Bake Off gran’s dough goes sour

Liverpudlian grandmother Flo Atkins has become the third person to leave the Great British Bake Off tent after her pirate’s chest made of bread was not the treasure she hoped for.

The fans’ favourite, 71, applied for the show after her husband of 48 years, Richard, died of leukaemia.

She embarked on bread week declaring: “I’ve been making bread for 40 years” but also revealed she has never timed her bakes, and struggled to impress the judges with her offerings.

Her signature teacake bake, with cinnamon, orange and mixed fruit with whisky jam, did not have enough salt or fruit and her oven was set too low, said judge Paul Hollywood.

She also came near the bottom of the pack during the technical challenge when Hollywood said her cottage loaf needed another 20 minutes in the oven.

For the showstopper challenge of a bread sculpture using natural food colours, she whipped up Davy Jones’ locker, made with with squid ink, paprika and beetroot.

While judge Prue Leith said it was “very ingenious”, she added it was “a little too clumsy”.

After leaving the tent, she said: “I feel since Bake Off I have blossomed and it has given me the strength to carry on.

“When Richard died, I felt that half of me had gone, I had lost my soulmate, but now I feel I have my confidence back.”

Steven Carter-Bailey’s run as star baker came to an end when Julia Chernogorova took his crown.

Flo Atkins: ‘blossoming’