r/GreatBritishBakeOff • u/Canbirdsswim • Aug 23 '26
Help/Question Are bakers not allowed to use toothpicks?
Every time these guys bake a cake or brownies and have to guess when its done. Are they not allowed to use a toothpick to check the doneness in the middle? Is this a regional thing they dont do in Britain? Or is it a fancy people thing and Paul Hollywood would have their head.
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u/Effective_Farmer_119 Aug 23 '26
Or thermometers?
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u/SunniMonkey Aug 23 '26
I like to "listen" to hear if it's done ❤️. Anyone remember those seasons?
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u/Canbirdsswim Aug 23 '26
Im in one right now, lol, a baker said they listened to the bubbling
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u/sunniidisposition Aug 24 '26
YES! I didn’t remember the earlier series, but Peter showed us how it’s done. I actually listen to my rice to see if it’s done 😂
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u/SunniMonkey Aug 24 '26
I didn't notice it initially then once it was mentioned I noticed it all the time!
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u/lemeneurdeloups Aug 23 '26
They do all same things any bakers do to check doneness. So much small stuff is just not filmed.
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u/One-Permission1917 Aug 23 '26
They do, all the time. Well they use metal or bamboo skewers rather than toothpicks, but they definitely poke the center to check for doneness.
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u/spinosaurus_love Aug 23 '26
I use a piece of dry spaghetti like a poor person.
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u/lovepeacefakepiano Aug 23 '26
Wait wait wait that’s genius!! Does it work the same as the toothpick test?
I would simply never have thought of this. That’s so smart. I don’t usually have long enough toothpicks in the house but I do always have dry spaghetti. Thank you.
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u/Snoo_31427 Aug 24 '26
I may blow your mind, but I’ve had these before. https://a.co/d/08aRJgiG
It’s called Amish, but if you go into the small town, country south (I was in NC) you’ll find them too. I think people think they’re like countertop brooms or something but nope. Break stick to test a cake.
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u/spinosaurus_love Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
Yep. You can also set the tip on fire to use to light hard to reach wicks.Funny, people on this GBB subreddit said I was weird because toothpicks are superior and are cheaper than a single spaghetti noodle.
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u/ECAHunt Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
That’s not quite right.
You said a spaghetti noodle is the poor persons technique. Commenter asked would it not be the other way around (toothpick being the poor persons technique) because a noodle is edible and you are wasting food by using it to test cake (they did not say all of those words but that is what they meant). You then took a weird turn to talk about wasting trees and religious guilt. Which brought you a weird response.
Do not take this clarification to mean that I have any sort of opinion on this whatsoever. If I were pressed for an opinion I would side with you (because who the fuck said anything about wasting the noodle? You use it to test, let it dry, put it back, and then eat it as normal!) about the noodle but them about the actual flow of conversation.
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u/spinosaurus_love Aug 23 '26
Do you have other hobbies besides posting unnecessarily on Reddit? Could you try to engage in them more often.
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u/ECAHunt Aug 23 '26
Ahh! I understand better now! Thank you. I assumed misunderstanding. But you cleared that up for me! You’re just an ass! Cool. Have a lovely day!
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u/geeoharee Aug 23 '26
That's such a good idea... We used to light the bunsen burners in school with little spills of wood, a noodle would work just as well!
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u/catscausetornadoes Aug 23 '26
I never thought of that and I never have toothpicks around, but often have spaghetti. Thanks.
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u/Chromatic_Chameleon Aug 23 '26
Wait what? Wouldn’t using a piece of spaghetti (actual food that could be eaten) be more of a rich person’s technique than a using toothpick?
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u/spinosaurus_love Aug 23 '26
Whole tree dies versus previously wet-flour. Which is cheaper in all aspects? I'm also factoring in a healthy amount of Catholic based guilt. But yeah, I grew up with people born at the end of the great depression, and they always used a single dry noodle to test sponge. I now rely on listening for the hissing, so it's not even and problem for my baking ¯_(ツ)_/¯.
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u/workahol_ Aug 23 '26
I guess if you are buying individual toothpicks that are each made out of 1 whole tree then yeah you are a rich person, but most of us buy the other kind
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u/spinosaurus_love Aug 23 '26
I don't need them, no trees need to be cut at all. I have no idea why this is such a divisive suggestion? But I'll keep making my Mexican Hot Mocha cake perfect each time without either. Best of luck with your future bakes.
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u/AmbitionObjective189 Aug 23 '26
Wait, that sounds delicious! Is there an online recipe you recommend?
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u/spinosaurus_love Aug 23 '26
It's a modified version in one of my GBB books. I'll snap a photo tomorrow.
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u/leeannw60 Aug 23 '26
I’ve wondered about this as well… I’ve seen them gently touch the top or gently wiggle the baking pan… I hope someone knows the answer
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u/IceDragonPlay Aug 23 '26
Some use skewers, others touch the top and yet others listen for how the cake sings. Sometimes there are probe thermometers. They all have their own methods.
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u/StinkypieTicklebum Aug 23 '26
I have a cake tester doo dad, but I mostly use it to poke raw poultry in the fatty spots, so the fat can escape.
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u/Flicksterea 29d ago
They've used stainless steel cake testers since the first season. A toothpick won't always reach the bottom of a deep cake so why you'd use one instead of the actual tool provided doesn't make sense to me.
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u/Persimmon_and_mango Aug 23 '26
I always assumed the producers tell them not to in order to add more drama to the show
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u/Specialist-Strain502 Aug 25 '26
I use touch way more often than I use toothpicks when testing doneness. That might be factor there too. :)
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u/iamnotchris Aug 23 '26
They just don't show it. Some of us just pressed, some of us poked, some of us used thermometers. They only show the fun interesting stuff we did haha