Bread

Waiting for the loaves to come out of the oven


Loaves, rolls, and focaccia cooling


Beautiful challah braids


Rosemary focaccia


Decadent sticky buns


...bottoms up!


Dough to go (at various points in the rising process) for more yeasty goodness at home

Pie day

At the second session of my baking class, we began with a lecture and demo on pie and tart crust. The instructor used a bench scraper (a.k.a. pastry scraper) to integrate liquid into a flour-butter-salt mixture. This allowed her to avoid introducing body heat and building up those long glommy gluten strands that result in a tough crust.

Next, we selected from a list of recipes. I gravitated toward the blueberry white chocolate cheesecake pie (who wouldn't?!). Although this recipe initially was snapped up by someone else, it ultimately wandered back to me: the other student, upon learning that we would be serving our creations at the end of class, and that there were only enough blueberries for one, chose to switch to a different recipe. She recognized that if she made a duplicate, she'd be able to spirit her version away to a dinner party. Thus, I lucked into making the (to my tastebuds) yummier recipe!

Crust dough needs to be chilled for quite some time before it is rolled out, so we began with pre-made, pre-chilled dough. We rolled it out and filled our various pans. I trimmed my dough to the recommended overhang, deciding belatedly to flute my edges. (Ultimately, these edges looked nice enough when they went into the oven but didn't fare well in baking because I hadn't allowed extra dough for the technique. Plus one crust among many in a crowded oven is never as cossetted as a singleton would be. With foresight, space, and tinfoil, it'll be better next time.)

As we mixed our fillings, an assistant loaded in and kept a harried eye on the baking crusts.

My recipe called for a white chocolate cheesecake layer topped with a cooked blueberry layer. These would be poured into the finished crust, then chilled til cold. There was only about 10 minutes to chill it in class, so it did lose some structural integrity when it was served, but it was so delicious! The lemon zest in the blueberry topping was perfect!

When our treats were ready, we wrapped up by making raw dough to use at home, completing the process (if in reverse order). My dough is in the freezer, waiting for inspiration. I have my eye on the savoury pesto quiche someone else made in class - my second favorite recipe finished that day! :)

Cream puffs

I caught a cold, so did myself and everyone else in my cooking class a favor and stayed home. Instead, DH took my place, and had lots of fun making these delectable cream puffs!



He came back laden with these puffs, as well as some unfilled puffs for us to fill as we like, and was brimming with enthusiasm about how much fun the course is. I am looking forward to next weekend :)

Ratatouille

Tonight we went out to get ingredients... tomorrow, homemade ratatouille for dinner and a showing of the movie "Ratatouille."

(And no, I don't plan to let any aspiring chef kitties take over the cooking!)

My baking class

As a holiday gift, DH gave me a baking class. No, this was not a comment on my current baking skills - I've mentioned before that it would be fun to take a course like this, so he found one and signed me up!

How delicious do these goodies sound?


Week One—Pâte à Choux: In week one, we will discover the
art of making pâte à choux, also known as cream puff paste.
Pâte à choux is a versatile paste that can be used in both sweet
and savory dishes. Students will prepare and sample dishes
such as assorted savory Gougère, Cream Puffs, Éclairs, and
Cream Puff Swans. The class also makes pastry cream and
glazes.

Week Two—Pies and Tarts: Students explore the fundamentals
of making the perfect pâte brisée (pie crust) in week
two. Each student will prepare a standard pâte brisée recipe,
learning how to roll out the dough and use it in various recipes.
Students will make Frangipane and Fresh Fruit Tart, Blueberry
White Chocolate Cheese Pie, Lemon Tartlets, Praline Sweet
Potato Pie, Cranberry Crumb Pie, and Cherry Pie.

Week Three—Breads: Students learn how to work with
yeast doughs, rich doughs, and batter doughs in week
three. The instructor will demonstrate how to knead,
shape, and bake the dough that is prepared in class.
Students will make Focaccia, Rosemary Garlic Bread,
Maple-Pecan Sticky Buns, Rye Bread, and French Bread.

Week Four—Cakes: This class instructs students to
prepare a cake from scratch and to bake and frost it with
simple decorating tips. Students will prepare various
recipes such as an all-purpose Butter Cake, Rich Flourless
Chocolate Cake, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing,
and a vast array of different buttercream, ganache and
simple glazes.