GBBO Pastry Week Preview: Will Bakers Conquer the Dreaded Soggy Bottom?

Get your rolling pins ready and preheat your ovens: it is time for Pastry Week on The Great British Bake Off! Airing Tuesday 27 October 2026 at 8:00 PM on Channel 4, Episode 6 of Series 17 promises high-stakes baking, intricate lattice work, and the ever-present threat of the dreaded 'soggy bottom'.

With just eight bakers remaining in the iconic white tent, judges Paul Hollywood and Nigella Lawson are turning up the heat. Pastry is notoriously unforgiving; one tiny miscalculation in butter temperature or oven timing can turn a show-stopping masterpiece into a structural collapse.

Here is what is in store for tomorrow night’s epic pastry showdown.

The Signature Bake: Handheld Savoury Pies Kickstarting the episode, the bakers must produce a batch of individual, portable handheld savoury pies. The key to success here is balance. The fillings must be rich, punchy, and moist, but not so wet that they ruin the pastry casing!

Paul and Nigella will be scrutinising every single pie to ensure crisp, golden edges, distinct layers, and absolute structural integrity. The ultimate test? Ensuring the pastry base remains crisp and firm when picked up by hand: no leaking gravy or limp bottoms allowed.

The Technical Bake: A Polish Choux Pastry Dessert For the mystery Technical Bake, Paul and Nigella are testing technical precision with an intriguing international classic: Karpatka, a traditional Polish choux pastry dessert.

Named after the snow-capped Carpathian Mountains, Karpatka features sheets of golden choux pastry baked to create dramatic, uneven peaks and valleys, sandwiched around a silky vanilla pastry cream. Mastering choux dough requires perfect timing, exact moisture levels, and careful oven management to achieve that signature crisp-yet-airy texture. With minimal instructions provided, expect plenty of nervous glances across the benches as the bakers try to gauge when their choux is properly baked. We have the recipe here for you to try WITH INSTRUCTIONS Karpatka: The Authentic Polish Carpathian Mountain Cream Cake

The Showstopper Bake: Intricately Decorative & Sculpted Pies Finally, the bakers face a colossal task for the Showstopper: constructing intricately decorative and sculpted pies.

This challenge demands high-level artistry combined with structural engineering. The remaining eight contestants must push their creative boundaries, crafting elaborate, eye-catching pastry sculptures that tell a story while remaining thoroughly delicious. From delicate braided lids and hand-moulded leaves to multi-tiered pie structures, the pressure is on to deliver visual magnificence without sacrificing flavour or crispness.

Who Will Rise to the GBBO Challenge? As we cross the mid-way point of the series, Star Baker is anybody's game, and the margin for error is razor-thin. Who will earn the coveted Paul Hollywood handshake, and whose pastry dream will crumble under the pressure?

Tune in to Bake-Off Tuesday 27 October 2026 at 8:00 PM on Channel 4, to catch all the action, drama, and pastry-filled goodness of Pastry Week!