Tuesdays Top Ten- Things To Remember when you are a 1st Year Culinary Student Making Bread

I was being very patient...  

I really wanted Chef Fred to give my team the opportunity to bake some bread.

The way our kitchen lab time works is that there are 16 students, 8 teams, 2 students each.  In the beginning of every class we are given a production sheet that outlines at least two items each group will be working on for that day.  Chef tries to give each group the opportunity to work on different items each lab.  That way we can mark off the different competencies from our skills checklist.  What is nice about each group doing different recipes is the opportunity to see and taste a lot of different products.  It also gives Chef Fred the chance to do different demonstrations too.  If one group is doing a sauce, he call the students over to watch how it should be properly assembled.  If we are learning about how to use a pastry bag to dispense a decorative spritz cookie, Chef will demonstrate this skill and then let each of us come up and try it.  It is a very nice way to get a lot of baking exposure in one class period.

Last week Our lab sheet finally said  "Bread!!"

All of the book knowledge I had practiced for quizzes and our first exam would finally be put to use.  The specific steps I had practiced, studied, imagined myself performing, and also watched other groups carry out- it was finally our turn!

Here are the Top Ten steps we use in class and that you need to know and adhere to, they are the "Production stages".  It is important to follow these to produce a hearty, and most delicious loaf or baguette of bread, yeast bread to be specific. First things First:

1.  "Mise En Place"-  This means make sure you have all your ingredients available and any tools necessary to complete your recipe.  This is very important since you don't want to get halfway through your recipe and find out you are missing an ingredient or be unprepared to scrap the bowl because you didn't get everything you needed before you started.  Time is always of the essence.

Pan Rustique dough- it starts out like pancake batter, but very quickly turns into a beautiful dough

2.  "Scaling the Ingredients"- and you better check them twice too!  Especially in the baking kitchen where we are mixing 9 and 12 lb batters.  It would be a sickening shame to mess it up because of an error in the amounts of ingredients.  

3. "Mixing and Kneading the Dough" - This is important to moisten the ingredients and develop the wheat gluten.  If you don't do enough your dough will simply not turn out right- there is a way to test if your dough is ready for the next stage- it is called the:

4. "The Windowpane Test" - This is a great way to check and see if your dough is ready for the next stage.  Tear a small piece of dough and slowly stretch it between your fingers to make a semi-transparent "window".  The dough is ready if it stretches without breaking and has a smooth appearance.

Windowpane Test

5.  "Fermenting the Dough" -Let it rise, Let it rise!  This is the dough's chance to create flavor and texture.  The temperature of your room is important to the rate of rise, as well as the temp of the dough and the certain ingredients you are using too.

6.  "Punching Down the Dough" - This is your opportunity to give your dough some relief or as we say in class "De-Gas" and let all that CO2 the fermentation process created escape into the atmosphere.

7.  "Portion your Dough"- Depending on how much dough you have made this is the time to cut it into the set amounts.  In class this could be 14 pieces for Baguettes, or 10 pieces for Boules.  At home I find I am usually portioning a recipe into 2 or 3 loaves.

8.  "Rounding and Making up or Shaping the portions"- You spin your dough right round, right round- like a record baby right round, right round :)  Rounding it into a ball- this may be your time to shape it too.

These are our Baguettes after shaping them- we put them in the clothes on baking boards to proof first.

9.  "Proofing"- At school we have a proof box that we can put our shaped doughs into to get ready to be baked.  It has a set humidity and temp of about 70-85 degrees.  The dough is in the proof box until it "feels" ready to go.  We are learning to sense when they are ready by touch.  You want your dough to have a light springiness - not too tough, not too soft.  At least I think that is the case- I am still learning about this one.

This is our classroom deck oven- A most beautiful machine that produces the most beautiful breads

10. "The Grand Finale ~  Baking and Cooling" - This is show time, all the steps have been applied, you followed the rules, you are ready to see the doughs of your labor expand and develop into the most wonderful masterpiece.

We dock the bread by cutting shallow lines into the tops

We transfer the proofed loaves onto trays that will then be used to transfer the bread onto the bare rack of the deck oven

We wait for the bread to bake

And Voila!!!

Bread- Glorious Bread!

The cooling rack

We finally had our chance to make bread

There is nothing I would have rather do instead

I am totally in love with this newly learned process

When I make bread at home, no longer will I have to guess!

Surviving The "Real" First Week of School:

WORLD CUISINE

French Onion Soup with French Baguette and Gruyere Cheese

-France Week-

What is your favorite Ethnic Cuisine? Is there a particular country's food that you typically choose over any other? French, Italian, Mexican, Cajun Creole, Indian, Chinese, Thai, German, and Carribbean cuisines are only a few examples of the categories in worldly cooking practices we will be focusing on this semester in World Cuisine Class. I am extremely excited about this opportunity, along with all of the extracurricular activities that will be required of our class if we expect to move on with a decent grade.

As a chef it is our pride and joy to create delicious and memorable food experiences for our family, friends, and guests. As a student in World Cuisine class we have two specific occasions to offer to the public where you can experience the cultures beyond our United States borders in an authentic, flavorful, and fun way!

Let me take this opportunity to share a little bit about these events with you:

1. TASTERS GUILD- My team will be representing India!

"This annual event features a strolling dinner of international cuisine served at more than a dozen tasting tables throughout NMC's Great Lakes Campus. Prepared by Great Lakes Culinary Institute students, and featuring local and select regional and international wines. Net proceeds of this benefit auction go toward academic scholarships, books and equipment for students."

http://www.nmc.edu/resources/lobdells/tasters-guild.html

I am currently setting out around town and also talking to family and friends about donations for the silent and live auctions. Anything that you can do will be helpful and appreciated. So far some examples of donations I have received are artwork, service and tune-up packages, and a weekend get-away package. If you think you might be able to donate please let me know and I will be happy to answer any questions and get you the information. All donations are tax deductible.

2. ITALY DINNER- This is a special dinner concentrated on the cuisines of Italy. We are still in the planning stages for the dinner so the menu has not been set yet. The Italy dinner is a chance to experience the foods that make this culture so special. With special attention being paid to fresh ingredients, authentic preparations and an organized approach to a country whose food culture varies greatly from the North to the South. If you are interested in making a reservation for this dinner- tickets go fast- please call 995-3120 which will connect you with someone who can reserve your spot!

http://www.nmc.edu/resources/lobdells/spring-10-dinners.html

Lobdell's in the evening

So now you have an idea of what I will be working towards this semester. We have already made it through the first week which was all about France. Very Rich, very special food. France has quite a culinary pedigree when you learn about how they have created many of the principles we adhere to, and they were the first to actually document their food preparations formally- CookBooks! This week we are diving into Italy- I already feel a kinship with this country so it should be good!

Chicken Cordon Bleu from france week

Something to be Passionate About

I love Grissini!!!!

And specifically I love the Grissini from Pleasanton Bakery- a local brick oven bakery near my home that makes the most amazing breads. I try to find all different reasons to reward myself with these yummy creations from my bakery friends. I will even drive by on Sundays when I know they aren't really open with the hope that maybe I will be able to have a grissini anyways. My friends at Pleasanton know by now that this is my favorite treat from them since they will usually greet me- one hand waving, the other reaching into the baked goods display to grab one of each flavor that they offer. It has really become a favorite food of mine more recently and I am well aware of when the Grissini will be at its finest- especially since they only make Grissini on their baking days which are now Monday- Wednesday and Fridays- it is even still warm if I show up to the bakery around noon! My kids love when I have a Grissini craving, especially Lauren since she likes Grissini too. Riley always gets one of their delicious Chocolate Chippers cookies instead.

Pleasanton Bakery offers two flavors currently of their Grissini- Cranberry pecan and an Herb Parmesan flavor. I can't decide which one I like more since each one represents a different flavor profile. One is sweet, the other savory. Both are so wonderful! My passion for this Grissini is much like my passion for Culinary Arts. I think about it all the time. I think about when I will have Grissini all the time, in the case of cooking its always "When will I get to be in my kitchen next and what will I make?" It is a good feeling to know what I like and to be able to go for it. In the case of Grissini I know when it is available and I can make that work into my cravings. With Culinary School I finally feel like I have arrived into a focus that will give me the ability to help other people as I have always felt I was born to do. Starting the new semester today has given me a new excitement, new challenges and an assurance that I am stepping closer and closer to my goals. I can accomplish everything I have set out to do! Oh to have passion, to have love in my heart- feeling so fulfilled- its wonderful!

Here are some links about Pleasanton, and Grissini too if you want to learn more! Enjoy!

http://www.pleasantonbakery.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grissini

The Black Box- Pro Cookery Final

Old fashioned Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

Roast Rack of Lamb with Corn and Tomato Risotto, roasted Zucchini and Beurre Blanc Sauce

If you watch Food Network (As far as I am concerned it is the only channel that exists, except for when Heroes or Grey's Anatomy is on) -then you are familiar with the show "Chopped" by chance. For those of you unfamiliar with this show I will give you a quick recap. Four different chefs complete for $10,000 by being presented with a black box- In the #1 round they find 3-5 mystery ingredients inside the box that they have 20 minutes to make an appetizer out of to be judged. Four chefs get Chopped down to three and Round #2 presents a second black box with another set of mystery ingredients and 30 minutes to create an entree to be judged. Once again a chef is chopped if their dish doesn't compare to the other competitors. Finally, the Final two chefs compete in a dessert round- 30 minutes- new Black Box and then they are judged to determine a winner based on all three of their dishes from the competition. Its a really fun show- my whole family loves it!

So in Professional Cookery we have a Lab practical that has a similar idea, except there is only one judge "The Chef Instructor" and you have a total of three hours to present a plated soup and entree from your mystery tray -"Black Box" The menu we have to create from all the tray ingredients must be presented to the Chef in the first 30 minutes after start time, so he can know what to expect. Then the soup must be presented two hours after the start time, and the entree an hour later. You can expect to have two different proteins (I was hopeful for Tofu or tempeh, but no luck) various vegetables, a starch, and things like butter, or a list with vinegar or white wine on it. The Chef has a certain expectation of what you might make with these ingredients but you are not deducted in points if you come up with something totally different. The major criteria is that you have a soup properly plated and garnished, and an entree that includes a protein, starch, vegetable and sauce properly and pleasingly plated.

Make sense???

So In my Black Box I had :
-Flank Steak
- Rack of Lamb
-Carrots
-peppers
-sweet corn fresh
-zucchini
-onion,
-a leek
-tomato
-barley
-garlic
-a pound of butter
-arborio rice
-white vinegar and white wine.

What I made was:
~~ A Old Fashioned Vegetable Beef with Barley Soup with the Flank Steak

~~ A Thyme and Cumin Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb with a Fresh Corn and Tomato Parmesan Risotto, Roasted Zucchini Moons and a Red Pepper Beurre Blanc (Butter) Sauce.

Whew- that was the fasted and most focused three hours in that kitchen all semester. Everything I did came together on time, and with the help of my classmates (who already did their black boxes on Monday) as food runners, I was able to successfully create the dishes that made sense to me with those ingredients for that moment. When I presented to the Chef, there were some good points to my dishes and some constructive criticism too- he acknowledged some of the timing issues with cooking the flank steak long enough to draw out maximum flavor which I struggled with for my soup. The Rack of Lamb dish came out pretty nice, though he said I may have overloaded the plate a little too much and added too much sauce- I knew he would say that- but he also said some restaurants do their plates like that and the clients love it- more bang for the buck for the customer, but as a chef you have to watch food cost and portion control. Good learning lessons.

The best part of the whole experience was that overall the Chef was very pleased with my work and it made me cry! No worries- it was a Happy, Relieved cry. It may have been all the emotion of not feeling well the day before and just being so worked up about doing well for this test, either way I am just happy to have made it through this first semester in Culinary school successfully. It is such a life blessing to know I am exactly where I should be right now. The shoe fits beautifully and I thank God and my family and friends daily for all your love and support. I couldn't do this without it. The daily encouragements, the hugs from my kids, Tod asking me about my day at school- all of it just energizes me and pushes me to do the best that I can. Yesterday worked out because of all these connections and the love and friendship in my life. Thanks again to everyone who sent encouragements yesterday, the phone calls and the hugs and love from my family.

Bring on the next Black Box- I am not afraid- and I am ready for the next challenge!!!