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The Great American Baking Show returned with a fresh season on April 11, 2025. It kept the essence of the original while bringing some noticeable improvements. Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith returned as judges, with Ellie Kemper and Zach Cherry stepping in as new hosts. The show followed its usual format, with bakers tackling signature bakes, technical challenges, and showstoppers in the iconic tent.
Disclaimer: This article about The Great American Baking Show is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.
The Great British Bake Off is still a popular version, but I believe The Great American Baking Show gives a more balanced and fun watch this season. With just eight bakers and a short six-episode run, the show spotlighted each contestant better. This helps viewers bond with their stories and baking approaches.
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The season kicked off with a few light-hearted jokes about British accents, but the show soon continued with its usual format. It mixed competition, creativity, and personal tales in a way that feels genuine and rewarding.
The adaptation retains key elements like visual illustrations of bakes and the familiar handshake from Paul, while avoiding some of the British version's recent tendencies toward increasingly absurd challenges. As a result, The Great American Baking Show feels closer to what made the early seasons of The Great British Bake Off so memorable, with a few welcome improvements.
Familiar structure with small but effective improvements in The Great American Baking Show
The Great American Baking Show keeps the tent, technical challenges, and overall pacing that made its British counterpart successful. However, the way the episodes are structured makes the season flow better. Each episode focuses on a specific baking theme, like cookies, bread, or cakes, allowing bakers to show different skills every week.
The challenges are paced well, with signature bakes, technical challenges, and creative showstoppers keeping the competition moving without feeling rushed. Over six episodes, viewers get to see the bakers grow, adapt, and bring their own style to the tent.
The challenges also remain focused on core baking skills. In the first episode, bakers created 3D showpieces representing moments from their lives, including designs like a beach scene and a rehab center. Judges evaluated the flavor, creativity, and technical difficulty without adding unnecessary gimmicks.
Adella's Broadway-inspired display received positive feedback. Paul Hollywood appreciated the creativity and structure of the display, saying:
"The theater, the curtains, the backdrop, the macaroons as well as the cats, it's very clever."
Prue Leith also praised the details, describing the piping work as "beautiful." Unlike recent British seasons, where increasingly elaborate tasks have shifted focus away from simple baking, the American edition keeps the challenges achievable under pressure.
American bakers impress the judges with creativity and professional-level skills
The Great American Baking Show judge Prue Leith shared in a conversation with Mashable on April 18, 2025, that she and Paul Hollywood are often surprised by the results of the competition.
"Every single time, Paul and I think we know who the winner is. And we're always wrong," she mentioned.
Prue explained that sudden shifts during challenges make the competition unpredictable and keep both the judges and viewers engaged. Talking about the talent in the American version, Prue praised the contestants, saying:
"The American bakers are really, really good. And I think this year's bunch are the best we've had."
She added that their decorating skills were as good as professionals', despite many of the bakers being self-taught. She highlighted the skill required for structural showstoppers, mentioning that sometimes the showstopper challenge asks for bakes that are about "half a meter high."
Throughout the competition, the bakers not only adapted to the challenges but also navigated small differences in baking measurements and terminology between the UK and US versions. Prue noted that switching from metric to cup-based measurements made some processes faster without affecting the bakers' creativity.
Watch season 3 episodes of The Great American Baking Show, currently streaming on Roku.
