It seems that fans of The Great British Baking Show are angry once again at the baking show for ruining yet another classic: s’mores.
This week on the series, the seven remaining contestants competed in three spooky-themed challenges for Halloween Week. For the Technical Challenge, judge Paul Hollywood tasked the bakers with creating s’mores – a popular campsite treat in the US and Canada – from scratch. However, things didn’t seem to go as planned.
For the challenge, bakers had to make eight s’mores, each filled with gooey marshmallow and dark chocolate ganache. Instead of graham crackers, the bakers were told to make digestive biscuits. While the semi-sweet biscuits from Scotland were used as a replacement for graham crackers, the cookies aren’t quite the same.
As the challenge began, it soon became clear that the British bakers struggled with making the distinctively American treat, which is typically toasted over a campfire, rather than in a kitchen (or tent). Some bakers forgot to add gelatin to their syrup, which could make their marshmallows too soft. Others went a little too blow torch heavy to make their s’mores appear golden brown.
In the end, Abdul’s s’mores came in last place, while Maxy came in sixth as neither of them could get the marshmallow consistency just right. Meanwhile, Syabira came in first place for her identical s’mores and consistent chocolate ganache.
While making s’mores from scratch proved to be a challenge for some, viewers that criticised The Great British Baking Show for “ruining” a beloved American treat.
“Leave it to the Great British Baking Show to ruin S’mores too,” one person tweeted.
Some viewers explained how the art to making s’mores is not baking your own marshmallow in an oven, but roasting them over a campfire. Perhaps even the best part to a s’more is when it’s as gooey and burnt as possible.
“As an American, the Brits trying to turn S’mores into a technical baking challenge is the funniest thing ever,” one fan wrote. “It’s super technical but should never be done in a kitchen. Slow roast on a tree branch over campfire till crunchy and golden outside, gooey inside.”
“How can you make s’mores as bake-off challenge that defeats the whole purpose of toasting the marshmallow yourself and the heat of it melting the hershey bar,” said someone else.
“GBBO back with an episode where they have to make s’mores and almost no one knows what that is,” a third user wrote. “They’re all freaking out over burning their marshmallows and I guarantee every American watching it is screaming ‘IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE BURNT?!?!?’”
One user pointed out that using a digestive buscuit instead of a graham cracker for a s’more ruins the entire treat, writing, “Great British Bake Off continuing their horrors with trying to make s'mores with digestive biscuits instead of graham crackers. Some weird chocolate paste. They just hate American food”.
But the critiques didn’t end there. Some people even called out co-judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith for picking apart the s’more with a fork, rather than grabbing it with their hands. “In the last three weeks, #GBBO has forced me to watch a woman peel an avocado like a potato and Paul and Prue eat s’mores with a goddamn spoon,” said one viewer.
The Great British Baking Show found itself in hot water earlier this month when the reality series branded its latest installment “Mexican Week”, in which contestants tried making food inspired by Mexican cuisine. However, viewers criticised the episode for its “offensive” depiction of Mexican food and culture – stereotypical placement of sombreros and maracas, mispronounciation of Spanish words, and its “tacky” jokes.
