The Best Great British Bake Off Episodes Ranked

Producing the ever-so-complicated perfect caramel, having your oven at the perfect temperature, cooking on a tight schedule, and baking things you've never before heard of? All of these things come into play if you're going to be a challenger on "The Great British Bake Off." If you've ever tried your hand at baking, you're probably aware that it presents its own unique challenges, from pairing flavors that work, to drawing your bakes out of the oven before their magic is lost. Now imagine having the pressure to produce your best work under the watchful eyes of two judges, two hosts, and a camera lens?

"The Great British Bake Off" features amateur bakers who compete in a series of baking challenges. As contestants are slowly eliminated, each season leads up to the eventual crowning of the UK's Best Amateur Baker. Episodes run about an hour long, and each is structured into three progressively more difficult challenges: The signature bake, the technical bake, and the episode's most exciting portion – the showstopper bake (via the GBBO website.) 

"The Great British Bake Off" has had its good moments and some ... not so hot ones (via The Guardian.) Most fans of the bake off will agree that it can be a super heart-warming experience as a viewer. With that in mind, here are some of our top episodes, ranked, which we find to be the most entertaining, dramatic, and surprising ones. 

This episode of "The Great British Bake Off" made heads turn for a few reasons. For this episode's challenges, contestants were asked to bake Bedfordshire clangers for their signature bake, a Rum Nicky for the technical challenge, and a Savoy cake for their showstopper, we recall via Stylist.

We chose this episode for the drama more than anything else. Liam Charles, known for his impressive ability to produce flavors that stand out over this season's other contestants, hadn't even reached his 21st birthday while on the show. In this episode, however, Liam gets sent home, and fans weren't happy with the judges' decision, believing that some contestants should've left the tent instead. Some of those same contestants ended up securing spots in the semi-finals further down the line.

One of these contestants is Stacey Hart, whose clangers leaked during the first challenge, while Kate Lyon dropped one on the floor, and it's also undercooked. You'd think that would be enough to get sent home, but hold your horses. Meanwhile, Liam, who pretty much cruised along the season so far, made a small mistake with his Savoy cake, leaving it a bit melty, also causing him to exit the competition. And who securesdstar baker? Stacey. If you enjoy the drama turned up a dial (no promises that you won't be upset over Liam's tear-jerker of an elimination) then consider tuning in to this episode. 

Of course, a competition show is always more fun with special guests, and "The Great Festive Baking Show" does not fall short of your seasonal dose of special-guest fun. IMDB even rates this episode an 8.9 out of 10, and it's no surprise why. The holiday aspect makes it simply delightful to watch. 

The very first "Great British Bake-Off" episode of 2020 rang in the new year with the cast of Netflix's "Derry Girls," a show focused on teen characters that takes place in Northern Ireland during the troubles in the 1990s. Actors Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, Nicola Coughlan, Dylan Llewellyn, and Siobhán McSweeney attempt to bake to the best of their ability, despite some never having even baked before, as Jackson admits about herself. But that didn't deprive this episode of momentum — Jackson ends up winning the challenge in a series of hilarious self-deprecating jokes made by the actors about their baked creations throughout the segment. McSweeney's reaction to her cake is especially funny. The hosts even deem this episode one of the most fun they've ever done, and that certainly shows through. 

Decider reminds us of why this episode holds so much charm, from the "bakers" being placed in a situation they aren't fit to handle, to their endlessly witty humor carrying us all the way through to the end. 

Who doesn't love chocolate and drama together? Perhaps this is the perfect set of ingredients for a reality television show like "The Great British Bake Off," – Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 88% out of one hundred.

One mysterious happening in this episode is that baker Laura seems to drop her cake during the first signature challenge and it's later magically put together when she's presenting it, and some Reddit users notice this too. What happened to the bake? Probably some very strong editing, and this nuance is worth a watch if you're looking to solve this strange slip in the baking matrix. Nothing like this seems to have happened on this baking competition show yet, and thanks to clever editing it might go way over your head had you looked away for just a second. 

Baker Hermine wins star baker, rightfully so, as her chocolate, raspberry dacquoise, jelly melange-of-a-cake showstopper wows the judges both for flavor and creativity, with Paul deeming it "straight out of a Parisian patisserie," and commenting that it is "absolutely gorgeous." If you'd like some extra wholesome content, make sure to have this episode at the ready, preferably with a pastry at your side to subdue intense sugar cravings.

"The Great British Bake-Off" sometimes features episodes with a singular culture in focus. At times, the show has been called out for insensitive takes on cultures the hosts and judges seem to know very little about. A prime example of this is "Mexico Week" in the newest season, in which hosts made insensitive jokes about the country, according to an article by Bon Appetit.

Luckily for this episode, the show sticks with a European culture they knew how to accurately portray, and it was German bakes. Where's the drama? Jürgen Krauss, the only German contestant on the show, faces extra pressure in this episode, and it isn't hard to see that the episode becomes an all-eyes-on-him situation. It even earns a nickname, "Jürgen Week," we recall through the AV Club, and although the baker had a star baker streak in past episodes of the season, what gives this one the drama we thirst for is that he doesn't particularly slay the game. To add more tension, there are even quick shots of Jürgen's face, despite his sweet disposition, when other contestants do well, and the producers know exactly what they're doing to amp up the drama. Who's most unhappy with Jürgen's bakes? Why, Paul Hollywood, of course. 

We're thankful Jürgen produces enough good work on this episode to stay another week, and the moment leading up to that is worth the stressful watch. 

What doesn't stand out about another "Pastry Week" episode on "The Great British Bake Off?" What will keep your eyes peeled to this week's challenges is that all three prove to be difficult at a similar level, based on the amount of struggle we see the bakers go through. And although it's nice to admire their hard work from afar, we've assessed that it might be nicer to remain on the viewer side of things for this one. 

Chouxnuts are their signature bake challenge, known as a combination of fried doughnuts and choux pastry. For the technical challenge, bakers make baklava, and the showstopper is a terrine pie, made carefully in detail and precision around the dough, we recall via Telly Visions. And each brings a unique flavor to their terrine pies. 

Baker and champion by the end of the season, Crystelle Pereira, earns a handshake from Paul for her showstopper terrine pie, as he later admits in the episode, "I don't like giving handshakes." If you're a consistent viewer of the show, you'll know he rarely gives handshakes for showstopper challenges specifically. Watch this episode if you enjoy learning tips about bakes you most likely haven't heard about before, and if you'd like to see Paul Hollywood accept defeat because he knows he's been faced with an unarguably great bake from Crystelle.