‘The Great British Baking Show’ Season 16 Cast: Meet the Baker Known for Mixing Music and Bread
‘Yeastie Boy’ Iain Ross mixes music and sourdough in jaw-dropping creations.
It’s that time of year again: The Great British Baking Show, also known as The Great British Bake Off, or GBBO, in the UK, is set to return to Netflix. The annual competition show has already unveiled its “class of 2025,” giving fans a look at the contestants who will be battling for a win in the iconic tent. Though all 12 bakers have their own unique stories, one has already garnered social media attention thanks to his colorful bread. Keep reading to learn about The Great British Baking Show season 16 cast member who puts the “art” in baking.
Who is Iain Ross on ‘The Great British Baking Show’ 2025?
It’s not uncommon for contestants to have numerous hobbies outside of baking, but Iain Ross has been combining two of his loves for years: baking and live music. No, the Irish competitor isn’t simply cranking up the tunes when he’s hard at work in the kitchen. Ross does something a little more unique—he captures musical history on bread.
According to his bio on the show’s website, “The self-proclaimed ‘Yeastie Boy’ mixes his love of live music with sourdough, immortalising album cover art on the crusts of his loaves.” The results are impressive!
Though Ross has been posting his baked goods on Instagram (@Thug.Loaf) since December 2019, he didn’t start sharing the artistic twist on his sourdough loaves until 2022. Initially, he seemed to focus on images of popular rap artists.
Within months, requests on social media began to roll in and it led to the designs morphing into popular album cover art.
How Iain Ross turns album covers into bread
In his posts, Ross shares which ingredients he uses for each of the designs. Most appear to be made from black activated charcoal powder and food-grade coloring powders, resulting in a loaf that’s as eye-catchy as it is tasty.
While many of the bands featured are from the 2000’s and beyond, plenty more rock groups end up in the mix. Here are some of that Ross has highlighted over the years:
- Nirvana
- Ziggy Stardust
- Metallica
- Radiohead
- Foo Fighters
“It’s a really fun hobby to have a clash of worlds,” Ross told BBC Radio Ulster. “I have my baking and my love of music so I try to marry the two together the best I can.”
Though his sourdough works of art continue to be popular, it appears that over the last year he has expanded to other baked goods with the same musical flair. For example, his “Bohemian Wrapsody” wrap featured the faces of musical group Queen on the tortilla.
Ross has also made other goodies with equally clever names. His account features impressive Mac Miller Mac-Arons, The Smashing Pumpkin Pie, Ghost Toast, Garlic Slip-Knots and the Rolling Scones, just to name a few.
He also posts videos on TikTok, where you can catch a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the bread and other pastries come together. Check out a recap of his 2023 bakes below:
@thug.loaf EVERY ALBUM I PAINTED ON BREAD IN 2023, WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE? #breadart #thugloaf #deftones #weezer #radiohead #MFDOOM #mitski #phoebebridgers
More about Iain Ross
According to his bio, Ross lives in Belfast with his girlfriend Dervla and their cat, Viktor. He was an amateur powerlifter before turning to baking as a hobby.
While he may be known for the presentation of his baked goods, it seems he focuses just as much on delivering great taste. It’s said he includes fermented fruits and vegetables in his recipes to help enhance the flavor. (Think pickled, aged or cultured ingredients!)
It’s yet to be seen how much of Ross’ artistic skills will make an appearance in the show, especially during bread week!
When does ‘The Great British Baking Show’ season 16 premiere on Netflix?
The show has already begun airing in the UK, and it will become available here on Netflix on Friday, September 5. Tune in on the streaming platform to watch after 3 AM ET/12 AM PT. The remaining episodes will drop on Netflix weekly.
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