The Great British Bake Off : Season 4

The Bake Off returns and for the first time ever, the tent welcomes a baker's dozen to do battle. Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins coax them through their baking trials, all the while under the scrutiny of the inimitable judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. With a range of baking styles and personalities, the Bake Off tent is packed with the best amateur bakers from around the country; from space engineer to student, teacher to dentist, psychologist to carpenter. But after ten weeks of whisking,

One week down and the remaining 12 bakers have 9 weeks and 27 gruelling challenges to get through before they can be crowned Winner of the Great British Bake Off. But having survived cake, now they battle bread. Knowing that Paul will be watching their every move and prove, they must bake 36 perfectly thin and crispy signature bread sticks, a technically tricky English muffin, and the most outrageous showstopping loaves of bread ever seen on television... from a Christmas wreath to a proud

It's week three, and the heat in the kitchen is already too much for some, as the remaining 11 bakers get ready to deal with desserts. Mary and Paul are upping the ante. Having survived cake and bread, this is the first week we see the bakers having to multi-task across several different baking skills at the same time; a signature trifle combining biscuit, cake, jelly or custard in perfectly distinct layers; a technically difficult task of making floating islands, which result in various forms

It's week four in the tent and the baking is getting serious, as the remaining bakers put on their pinnies to pimp up pies and tarts. From the country's oldest known cookbook, we discover the almost 700 year old history of the English custard tart. It might once have been popular at the decadent court of King Richard II but it is now a technical challenge in the Bake Off tent, one which causes more than the intended wobble for the bakers. Starting with what should be a home baker staple, their

Almost halfway through the Bake Off and the remaining eight bakers are faced with biscuits and traybakes. First up, a Signature Challenge that requires them to do something apparently simple - produce their favourite traybake. The bakers offer Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood their twists on everything from bakewells to banoffees and brownies. Next they face the thinnest Technical Challenge ever devised on Bake Off - the French classic tuiles, biscuits formed into fragile rolls and decorated with

It is week six in the tent and time for sweet dough week - but will it prove bittersweet for the bakers? They kick off with a signature tea loaf. Most of the bakers choose to make something connected to home, so Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood are presented with everything from locally sourced loaves from Yorkshire and Oxford to Devonshire-inspired panettone and Welsh bara brith. Meanwhile we explore the history of the Sally Lunn, and the story of the torta negra - the well-travelled tea loaf

With only six bakers left in the tent the stakes are getting higher and this week they face pastry. The remaining bakers bring the old fashioned suet pudding bang up to date, banishing nightmares of stodgy school dinners for good with their range of creative signature suet puds, from 'spotted dick with a kick' to fig roly-poly. Delving further into the history of suet takes us to the Isle of Mull, where the clootie dumpling has been at the heart of the community for centuries. The technical

It is the quarter final and there are just five bakers left. In the last seven weeks they have been tested on normal cakes, breads, pastries, pies and puddings so the judges are upping the ante. This week's challenges test them on how they cope working with unconventional flours and unusual desserts which push their creativity to the max. For the signature challenge, the bakers must make a loaf using non-traditional wheat flours, encouraged instead to use the rarer flours such as spelt, rye,

It is the semi-final and there are just four bakers left. This round is the French round and the all-female semi-finalists have just three French bakes standing between them and a place in the final. The signature challenge raises the stakes, tasking the bakers to make three different types of savoury canapé in just two and a half hours. One type must be choux, the second another type of pastry such as shortcrust or rough puff, and the third can be anything of their choice, from biscuits to

Each year thousands of people apply to The Great British Bake Off and only a handful are chosen, but what exactly is it like to take part? Talking candidly about their experience, the Class of 2012 return to the Bake Off tent to give a special insight to life inside the tent. They divulge how it felt to face the steely blue eyes and judgement of Mary and Paul, how they coped with having ingredients siphoned off by Mel and Sue, and to what extent practising bagels, pies, petit fours, meringues,

It's the final of The Great British Bake Off! 13,000 applicants were narrowed down to 13 of Britain's best amateur bakers, and the 13 became three. There are just three final challenges standing between the bakers and the title of winner of the Great British Bake Off. Mary and Paul have chosen the final challenges to test the bakers on the areas in which they wanted to see how far they had grown in skill and creativity. The Signature Challenge asks them to create a technically difficult picnic

Mary and Paul take over the tent for the ultimate baking masterclass. Mary makes a whole orange cake and angel food cake, Paul makes breakfast muffins and olive bread sticks, and together they make a chocolate cake showstopper.

Paul and Mary show what they would have done in dessert and pie challenges. Mary: 'Tipsy Trifle', floating islands and 'Wobbly Apricot Tart'. Paul: custard tarts and spanakopita.

Paul and Mary show what they would have done in the biscuit and pastry test. Mary: ginger spiced traybake and tuiles with chocolate mousse. Paul :iced tea loaf, sweet dough brioche tete, and apricot couronne.

Paul and Mary show what they would have done for the challenges in the final weeks of the Bake Off. Paul: wheat-free crusty rye loaf and sweet and savory pretzels. Mary: sussex pond pudding, choux pastry religious, and an opera cake.