdown last year, providing us with much-needed distraction when the nation was stuck indoors for months on end. But it feels far less essential this time around.

The show is still struggling to find its feet in 2021, with most of the contestants still failing to impress themselves on the viewers in the same way as line-ups from years gone by.

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But while it’s not been a classic run by any means so far, the addition of German Week certainly helped to mix things up on Tuesday and at least bring something new to our screens.

Jurgen and Giuseppe are is still head and shoulders above the others, and it’s only a matter of time before one of them takes home the top prize – but at least now we’re starting to enjoy the wait until the final a little more.

The Great British Bake Off continues on Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4.

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