CONTROVERSY

‘Great British Baking Show’ Fans in Uproar Over Pizzagate

Even Domino’s has weighed in on this week’s bonkers elimination, in which the baker of an impressive creation was sent home over one who simply spelled the word “pizza.”

After last week’s gorgeous floating deep dish pizza baked by Dana, the cheesy pie is central again in the new episode of The Great British Baking Show. This time, though, there was a bit of controversy. Instead of baking an actual pizza—or, at least, a creation that resembled pizza—one of the bakers simply wrote out the word “PIZZA” with his dough.

It was Paul Hollywood’s beloved Bread Week in the third week of challenges on Baking Show, leading the bakers to create cottage loaves in the signature challenge and Devonshire splits in the technical. Except for Saku pelting host Alison Hammond with a ball of dough early on in the episode, everything in this week’s competitions seemed eerily normal.

Then the showstopper challenge rolled around, in which the bakers were asked to create an original plaited centerpiece loaf for Paul and Prue. One baker created a tiger out of their bread, a charming callback to Paul Jagger’s “Cecil the Lion” bake from 2015. Tasha, who walked away with her second Star Baker title in this episode, created a marvelous Medusa with green braided loaves.

But Dan, who won the first Star Baker award, struggled to find his way in this week’s showstopper. He opted to make stuffed crust pizza with his dough, and while the bake seemed delicious, it looked nothing like pizza. Instead of a round plate of crust filled with gooey cheese and saucy tomatoes, Dan messily spelled “PIZZA” with his bread.

“Losing my mind over everyone else creating bread sculptures of cows, peacocks, trees and baskets while Dan is just writing ‘PIZZA’ in bread,” one GBBS viewer shared online. Even Domino’s chimed in, offering to rename the company Dan’s in support of his bonkers pizza showstopper.

The bake would have been a harmless gaffe if it weren’t for the fact that another baker who made fewer mistakes ultimately got the ax. Abbi, who created a tree and scored higher in the technical challenge, was ultimately sent home over the pizza man.

“So unfair that Abbi has gone,” one viewer shared. “I think it really should have been Dan even though he’s wonderful. Abbi’s flavors and design were really, really good and Dan just wrote pizza with his bread.”

Nevertheless, Dan will have the chance to prove himself in next week’s Challenge Week episode. Perhaps he can write “CAKE” with four perfectly gooey chocolate lava creations.

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Fletcher PetersEntertainment Reporter

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