Bagels, Bialys, Focaccia, and Breadsticks

If the rest of the semester is anything like today, than I'll probably be saying the following often: today was another excellent day of baking. Seriously, I can't even fully describe to you how much I am enjoying each class. I am learning so much, and I am learning the proper techniques which makes the experience so freakin fantastic.

In Artisan Breads today, we made Bagels and Bialys. Big shout out to the Polish immigrants who brough these delicious treats to the United States all those years ago. I'm a big fan in general of bagels and bialys, but bialys are often hard to find. Anyway, we made bagels in the traditional sense, with a water bath and the use of traditional flavorings. Original bagels were covered with poppy seeds and then seasame seeds. I made one with poppyseed, two with minced onion, three with everything, one with salt, and one plain. Here's the photo:



Bialys are like bagels but there are two distinct differences. One, bialys do not have a hole. Two, bialys are not made with a water bath. We made bialys with a traditional filling, which contains diced, sauteed onions and poppy seeds. I had one of these right from the oven today. Delish.




In Bakeshop this afternoon, the theme for this week is yeast breads so we made focaccia and breadsticks. I love focaccia, and it is such a versatile bread. Here's part of my loaf:



After the focaccia baked, we made breadsticks. I seasoned some of mine with salt, some with basil/oregano, and some with seasame seeds. Again, they were pretty darn good.



I mentioned last week that there are ten steps to baking bread. Technically, there are eleven (I had a quiz on this earlier), and the last stage is cooling and storage. One of the biggest points I've learned about breads thus far is that "bread is only fresh for the amount of time it took to make." For example, if a loaf of bread took 3 hours to make (from mixing through fermentation through baking), it is only technically fresh for the first 3 hours from which it came out of the oven. Now, as we know from experience, bread doesn't go instantly stale, but it starts to slowly go stale. I got to bring home some of my breads today. I am trying to save some of what I am allowed to bring home so Mom and Dad have something to sample when they visit in two weeks. I hope they are excited!

Apple Torte

Today in Cakes, we made an Apple Torte. While not a traditional cake or layer cake, the torte did have a few separate layers. Let me describe the layers to you.

On the bottom is a short bread dough. This has the consistency of cookie dough. We first baked this thin layer to give it form. The sides of the torte are also made from this short bread dough - we did this by pressing the dough onto the sides of the cake round. On top of the baked short bread, we slathered apricot marmalade which would help bind the short bread to a 1/4 inch thick layer of vanilla chiffon genoise (chiffon = light and airy; genoise = sponge cake). Next we layered on 5 lbs of a thick mixture which contained diced apples, raisins, and toasted almonds. We finished off the top with another thin layer of short bread dough, and we used a fork to give it design. We baked the torte for one hour. When finished baking, we glazed the top with apricot glaze and sprinkled crushed almonds around the edge.

Here's a photo to show the thickness of the cake:



Here's a photo of the top of the cake:



We didn't have enough time to cool and cut the torte, so I haven't yet been able to taste this, which is a total bummer! I also wasn't able to confirm if my torte fully stayed together on the sides. Hopefully on Wednesday I will get to taste it when I am back in that building for my Nutrition and Sanitation class. Overall, though, this torte was a long process. But the end product looks pretty good. I look forward to tasting it soon!

Bakeshop: Quick Breads

This afternoon in Bakeshop, we made Quick Breads. Quick Breads include things like muffins, biscuits, Irish soda bread, and the like. Quick Breads use leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda. Today, some people made zucchini bread, some cranberry nut bread, and I made banana nut bread. In other courses, I have been using a digital scale to weigh my ingredients. This afternoon, I used a baker's scale, which was a new learning experience. Here's a baker's scale:



The scoop here is that I am much more comfortable with a digital scale and find them absolutely easier to use than the baker's scale. But knowing how to use multiple types of equipment is important, so you do what you gotta do even when it takes longer. So, nothing too special here, but these are my breads:



All in all, today was pretty spectacular. I can't even fully explain to you how excited I am to have survived the transition during this first week. I have already learned so much. It is quite incredible. I am already pumped for next week.

I hope you've enjoyed following my first week back in school. Please, become a follower of my blog! And write comments or email me! I'd love to hear more from you!

Breads

So, let me start by saying, today's Artisan Breads class was lightyears better for me than Tuesday's. I worked hard to make it that way, but a few key things happened. First, I found a really good partner to work with. In my first week of school, I have really realized how important it is to have a good partner. As I noted, we often work in pairs, sometimes more than that, so working together is vital and having a good partner is key. I am glad this has worked out for me now in each of my courses. The second big factor is that I was no longer as freaked out as I was on Tuesday. I knew what to expect today, and I personally challenged myself to execute better and work with more confidence. It's total cliche, but attitude makes a huge difference and it did for me today.

So, we made baguettes again. Something that looks so simple is so complex so we'll be making baguettes often. On Tuesday, we hand mixed our own batch of 3 lb dough and we used active dry yeast. Today, we worked with a partner and used the mixer to make 6 lbs of dough with fresh yeast. We'll be doing variations like this all semester. Today, my dough was really good dough. I know this because Chef used my dough to make one baguette in his demonstrations. On this picture, you can see three baguettes. The chef's is on the left; my two are on the right.



You can see, even before these are fully baked as shown in this photo, that Chef's has great stippling and my baguettes still need a lot of work in this area. I did a little better today, but I still have to work hard at getting better in this skill area. This is critical because all of the work you do with your dough up to this point (which is at least 2 hours of a process with fermentation) can go to crap basically if you don't have good slashes. So, I'm getting there. The inside of my dough and the general crust was good, which means I worked the dough well throughout the day. I just have to get that stippling down, so I can execute more fully. One day at a time.

Chef showed us another variation on the baguette. This is called pain d'epi and it is executed by using kitchen scissors. Epi is French for wheat, so this design is meant to mimick a stalk of wheat. It is a great bread to use when gathering with family and friends who can "break bread" by taking one piece off at a time.




Another amazing part of the class today was that Chef demonstrated how to fold in different ingredients into this dough. Today he used roasted garlic, fresh rosemary, black pepper, salt, olive oil, and onions to make this dough into rolls. Um, can you even imagine how amazing the bakeshop smelled throughout the day? I heart garlic, particularly roasted garlic. I can't wait to perfect this type of bread at home. The possibilities are endless. And because I know you're curious, here's a photo of those as well:

Nutrition & Sanitation

Today's class was Nutrition & Sanitation. Because I already have a master's degree, it was recommended to me that I take these two topics as separate courses online; basically, take one online nutrition class and take one online sanitation course. This recommendation is made because people with advanced degrees tend to need as many lab courses as possible; I will finish 4 lab courses this semester regardless so I decided to remain in the course that meets on campus once a week, from 8:00-11:00am Wednesdays.

I did this for two reasons. One, it exposes me to another chef in person and another perspective. Two, I like the concept of this course - learning about sanitation and nutrition in the hands-on lab setting allows me to do more baking and even some cooking, and I figure I need all of the practice I can get. And of all of my courses, this will be the easiest to manage. And I actually like that it is on Wednesday - it will hopefully give me a breather between the craziness of Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I certainly need that.

And now it's time for homework. Is it strange that I am actually excited about my homework and reading?

Bakeshop

If you read my previous post, you know that my morning in Artisan Breads was really challenging and I felt overwhelmed throughout the class. We finished a bit early so I had some extra time to scarf down lunch from my lunch bag. You see, after Breads which ends at 2:00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I grab lunch and head back to the same classroom for my 2:40pm class which is Bakeshop, or Introduction to Baking and Pastry. It meets until 7:10pm. As you can see, today was one heck of a long day, and I'm a bit spent. In general, I equate today to trying to get back into shape: day two was much harder than day one.

Unlike my other classes this week, Bakeshop's first day was very general. We didn't do any hands on work; just the basic introductory first day type of stuff. On Thursday, we'll get into it with some actual baking, but after the morning session, I can honestly say I enjoyed the slowed-down pace of the afternoon. Thursday will be more realistic, but at least by that point, I'll have a better overall sense of what to expect. As for now, I'm tired and need a beer.

Artisan Breads: The Baguette

Well, here it is. The worst best baguette I'll ever make.



Yes, you read that correctly. But let me repeat myself: The worse best baguette I'll ever make. It's true. It's pretty tasty, and it's definitely the best baguette I've ever made. In fact, it's the first "true" baguette I've ever made. But the truth of the matter is that it's actually a terribly executed baguette. I have a lot of practice ahead of me.

Let me give you a bit of info. On Tuesdays/Thursdays, I meet for Artisan Breads from 7:30am to 2:00pm. This is amazing for a number of reasons but here are the main three. First, it's Artisan Breads. I mean, true and authentic artisan breads. What's not to like about learning that? Second, my instructor is a true artisan - he's a younger chef who has studied and studied and studied artisan breads for over 15 years. He's a true craftsman. He's extremely energetic and passionate. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn from him. (He's originally from Philadelphia; he told me where I could get a good cheesesteak.) Again, what's not to like? And third, I'll get to learn how to make tons of different breads (with some other fun things sprinkled in). I'm not going to tell you all of the details now, because there needs to be some anticipation for you to continue to read. But I can tell you, it's going to seriously rock.

Well, if I can figure out how to get better at this quickly, that is.

So, let me bare all here. The honest to God truth is that all of the knowledge I had about bread, making bread, working dough, etc. won't even amount to 1% of the knowledge I need to succeed in this course. It's quite a challenge because it's not an introductory level course, but I am taking it along with my introductory classes. Therefore, I'm behind my peers and it is quite intimidating and overwhelming. There's no place to hide in a culinary lab, and my lack of skills is pretty evident. I have to go in there and try my best. And let me tell you, this morning's session was really hard for me.

It's also frustrating when you labor over a piece of work and it doesn't turn out very well. Of course I want my preparations to be successful, but I guess I've accepted the fact that I need to learn the hard way, and that starts from the ground up. Hence, the worst best baguette I'll ever make (hopefully).

So here's a few bits of information I can pass on to you. Bread baking is a ten-step process; it's hard to find a really good loaf of bread in any form because in the retail world, people tend to take a lot of shortcuts for a variety of reasons (time, cost, etc). So learning this craft is truly a gift, but I can easily understand now why some people won't even want to take it on. There's no exact formula. Yes, there are ten steps that you follow, but what works one day may not work the next and what tastes great one day may not taste great the next even if you did things exactly the same. Dough is tricky. You need to basically form a relationship with dough - work it, fold it, shape it - understand its texture and get an overall "feel" for what it is telling you.

Where does my bread need improvement? In a lot of places. The main thing you can see, the area that shows differentiation in color, is achieved through a process called stippling. My stippling is terrible. I didn't make my cuts deep enough or at the right angle. When this bakes, this area should open up much more when steam is added into the oven. Also, my overall color should be darker. Contrary to popular belief, a better bread is darker in color.

Like I said, it's not easy. I have my work cut out for me. I just hope that I can get better each day. In the end, that's really all I can do.