The end of Bakeshop and Breads

My two lab classes (artisan breads and bakeshop) are over. Because each class is two days a week and about 7 hours a day, it only runs half a semester. For our finals for each class, we had to take exams as well as complete a practical (an assignment of certain products made throughout the semester made independently).

For breads, we did laminated breads (laminated with butter rolled into the dough). I was responsible for making danishes shaped as pinwheels finished with raspberry filling, glazed and covered in fondant. I also had to make rosemary pepper croissants with parmesan cheese rolled into the dough before baking. The last item was brioche (a rich bread with lots of eggs and fat) with seeds and seasoning sprinkled onto the product before baking. My items turned out alright, they were a little on the small side and my brioche wasn't shaped right (they are difficult to form), but overall, I did well in the class. I'm especially pleased because artisan breads is an advanced course and the pre-requisite for the class is bakeshop. I took bakeshop at the same time and it was not a disadvantage for me. I felt it helped me in the class because everything I learned in bakeshop was directly applied to my breads class.

For bakeshop, each student had to make buttermilk biscuits, heart-shaped sugar cookies with piping techniques, bavarian cream, and french baguettes. My biscuits turned out beautifully, a little undermined but beautifully shaped and delicious. My sugar cookies need some work, my piping skills are not great, but thankfully I will be taking a cake decorating class this march. The bavarian cream was the worst! I did horribly on it. 75% of the class did terribly on this portion. You have to temper eggs and sugar with milk in a pot (without scrambling the eggs), then add it to a gelatin mix and make sure it cools but NOT to the point that is sets. From here you have to make whipped cream and whipped eggs whites and fold them into the gelatin mix, making sure nothing curdles. I practiced mine at home, and the eggs scrambled. The final bavarian I made for class was even worse. I was running out of time and my eggs scrambled, the gelatin was already set, and I freaked out because I was worried I wouldn't have a product in the end if I tried to fix it. This affected my grade tremendously.

The last product, the french baguettes, there was a lot of pressure on me. I was the only person in bakeshop taking artisan breads at the same time, to my Chef, this meant my baguettes had to be amazing because all the practice I had with them. NOT TRUE! I made baguettes once in the breads class, and that was back in January! However, I was patient and let my dough rest, and the product turned out pretty well. My slashing was good and the golden color on the crust was perfect! I got pretty good scores on the overall product. Because I did well in the other classes and on all the tests, I ended up with a very high grade in the class.

Just before I left bakeshop, my chef (the head of the culinary dept.) called me into his office. He told me I was doing a wonderful job, was a dedicated worker and had the gift to make it in the business. He gave me a hand-crafted woodwine paring knife for basically being one of the top students in the class! He told me only one student each class gets this award, and I was extremely touched! He will be my teacher for cake decorating starting next week.

About this cake decorating class, it does until May, and I cannot wait to get started! This will help me in my piping techniques and I think it will be a fun group to work with. So, I will continue posting and taking pictures to share. Thanks so much to everyone reading, I am going strong in my baking and will hopefully be landing a job to pay my bills soon!

Ethnic Breads, Plated desserts, and Decorating

Here is a plated dessert I did in my bakeshop (101 baking) class. My teacher loved it (I think one of my better things in class). I took a simple round raspberry tart, cut it in half, stacked it at an angle, then placed berries at the base for my garnish, dotted white chocolate sauce then a smaller dot of blackberry coulis and ran a toothpick through to make a heart-shaped effect. The top is dusted with powdered sugar, and I made a caramel crisp and piped a whipped cream rosette on top to hold the crisp in place. Simple, elegant, and could easily charge 6.50 for it!

This is a decorative dough I made in my breads class. You bake it in the oven twice to dry it out completely, bake your flowers and pieces separate and then glue them off in the finished product. Its not for eating, you simply keep it as a decoration! Dust once a month, and that's it!

For ethnic breads, we made Naan (Indian bread), parmesean breadsticks, and challah bread in the shape of a bunny (the face is painted with cocoa).

In bakeshop, we decorated chocolate tortes (this one is not my design, we had to mimic the teacher, but it was still fun!).

These are both the cakes I decorated, the first is a chocolate torte and the second is your basic birthday cake. I know my handwriting needs work, and "Me" was written because "Rachel" didn't have enough space. I'm not as proud of the birthday cake because the icing was hot and melting and I had seconds to finish my product. One thing I've learned in these classes is to use your time wisely, don't goof off, and do your best to have a nice looking product at the end of the day that is consistent with the other things you are making and edible!

Decorating in Columbia

hey guys! sorry its been so long, school has been hectic, so here is what i did a couple weekends ago. I went to Columbia, SC to work with my roommate's grandmother who is a cake decorator (she's been doing it for at least 30 years I believe). She spent the whole day teaching me basic piping techniques, since that is my biggest struggle at this point. By the end of the day, I had two beautiful cakes to show for my work. Michelle (my roommate) and her whole family came over and enjoyed my desserts. They were delicious!

here are some pics of what I did:

these are the two cakes I made (above) with a simple buttercream frosting recipe (its important when piping the icing is not too warm or it won't stick very well and you can't pipe it the way you want to very well either)

I did a basket-weave for the side of this cake, with a shell border on the bottom and pink roses on top with leaves

Here is the same cake from a different angle (the top border is a simple shell pipe, roses in the middle)

Here is the other cake I made (the middle is a lattice design I was taught, roses on the edge with leaves, and a reverse shell border)

-I have to say, for my first cakes on my own, I did alright!

Midterm Bread pics

My rustic bread loaves (made with wheat, rye, and bread flour, dusted with wheat germ) shaped like boules.

My whole wheat hazelnut and currant bread (shaped like betards, the front one is better)

My sourdough white club rolls, not bad. I hear they were delicious.

Midterm for Breads, Swans for Bakeshop

So, this is the halfway point for my two hands-on lab classes: artisan breads and bakeshop (baking 101). This week, I had to prepare, mix, knead, slash and bake three separate breads for my midterm. I was very nervous; we had designated stations to work both Monday and Tuesday for breads, and everyone was pretty quiet. Each person made a different group of breads. I made a rustic bread shaped like a boule (rounded sourdough look), a hazelnut and dried currant loaf in the shape of a betard (pics coming) and sourdough white in the shape of small club rolls. I was freaking out a little, but overall, my products turned out alright. Chef Pat told me to work on shaping the hazelnut bread better (its a pain to try to form that thing with all the nuts and currants poking through and burning your bread, leaving holes throughout it). And my slashes (cuts) in the bread could have been deeper and smoother. But, I had the rustic bread for my dinner, it wasn't bad. So far, I'm a pretty average student in the advanced baking breads class, and that is something I'm proud of (not all the students are that lucky).

In my bakeshop class, we didn't have a midterm, just another quiz (we take one every week). I am happy to report I got a 100% on it! Everyone struggled on the test, so I'm very pleased with myself. We started the class afterward with petit fours, eclairs, cookies, and making all the fondant and frostings. My team was responsible for making petit fours with a raspberry glaze in the center and white fondant on top (which I came in early to make which was fun) and piping on pink royal icing after. One of the other teachers hosted a tea party later that day, and we offered her some wonderful bites! My team also had to make a puff pastry shaped like swans. Pardon my French, but that was a bitch. We had to pipe the bodies and heads separate the day before, bake them immediately and let them sit overnight. The next day, we cut part of the bodies off, split that extra piece into two, and put Creme Chantilly into the base of the bird's body, using the two pieces as wings. Then, we carefully placed the heads into the middle (all was held by the creme). Sorry I don't have pictures, but sometimes, when you do something for hours and you finish it and everything is done, you never want to see it again! Well, at least it was good experience and Chef Alan said our team had the hardest things to do, and we did it beautifully.

I just want to say, I love my teachers, and I think they really like me. It's such a big change from growing up and going to school; I feel like I get so much out of class, taking notes, and have a great relationship with all the teachers (and the students for the most part). I think I've impressed many with my work ethic, not all the students are as devoted to cleaning to the best of their ability whilest in class. But I love it still, I love my life, my friends, and yes, if you've heard, my new boyfriend Steven. Shoot me an email if you have any questions, but for now, I'll leave yall some bread pictures. Next weekend I'm going to Colombia to shadow my roommate's grandmother who decorated cakes for a living. My piping skills suck and I need the help. So have a great Valentine's Day!

-the improved baker

Breads Week 4- sorry, pictures are all I have time for!

This is a light rye bread made with caraway seeds (the seeds give it that rye bread taste). I formed it into a boule (rounded look) and slashed the side.

This is my 5-grain bread. Flax seed, millet, sunflower seeds, and more! Same shape as the Rye and same cut. Much more water in this one and I don't think I proofed it long enough (last resting period for dough in warm proof box).

I am so proud of this one. Our chef said it turned out well. It's a semolina bread (has toasted sesame seeds) and I shaped it like a betard (what you see in the picture) and slashed it sausage style (3 cuts along the top to the sides).

Bread Pictures Week 3?

This first one is a whole wheat sourdough, I added too much water and overmixed it, it was very dense (but had the sourdough taste).

The Challah (pronounced "holla") made with eggs and some fat. Tastes like a typical roll bread. I made the 4-braid and 3-braid.

Jalapeno Cheddar Bread made with chopped green onions and cilantro. It was very light and moist and delicious! The best bread I've made so far.

A sourdough olive loaf. I made it like a fougasse (flatter bread and the special cuts I made). Not my favorite choice but it turned out beautifully and tasted great (says the roommate).