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| Chocolate Chip Cookies |
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind and I know I owe you all an apology for not posting a blog last Sunday.
In my last posting, I was about to start my Baking&Pastry Module. I've been looking forward to that particular module for quite some time and it (the module) didn't disappoint. We have been baking and baking and baking all kinds of foods; french bread, croissants, danish pastries, cookies, scones, biscuits, etc, etc. And everything is delicious.
Now, obviously as great as it is to end the finished baked product, the knowledge I have gained so far about the ingredients and their interaction either during the mixing or the baking process, has been invaluable. Did you know that too much sugar in a cookie makes them spread during the baking process, but that too little sugar makes them crisp rather than nice and chewie? Did you know that you can measure water, milk and eggs by volume because they weigh 1 pound per pint (or 1 kilogram per liter)? I could create a whole 'Did you know section?' section here for you. But we don't have that much time. I guess the most valuable thing one can be taught in a 6 week baking crash course, is how to apply certain mixing techniques to different recipes and being able to create consistent products.
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| Finished Pan d'Epi |
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| Pan d'Epi before baking |
My favorite recipes so far have been the yeast based bread recipes and the laminated-dough recipes for croissants and danish pastries. OMG, the results were so good. I love good french bread and french pastries, but I never thought I would be able to produce them myself.
Any yeast-based dough production can be broken down into a 12 step process that when applied correctly makes yeast doughs very easy to understand and produce. Of course the 12 step process is no guarantee that things can't go wrong, but it gives structure to a recipes that can seem daunting otherwise; for example french baguettes or croissants. The french Pan d'Epi (wheat stalk) artisan bread is very impressive to look at, but also very easy to make. It is a french baguette that is cut and shaped in the form of a wheat stalk just before it goes into the oven. The advantage of this style is that it lends itself for use at picnics, parties etc, because it can be broken into individual pieces very easily. No knife required.
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| Rolled croissant dough |
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| Baked Croissants ready to eat |
The principles of the 12 step process can also be applied to the production of croissants and danish pastries because the dough is yeast based, but it has the added difficulty of being a laminated dough. Laminated (or rolled-in) doughs contain many layers of fat that are sandwiched between layers of dough, creating the flakiness that is desired in a croissant for example. There are two slightly different techniques to creating the flakiness in the dough, but both require a lot of fat (in most cases butter is desired) to be rolled into the dough. For a recipe that asks for 3 lbs of flour will also ask for 2 lbs of butter to be rolled into the dough. A hefty caloric price for the divine taste of a croissant. And I am only talking about a plain croissant, never mind one with an almond or chocolate filling. My freezer is currently full with samples of the filled versions.
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| Common shapes for danish pastries |
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| Filled danish pastries |
The same goes for a danish pastry. Although the dough itself it usually a little bit more flavorsome to start with by adding eggs and spices such as ground cardamom to the original dough mix. The filling shown here, on the left, is cream cheese that is added after the dough is shaped in the form desired (see picture on the right). After the baking process we applied an apricot glaze and some icing. Looks good, right? Tastes even better, trust me.
In addition to the baked goods described, we produced scones, biscuits, muffins and more. So, here are a few pictures of the goodies and I promise I will go into the steps of preparation at some other time, perhaps in more detailed individual posts.
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| Spritz Cookies |
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| Biscuits with Ham & Cheese |
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| Focaccia dough ready to be baked |
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| Soft Rolls |
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| Scones |
I did weigh myself at the start of this module and, although don't count on me revealing my weight to you in this blog, I am planing to let you know truthfully whether I have put on pounds or not at the end of the Baking&Pastry module. Particularly since I am not getting my usual exercise either. Some of you already know that in addition to attending culinary school, I have also started working at catering company which keeps me pretty busy at the moment. That may have the consequence that I will not be able to continue to write my blog on a weekly basis, but it may have to be every two weeks from now on. I will en-devour to write as often as I can, but please be patient with me for the next two months or so. Once I start my internship and do not need to attend early-morning classes at school anymore, I should be able to return to a weekly schedule.
Happy eating everyone.
