The Great British Bake Off (series 4) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Great British Bake Off
British digital release
Starring	Mel Giedroyc Sue Perkins Mary Berry Paul Hollywood
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	10
Release
Original network	BBC Two
Original release	20 August (2013-08-20) – 22 October 2013 (2013-10-22)

The fourth series of The Great British Bake Off was a super exciting baking competition that started on August 20, 2013. The awesome hosts, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, were back to guide the bakers. Expert judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood returned to taste all the delicious creations. Just like the year before, the baking tent was set up at Harptree Court in East Harptree, Somerset.

Loads of people wanted to be on the show! About 13,000 amateur bakers applied. Out of these, 100 were chosen for a screen test, and the top 60 went to a three-day audition. Finally, 13 talented contestants were picked for the series. This year, the judges could decide to send home two people if they wanted to.

The big winner of the Great British Bake Off in 2013 was Frances Quinn. This series also aired in the United States on PBS as their second season.

Meet the Bakers

Here are the amazing bakers who competed in the fourth series of The Great British Bake Off:

How the Bakers Did

This chart shows how each baker performed week by week. You can see who stayed, who was the 'Star Baker', and who went home.

Colour key:

     Baker made it to the next round      Baker was eliminated from the competition      Baker was one of the judges' least favorite bakers that week      Baker was the 'Star Baker' for that week      Baker was one of the judges' favorite bakers, but not 'Star Baker'      Baker was one of the two finalists (runner-up)      Baker was the winner of the series

Episodes and Challenges

Each week, the bakers faced three tough challenges:

• Signature Challenge: Bakers made their own unique recipe.
• Technical Challenge: Bakers followed a secret recipe from the judges.
• Showstopper Challenge: Bakers created a huge, amazing bake that really showed off their skills.

  Baker eliminated   Star Baker   Winner

Episode 1: Cakes

The first week was all about cakes! Bakers had to make a delicious sandwich cake for their signature bake. The technical challenge was to bake an angel food cake using Mary Berry's special recipe. For the showstopper, they created a fantastic chocolate cake with at least two types of chocolate.

Episode 2: Bread

This week, bakers got kneady with bread! They had to make 36 long, crispy breadsticks for their signature challenge. The technical bake was eight English muffins using Paul's recipe. For the showstopper, they created a beautifully decorated loaf of bread.

Episode 3: Desserts

Dessert week brought sweet challenges! Bakers made their own Trifle for the signature bake. The technical challenge was to create 6 floating islands using Mary Berry's recipe. For the showstopper, they had to make 24 tiny, fancy petit fours, half biscuit-based and half sponge-based.

During this challenge, Deborah accidentally used Howard's custard. This mix-up was called "Custardgate" by the media, but the judges handled it fairly!

Episode 4: Pies and Tarts

It was pie and tart week! For the signature challenge, bakers made a fruit pie with two crusts. The technical challenge was to bake 12 egg custard tarts. For the showstopper, they created a beautiful centerpiece using Filo pastry they made themselves.

Episode 5: Biscuits and Traybakes

This week was all about biscuits and traybakes! Bakers made their favorite traybake for the signature challenge, cut into perfect pieces. The technical challenge was to make 18 tuiles, some flat and some rolled. For the showstopper, they built a tall, impressive biscuit tower, at least 30 cm high!

During the showstopper, Frances's tower accidentally tipped over while Mel was helping her measure it!

Episode 6: Sweet Dough

Sweet dough was the theme for this episode. Bakers made a sweet tea loaf for their signature challenge. The technical bake was an apricot couronne using Paul's recipe. For the showstopper, they created 24 different kinds of European sweet buns, 12 of each type.

Episode 7: Pastry

Pastry week challenged the bakers! For the signature, they updated the old-fashioned suet pudding. In the technical bake, they created eight perfect religieuse (choux buns stacked with cream). For the showstopper, they made 36 sweet puff pastries of three different types.

Episode 8: Alternative Ingredients

This week was the quarter-final, focusing on bakes made with alternative ingredients (like gluten-free or dairy-free). For the signature, bakers made a loaf without traditional wheat flour. The technical challenge was a dacquoise with meringue, coffee custard, and hazelnut praline. The showstopper was a dairy-free vegetable cake shaped creatively.

Episode 9: French Week (Semi-final)

The semi-final was all about French baking! Bakers made three types of savory Canapés for the signature challenge. The technical bake was a Charlotte Royale, a dome-shaped dessert with Swiss roll and cream. For the showstopper, they created an iconic French cake, the opera cake.

Episode 10: The Grand Final

The final three bakers faced their biggest challenges yet! For the signature, they made a savory picnic pie with a creative design. The technical challenge was to bake 12 perfect Pretzels, half savory and half sweet. For the ultimate showstopper, they created a stunning three-tiered wedding cake.

What Happened After the Show

Many of the bakers from this series went on to do amazing things in the baking world!

• Frances Quinn, the winner, wrote a cookbook called Quinntessential Baking, which came out in 2015.
• Ruby Tandoh wrote three books about baking and food: Crumb: The Baking Book (2014), Flavour: Eat What You Love (2016), and Eat Up: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want (2018). She also wrote a baking column for The Guardian newspaper.
• Beca Lyne-Pirkis hosted her own Welsh cooking show called Becws on S4C starting in 2014.
• Glenn Cosby stopped teaching and started his own touring stage show called Bake It Big in 2014. He also released a book, Tasty Travels, that same year.
• Ali Imdad started his own bakery business and became a full-time baker.

Show Popularity

The fourth series of The Great British Bake Off was super popular! It got some of the highest TV ratings ever for the BBC Two channel. The final episode was watched by over 8 million people on average, and at its peak, 9.1 million viewers tuned in! This made it the most-watched show ever on BBC Two since 2002. On average, 7.4 million people watched each episode of this series.

Here's a look at how many people watched each episode: