Week 4 - Baking and Pastry Class

What a crazy day, chef was upset with us because of uniforms and that we were too slow.

We left class late around 3:10pm. We had a new student which turned out being my partner for today's recipes Pate a choux and pastry Cream .

The quiz wasn't difficult, I didn't study sugar and fat as I did cookies so I didn't go as good as last week but it's okay when these things happens make me feel that as much as I think I am doing still not enough.

So we started measuring the ingredients for both recipes and I got a little upset with my partner because he wasn't as neat organized and precise as I try to be, I didn't like his attitude towards some students when they came to get ingredients from our station, I didn't say anything in respect for him being a new student and older than me.

We started with the cream, I have done this kind of cream many times but with one difference that in Brazil we make it with condensate milk instead of sugar. In a pot we mixed milk, 1/2 of the sugar, salt and 1/2 vanilla bean, heat it up until starts and get to a boil. In other bowl mix the egg, egg yolk and the other 1/2 of the sugar whisk with sifted corn starch. Starts the tempering progress adding a little of the hot milk to the egg mixture back to the heat, whisk furiously when starts getting thick and bubbly come up you keep for one more minute to remove the starch flavor.

Our cream didn't get to the right consistency at first so we had to add a mixture of a little cornstarch and cream to get the thickness we wanted, when ready we add the butter. We prepared a half sheet pan with plastic wrap them we put the cream on it to get cold, when I look at it he was scraping all the stick part from the bottom of the pot into the cream, so I remove from the pan and strained to remove all lumps, back to another prepared sheet pan with plastic wrap and we cover with plastic right directed to the cream to no form any crust, put in refrigerator.

To make the puff we heat up the milk and water, fat and salt when it came to starts boils we remove from the heat and add the flour all at once and mix with wooden spoon, back to the heat cook a little longer until it get as a ball of dough and no stick on the sides of the pot. When this is done bring the dough to the mixer bowl with paddle attachment and mix until a little of the heat is removed so we can add the eggs, one by one we are looking for a kind of shiny dough, so sometimes you won't need all the eggs. When you need to add more eggs but to the whole egg you can beat it with fork and use as need. When it is done we put the dough in a piping bag, we used a flat texture tip, then pipe it in round shape in a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Oven at 400F for complete 15 minutes then 325F for about 10 minutes more or until you get the desired color and when you hold the puff and feel light weight, not heavy as raw uncooked would be. Only them I realize we forgot to use the egg wash before go to the oven.

They were okay, we didn't get a even size and wasn't looking as nice as chef made, she said that the finish outside texture of ours was a little different because had more egg than needed. At the end of class we remove our cream from the refrigerator and mixed with one spoon of whipping heavy cream to make it more light and spreadable, we put the felling inside a piping bag without tip. Made a little role in the puff where we introduce the cream, make sure fill the whole apace. We used sugar 10X sifted on the top of the puffs. The final products tasted good. We took the extra one home.

At the end of the class he asked me if I was military, I asked I was too bossy that's why he was asking it , and we laugh.

I froze the extra puff that I brought home and use it as chef though us to reheat at 325 for 5 minutes, I use ice cream inside and melted chocolate on the top, my husband loved it.

It was a great experience to make these recipes now I don't feel scary of making éclairs as I used to be.

Class Notes

Sugar presentation

Addicted substance, stimulate brain, work as drugs

Carbohydrate/ sucrose

sweetened agent, sugar become toxin over time, diabetes.

High fructose, corn syrup (1/2 of the price) sweeter than sugar.( ketchup, crackers)
Insidious hidden, your brain doesn't register that it is sugar, and wants more.

1. Sweetness

2.Tenderizes

3.Allaws air development ( sugar + fat = creaming method, sugar+ eggs= foaming method)

Sugars that bakeshop uses

- granulated sugar

- confectioner's sugar, powder sugar, 10X

-brown sugar, molasses, moisture

(chef Maii usually uses light brown sugar and if need a more flavor she adds molasses)

dark + molasses

light - molasses

- sugar in the raw, has texture sprinkle, crunch in cookies

There are people with, super taster, regular, taster and no taster, smoke kills you palate.

Fats Presentation

- adds moisture

- increase, keep quality

- adds flavor

- assist in leavening

 Characteristics- melting point, softness or hardness in room temperature, flavor, ability to form emulsion.

Saturated (animal fats, solids)

Unsaturated ( olive oils, liquid)

Shortening- Tenderizes a product by shortening gluten strands, it is white and tasteless, 100% fat, manufactured

Regular Shortening- Tough waxy texture, easy to mold at room temperature

Butter- Fresh butter has 80% fat, 15% water, 5% milk

natural flavor that changes depending where it came from , melting qualities, cow butter/ goat butter ( whiter)

salted- absorb flavor

unsalted- usually more perishable, fresher, sweet taste, natural

Margarine- manufactured, hydrogenated( process that converts liquids fat to solid fat) animal + vegetal fat. 80/85% fat, 15% moisture, about 5% salt, milk solids and other components.

Oils

-liquid fat

-lard ( rendered fat from hogs) Leaf  Lard, cut it in small pieces, put in the oven on 250F to cook. It lasts forever in the freezer, you can use 75% butter and 25% lard in the recipe, it is a powerful agent flavoring.

Fats get rancid if left out for too long, keep it in cool dry place.

Pate a Choux (cabbage paste)

1. Versatility

Savory

Used as canapés

hors d'oveures, fill it with all kinds of things,

Gougeres- typically made puff with gruyere, cow, semi hard cheese, but you can use any cheese.

Secrete ingredient - when you fell that something is missing add a little  Coleman's dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce ( fish sauce)

Sweet

Cream puff

Éclair

Swans

Gateau St. Honore, Croquembouche ( used in French wedding, they are all glued together with caramel.

2. Unique and twice cooked

1st  stove top

2nd in oven

Pate a choux Method

1. In a sauce pot combine liquid, fat, salt and bring to a  boil.

2. Remove from heat and add all flour at once and mix with wooden spoon.

3. Return to the heat and continue mixing to release excess of moisture and ball forms

4. Transfer mixture to standing mixer with paddle, mix on medium high to release steam

5. Add eggs one at the time, scraping the bowl between additions. Looking for a little shine dough, but still stiff enough to pipe.

6. Pipe into uniform shapes, use a egg wash on top.

7. Bake  in 375-400 F oven for 15 minutes and finish baking at 325-350F until cooked through and light weight.

Pastry Cream (Crème Patisserie)

1. In a sauce pot combine liquid, half sugar, pinch salt, vanilla bean ( if it is liquid ad at the end). SCALD-right below simmer.

2. In a bowl mix together egg, egg yolks, 2nd half of sugar, and sifted corn starch.

3. Temper, return the saucepot to medium high heat and whisk vigorously, continuously until thick.

4. Bring to a boil, continue to cook, whisk and cook for a 1 more minute to remove the corn starch

5. Remove from heat, whisk in butter ( after butter , melted chocolate, praline and other flavor)

6. Transfer to prepared pan and cover the surface directly with plastic wrap. (wrap the pan with plastic before you add the cream) food contact with aluminum get color sometimes).

Mousseline- when you add whipped cream to the pastry cream.

Cream Puff and vanilla cream - 10X powder sugar on top - 1/2 of each recipe

1. Cream first to have time to cool . In a pot add milk, 1/2 sugar, vanilla bean ( scrape the seeds from the been with the outside of the knife) and a pinch of salt.

2. In a bowl whisk the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and sifted corn starch, do not leave it sitting too long without whisk, will create lumps.

3. Temper - milk into a egg mixture ( get all the dimes out of the bowl), back to heat, whisk fast to not create lumps, remove from heat and add the butter. After butter add pistachio past, praline, chocolate, get a little of the cream and mix with the paste before ad to the rest of the cream, it makes easier to incorporate, about 2 general spoon of paste.

4. let cool in a prepared sheet pan wrapped with plastic

Pate a choux

In a pot add the milk, water, butter, salt, bring to a boil (don't overcook it) stove20, add all the flour at once (bread flour), back to heat, stove 15, and cook until form a ball and get the moisture out. Transfer the dough to the mixer with a paddle attachment, in medium high and beat until cools a little. Add eggs one by one , scrap the bowl between addition, we are looking for a little shine, some time the whole egg is too much so you have to whisk with the fork to be able to use only half of it.

In a pastry bag, do not fill more than half, using a tip big star or round plain, twist the bag so anything comes out or use a container. Put a little of dough in the sheet pan and the parchment paper on top use it to stable the paper. Press a round shape like a rosette. For éclair squeeze consistently squeeze at the pull back. Swan pipe with lots of pressure and let it go like a shell and separated a s shape with a head and 2 slices of almond, which is the neck of the swan.

Egg wash to make it shine. Bake it at 400F for 15 minutes and finish baking at 350F.

We can freeze the puffs for a month, at 325F oven for 5 minutes .

For filling, make a small role with a knife on the side or bottom of the puff, can be cut across too, use a piping bag without tip to fill the puffs, make sure fill all , we used powder sugar sifted on the top.

To make the swan, cut in half fill the bottom part with cream, cut the top in two parts and stick it in the cream and attach the neck.

these are with ice cream at home