Dusty Shoes

For the last several weeks, our cars have been covered by a thin persistent coat of yellow dust, from the neighborhood acacia trees.















After class today, the tops of my shoes were similarly dusted, but with white flour. Baking can be a messy business.






Today we utilized the three methods of making quickbread: biscuit (where cold butter is cut into the dry ingredients), muffin (where the fat is added to the dry ingredients in a liquid form), and creamed (where the butter and sugar are beaten together, and the dry ingredients are then added.) We're working alone this week, and we have a fair amount of flexibility as to what we'll be making, using the recipes provided by Chef Judy as a baseline.

So I made apple crumb coffee cake, blueberry muffins, and chive-parmesan biscuits. All of these products go together very quickly, much of the time being taken up by traipsing across the kitchen to get ingredients, bringing them back to the work area to be weighed, and then returning the unused ingredients to their rightful places. You have to be pretty focused so that you don't forget what you've already measured, or what you've already added to the bowl. Tashana held up a small bowl at one point and asked, "Is this baking soda or baking powder?" You've gotta just dump it out and start over. If you guess wrong, you're screwed.

Aaron showed up today, after missing all of last week. Four of our other classmates were absent. Apropos of nothing, in the middle of the class, Andy said, "Is Nadeen stuck in traffic?" We haven't seen her for two full weeks.

Chef Judy was one of the judges in an on-campus Extreme Bakeoff competition over the weekend. She came to class this morning with a list of things that the competitors did incorrectly, and with "a renewed commitment" to make sure we receive the proper training. She said that overwhipping was rampant. Nuts burned in the oven. Caramel burned on the stove. Too much heat was applied everywhere, in an effort to hurry up the process. She posted a checklist, "Success in Baking and Pastry." It should be made into a poster and displayed in all of our classrooms, but certainly in Basic Skills.

Success in Baking and Pastry
1. Use effective recipes.
2. Read and understand the recipe.
3. Use quality ingredients.
4. Choose correct ingredients.
5. Measure accurately.
6. Add ingredients in proper order and at correct temperature.
7. Follow directions as written.
8. Employ proper techniques of mixing, makeup, panning, and decoration.
9. Bake or cook in specified pan, at correct temperature, "until done."

A. Read the recipe all the way through.
B. Gather necessary tools and ingredients.
C. Prep the pans.
D. Read the recipe again.

Consistency. Speed. Efficiency. Teamwork.

I've been researching recipes in preparation for our final project, to be produced a week from Friday. We've received a list of flavors, two of which must be incorporated into our item(s). Here's the list: blood orange. black currant. passion fruit. litchi. praline paste (hazelnut). orange flower water. rose flower water. tangerine. kumquat. seeds: anise, fennel, etc. saffron. curry. cherry (dried). prune (dried). fig (dried). cheeses: brie, blue, feta, boursin. gianduja (chocolate w/hazelnut). coconut milk. tamarind. green tea. crystallized ginger. balsamic glaze. chutney. pernod. cassis. port.

I was thinking of doing an elaborate cake but I'm reconsidering, and leaning more towards a more complicated yeast bread. In my real life, I have more inclination to make bread than fancy cakes. I'll consult the book and see what fits the bill. Maybe a saffron/feta kind of thing.