Back in Action.

And we're back. Today was actually our second day back at school, but our first day in the kitchen. I sort of forgot how intense it can be with 20+ people running all over the place trying to do things quickly. I walked into at least three people and a stationary baking rack. Yeah, that happened. We are in new groups this semester so for the most part everyone is working with at least a couple of new faces. Our group started in the bread section, which is fine with me. There isn't any restaurant service this week, which means we don't have to have bread ready at an exact time, so that takes a bit of the pressure off. But we did a LOT today. My arm is sore from rolling dough into balls.

Today we made: 

Jogger Bread which is a combination of whole wheat flour and cornmeal, basically. It is a little bit denser than whole wheat bread. It is a straight dough method, so we just threw all the ingredients together and mixed them on the first speed til blended and then on the second speed for 5-7 minutes. We were making these into small rolls, so we used the divider and then rolled the pieces into balls. After they were shaped, they went in the proofer, and then they were egg-washed before going in the oven. We did them in the convection oven at 350 and they only took about 10-15 minutes. I forgot to take a picture until we had already taken them to the cafeteria, so I snapped a quick one of the two that had fallen on the floor...

 
Pretzels which were really cool to make! The dough was a straight dough method so that was easy enough. After the dough had doubled in size, we shaped them. First we used the divider and then we used 1.5 balls of dough and rolled this into a long strip. After we had rolled all of the dough into strips, we went back to the first one to make it longer, and so on. To shape the dough, we brought the ends together, twisted them around each other, and lay them flat, so it looked like what a pretzel looks like. After this, they went in the proofer. Then we made a "poaching solution" which is essentially boiling water and some other things. Once the pretzels had proofed, we put them in the poaching solution for a few seconds. The temperature of the water kills the yeast to prevent the dough from rising anymore once it goes in the oven. This results in a denser dough, rather than having a bun that just happens to be shaped like a pretzel. The process for bagels is similar as well. all of the pretzels had been soaked, we put them in the deck oven at 425 for 15 minutes (until golden brown). Immediately after they were out of the oven, we brushed them with butter and sprinkled our choice of topping on them (we did coarse salt, cinnamon and sugar, and poppy seeds). 

English Muffins which we all prepared but only half the group actually got to see the cooking/baking process. The rest of us will see how to do it later in the week. The dough again is a straight dough method and it is mixed on the second speed for a little longer than usual. Since you mix it for so long, we added cold liquid instead of liquid at 28 degrees, so the dough takes a little longer to rise than usual. After the dough has doubled in size, we used the divider and put two pieces together and made a ball. We rolled these out into flat, large-ish circles, and then sprayed them with water on either side and put them in a bowl filled with cornmeal. Then, we put them in the proofer, and once they were proofed, a couple group members went to cook them on the flat-top grill in a different kitchen. 

Scones were not as easy to make as I was hoping they would be. First we mixed the dry ingredients, then added the wet ingredients, and then added our fruit. We had a choice between blueberries and cranberries, and I think I was the only who used only blueberries (everyone else either did just cranberries or half and half). As I was mixing the dough, I realized that the blueberries were a terrible mistake. Because they were frozen, once I started mixing them, all of the juices seeped out and my dough literally turned purple (as did my hands...and the table...). I timidly went over to Jean-Luc and asked him if it was okay that my dough was violet... he said it was fine (and blamed the frozen blueberries). Once they were done, they weren't actually all that purple, and they tasted pretty good. So, don't be fooled by appearances, I guess. They weren't our best product though. 

It felt like a pretty intense first day back and I think the week is only going to get busier... 

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Today's Recipes 

Joggar Bread

Pretzels

English Muffins

Scones