GBBO #2 - These bakers are not to be trifled with...

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

Following on from the first thread (we were getting a bit short on space!).

Pastry week next - it's time for the dreaded soggy bottoms!

I laughed when Nadia said Flouna sounded like an insult!

Not excited about old baking next week.
Happy Matt was star baker, I've liked him from the start. not in the same way I've liked tamal
Sad to see Alvin go, such a polite and dignified gentleman, but it was the right decision in the end.
Am so hungry for pastry right now

Nadiya crying made me cry. I'm not a crying type either evidently bad PMT but last time I cried over something silly I discovered I was pregnant

Sad Alvin's gone too.

I'm looking forward to seeing some proper baking and cake!

I adore nadyia and have a slightly inapropro thing for matt

Great British Bake Off: What is flaouna? An easy Greek recipe
By RachaelWest | Posted: September 09, 2015

bit.ly/1Q0QOUjFlaounes2
Flaounes (picture by CTO Zurich Flickr)
Comments (0)
Flaouna, or flaounes, is a cheese filled pastry eaten during Easter and Ramadan on it the island of Cyprus.

Flaounes sometimes includes raisins or sesame seeds and are a traditional food served for the breaking of the Lenten fast.

The cheese can be a mixture of Graviera, Hallumi, Mizithra and Kefalotyri insde a pastry similar to shortcrust.

If you've been inspired by the Great British Bake Off challenge, here is a flaouna recipe you can try.

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The Great British Bake Off 2015: what time is the pastry episode on tonight?
??The Great British Bake Off 2015: Vol-au-Vents recipe
Ingredients ?? makes 12 flaounes

Yeast dough

1 ?? lbs (750gr) strong plain flour
1 sachet easy bake yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
Water to mix
Cheese filling

2oz flaouna cheese or 8oz (250gr) cheddar cheese
4oz (100gr) halloumi
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon crushed dried Mint
4 eggs lightly beaten
How to make flaounes

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl and stir in the yeast, salt and sugar.

1. Add the oil and enough water to make the mixture firm.

1. Knead for 5 minutes in smooth and elastic.

1. Put the dough in a plastic bag and leave in a warm place for 1 hour to prove.

1. Grate the cheese andadd the flour and baking powder

1. Gradually stir in the beaten egg and seasonings until you have a stiff paste

1. Divide the dough into egg sized pieces

1. Roll the dough pieces into 4" (10cm) discs.

1. Add a tablespoon of filling into the centre of each disc

10. Pull the dough up at 3 points to make a triangle ?? you should still be able to see the filling in the centre

11. Ptress the corners together to seal and leave to rise

12. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds before baking

13. Bake for 12 ?? 15 minutes at 230C / Gas Mark 8 until the cheese filling is puffed and the pastry is golden.

Read more: www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/Great-British-Bake-flaouna-easy-Greek-recipe/story-27765372-detail/story.html#ixzz3lHNtq4T6
Follow us: @bedfordnews on Twitter | bedfordnews on Facebook

I think the time pressure is a bit daft - well not the time pressure do much but the fact there's no time to let anything cool properly. Decorating/assembling a hot sponge is never going to go particularly well.

Next week's looks good!

I don't understand why it is either 2 oz of flaouna cheese or 8 oz of cheddar. The cheddar is four times the amount of flaouna. It doesn't make sense.

My family recipe doest include yeast nor does my recipe book of cyprus food customs and traditions which i bought in Cyprus. The pastry is just oil based.

From Kopiaste

Glad alvin went, he hasnt been good from the beginning.

I was so worried for Nadiya, didnt want her to leave.

Poor Alvin he was really sweet . I got excited i love me a vol-u-vent i know the are old fashioned but they are soo good. They all looked like they had been to battle after making those cheesey things they were weeping and limping up to the counter dd2 has a thing for Tamal she put her phone down to watch him and said ooo its Tamal then blushed cos she said it out loud.

If you live in Nth. London then you know those Flaunas, Like a sort of spinakopita. (sp)?

Sad for Alvin but he wasn't quite up to the high standard of this series. How does Nadiya still manage to look beautiful when she cries ? I think I've got a girl crush on her

Alvin is such a sweet and gentle soul. Can't see him following in his army general's father's footsteps somehow!

It was time for him to go though.

Alvin was ever so nice but he was beginning to irritate me with his constant apologising.

I agree soup I doubt Paul Hollywood is sorry it's turned out a disaster. He had a lot of timing issues aswell which is part of the challenge of bake off. At least at home you can bake leisurely

Yes I got fed up with the timing thing. Pastry has to be rested fgs.

In the far off days when I had a go at vol-au-vents, I made them the way Mat did - i.e. I had the pastry circles quite thick and then cut a smaller circle part way through in the centre, and detached the inner circle "lid" once they had baked and put the filling in. But quite a lot of the contestants had thin pastry circles and put more on top to form the walls, which I would have though was (a) very fiddly and (b) would increase the danger of them falling apart. Judging by the results, it looks like Mat and me had it right . Is there a specific approved method?

In the far off days when I had vol-au-vents, my mum bought the cases from Iceland :o They used to come in one piece and you removed the middle as you described.

Nadiya does have the most beautiful teeth. That's my inappropriate observation of the show.

I hope we get the recipe for the fish and clemantine filling. I'd like to try it.

So pleased for Matt. He really deserved star baker this week.

The thing I don't get about the timing is that they put things on their serving plates piping hot yet when they are tasted they've clearly cooled down (no steam or any crazy mouth fanning) and had time to clear their kitchens etc.
Why can't they just let their things cool properly in that time rather than rushing and having them going all soggy underneath and still waiting for hours before they are eaten? It makes no sense and is absolutely wasteful.

Although ppeat, nadiya ran out of time because she made her pastry again, everyone else had sufficient time to rest theirs. In her position I would have just gone ahead and used what I had - you don't want to be presenting a dish 'deconstructed' (aka half done) at this stage in the game really.

If Nadiya had stuck with her first batch of cellulitey pastry as Mat did she'd have come up trumps on that round.

I think I'd have tried to construct four - just enough for Paul and Mary. Easy to say when it's not me doing it though.

You can buy jus-rol vol-au-vent cases, I used them last year (70s themed murder mystery). They went down really well and I've done them for party teas since!

That's true CakeNinja esp. about the cooling. I reckon it's because of the ridiculous 'suspense' that the producers seem to think we all want. I hated that effing drum they used for 2 weeks. I nearly turned it over pissed me off so much.

Yes you and squoosh are right about Nad's pastry , they LOVED her fillings she may well have won starbaker again.

My mums classic party piece was chicken vol au vents (vols au vent?). Made with jus rol pastry and M&S Chunky Chicken out of a tin.

Memories...