Artisan Bread

To date, Artisan Breads has been the most difficult culinary class I have taken.

Maybe this is because it was a five week course that met on Monday and Tuesdays from 3:30pm until 11pm. Well, 11pm was really more of a suggestion. I often saw the clock strike midnight or later in the bakery.

Or, more likely, this class was difficult because there are so many variables that affect one's ability to make good bread: temperature, humidity, yeast activity, dough hydration, protein content of flour. I could go on. And on.

Artisan Bread class was certainly an exercise in patience.

Since this class we a survey of artisan bread, I'll let the bread speak for itself. Here is a sample of the breads I attempted. Yes, there are a lot of them. No, this isn't all of them! :)

Semolina Bread with Sponge

Terrible scoring. Beginners luck with the boule shape. Yes, it is supposed to be that dark. And, due to the semolina the bread is yellow on the inside!

  Pain au Levain with Whole Wheat Flour

Basically a sourdough wheat bread. The slightly red color is good. The terrible shaping is bad. It should be round.

Ciabatta with Olive Oil and Wheat Germ

Topped with pesto. The wheat germ makes this bread addictive. One of my favorites.

 

yeah, I ate this whole thing in less than 24 hours and probably gained 5 pounds. Whatevs.

Midterm Exam

Still need to work on shaping and scoring my baguettes. Scoring is MUCH harder than it looks.
 

 

2 Baguette

5 Epi

Sourdough Batard

(not pictured

Rye Flaxseed Bread

I'm a rye lover but this was not my favorite. I had issues with the dough being too stiff. And, yes, I did try to score a K in to the boule.

Beesting

Round brioche topped with almond praline and filled with diplomat cream. Think holiday breakfast. Bye, Bye Cinnamon Rolls.

 

Sunflower Millet Bread

Everyone loves this bread. Chewy, crunch, nutty. Yum!

 

 

Final Exam  

Two hours for Part One. Four hours for Part Two. Hustle has been redefined.

Part One: 

4 Mummy Rolls

4 Infinity Rolls

4 Flower Rolls

We were able to eat one of these before she graded. I certainly took the opportunity here to put that horrific flower on the far right in the trash. Smart move. I earned the highest grade in the class on shaping.

Part Two Nanterre Brioche Loaf Five Grain Bread Six Strand Filled Brioche Braid  (filled with apricots and almond praline) One Dead Dough Plaque for Each Bread

Fancy Meringues

ummm...how creepy is this?

 This Summer I am taking Pastries, a class that builds on what I learned in Baking Basics.

Out of all the classes I'm taking this Summer this one might be the one I'm enjoying most because it allows for a certainly level of personal creativity.

And, this class more that any other I've taken is exposing me to a wide variety of desserts that I've certainly never tasted and quite often have never even knew existed. Fun!

Recently we had a class that focused on baked aerated desserts.

I signed up to make a chocolate souffle and a plated dessert called "Pink Peppercorn Pavlova with Passion Fruit Curd and Berries."

Chocolate souffles certainly aren't all that exotic but I don't think I had ever eaten on and they are hella difficult to get right.

The most helpful tip I learned while making this souffle is that this is one dessert that should be served wet in the center and to the edges. If the souffle looks like cake, it is over baked.

My addition to this recipe was a vanilla clove creme anglaise.  The souffle recipe called for dark chocolate, orange juice, and orange liqueur for flavoring and I think clove and orange complement one another nicely.

The Pink Peppercorn Pavlova caught my eye because I always like desserts that incorporate  traditionally savory flavors.

The dessert is a free form meringue disk that has ground up pink peppercorns in it. Since it is a pavlova the inside should be chewy not dry/crisp like a traditional baked meringue. 

The curd is made with a passion fruit puree the same way you'd make lemon curd.

The berries were macerated in vanilla, sugar, and aged basalmic vinegar for 20 or 30 minutes.

The pavlova is very sweet and the spiciness of the peppercorns really works well in this dish. The curd added a nice sweet tang and the berries bought some much needed freshness and an additional texture to the dessert.