This week we’re modifying the biscuit technique and making rough puff pastry and pie dough! Each person will be making their own pastries that way everyone is able to practice. Rough puff requires resting and folding, traditional pie dough is made, then allowed to rest overnight. One thing to remember DO NOT OVERMIX, this will make your dough tough and chewy. The plan of attack this week is… Monday /Tuesday
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Good Morning my pretties! I have assigned you final project for Baking class. I am sorry but I am not planning on any new labs for 2022. I think with the way things are regarding Omicron, it is unknown what will happen in the next few weeks so let's not pile on anything too tasking. The joy is you have 2 weeks to complete a project I usually give 5 days to. Use your time wisely, get caught up on your classes...ease into structure again. There is no secret ingredient, no special recipe....what do you want to make? Is it challenging? Are you showing me the TECHNIQUES you have learned? See you soon 😷
It's the most wonderful time of the year 🎶, so we BAKE! Cookies have been part of festive holiday rituals long before Christmas to mark significant occasions. The history of Christmas cookies can be traced back to recipes from Medieval Europe. During that time many new ingredients were introduced to the west such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper, almonds and dried fruits. These ingredients were highly prized and families could only afford to incorporate them into baked goods during the most important holidays and that led to extensive baking during Christmas. By the 16th century Christmas cookies had become popular across Europe and families baked up cookies in various sizes and shapes related to Christmas. They were then shared with friends, family and neighbours. Gingerbread is the most famous Christmas cookie in Germany and it has evolved over the years into a cake like pastry. Its origin dates back to the crusades when soldiers brought spices back to Europe. Eventually it became associated with Christmas when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert included it with a variety of other German Christmas traditions. In the 17th century German and Dutch settlers introduced cookie cutters and decorative molds to North America. The availability of these utensils facilitated the increase in recipes in popular cookbooks. The cookie baking tradition has come a long way, but certain things never change. Our modern Christmas cookies still contain the traditional spices. It is the most wonderful time of the year 🎶and we are ready to bake the next batch. No matter where your family originates from, I am sure they celebrated with special festive foods. Click on the photos below for the recipe. It's time for Gingerbread Houses I should have phrased it gingerbread structure. You and a partner will be creating a 3 dimensional gingerbread structure, the theme is all up to you. Classic little A frame, cabin, a Palm Springs mid-century modern, Tiki hut, Giswald family house, Amsterdam canal? You are only limited by your imagination. We will supply everything for the dough and the icing. I have the recipe ready for you -and it works. What you need to bring is and candy, cookies or add on's (lights anyone?) The size can be no larger than 30cmx30cm x 30cm high. I also suggest you think about where you are going to store your pieces, five classes of 26 students is a lot of parts that can go missing. Ms. Cheang joined us in October to start her practicum here at Burnaby Mountain, and she shared a couple of her recipes with us. You will find the recipes for White chocolate matcha cookies and Milk bread. Enjoy
Oh gracious! I wasn't sure what we should make after our pies and then I thought -warm soft sweet breads. We will now explore different things with yeast! Starting with 1 hour breadsticks, we discover how quickly we can make a delicious home made artisanal breadstick. I could not contain my excitement over making UBC Cinnamon buns, these are a classic -really the best recipe I've ever found, topped with a cream cheese frosting- no comparison. I have even made these as a Christmas gift for my nephew Kris and his firehall on December 25th. So many recipes and so little time, I could keep going but we made 2 versions of focaccia - one in sauté pan and one on a sheet pan - I do have to have the fluffy focaccia with 'Earls' parm dip, so good.
We have expanded our repertoire to include a deep dish pizza (King Arthur's recipe of 2020) with home made pizza sauce. Things we discovered about this... the cheese really sticks to the sauté pan, but worked well with the cake pans. Ovens have to be extremely HOT, the cheese is ooey gooey bubbly. Finally we will finish off the week making a yeasted coffee cakel from Bon Appetit and the lady finger pretzel dough. We are starting PIES! I like pies, I think I like them better than cake. Pies can be anything; fruit, nuts, cream, sweet or savoury. You could have a pie at every meal and try something completely different. Quiche for breakfast, pot pie for lunch and a fruit pie for dessert...mmmmmm. I am easing you into the technique of making pies with an apple galette. Very simple, free form fruity deliciousness. We started with making a simple double pie crust, we only used a 1/3 of the dough saving the rest for our Pumpkin pie on Friday. On our double block day, we are making homemade poptarts! you have a choice, home made mixed berries (like the jam for the bannock) and cinnamon sugar. If you want, you can make some of each. When making the tarts follow the instructions carefully - yes you have to chill the dough, yes- use the plastic wrap trick to roll out. Things to note that are different from the video....
Some days I have to search the fridge to see what we are going to make that day. Friday we made corn muffins. This is not a typical muffin method (wet into dry ingredients and don't overmix), this muffin is started like cookies and cakes -creaming the butter and sugar. Once the very thick batter is made, you stir in corn kernels ...this changes the texture a bit. If I were making this recipe at home, I would add some jalapenos and cheddar cheese and serve it with some veggie chilli. What are your thoughts?
Canada as a whole is finally recognizing, addressing and trying to understand the impact of Residential Schools, and the treatment of Indigenous peoples. September 30th is the first day of the day for Truth and Reconciliation. Many of the foods classes today will be making bannock a traditional frybread, a staple in First Peoples diet. This bread has evolved from the Scottish settlers -also a staple in their diet. Bannock we know of today was created when grain and flour was introduced and shared. The First Nations, Metis and Inuit people all make variations of bannock, as every family also has their recipe.
We will be making Jackie Normans aunties' recipe, it is delicious and simple to make. I have said many times ...cook with love and it tastes better. When making bannock you must also cleanse your space, thank the elders (powers that be) and make with happy thoughts. These actions will lead to your bannock being light and fluffy, feeding your belly and your soul. Give thanks hyshka’ So, we have learned how to cut in butter using the biscuit method -next up....the cookie method (creaming). This technique uses softened butter (fat) to emulsify fat and sugar together. This creates a harmonious creation incorporating air, sugar and fat, to this you add the egg and extract. Do not overmix this combination- you run the risk of the fat separating from the sugar and curdling. Long story short...the water in the egg melts the sugar turning it a liquid, then the fat is suspended in mixture. Finally you add the dry ingredients, stir it together and create a drop cookie dough.
Once you know how to make a basic cookie, and it works -you can substitute the add in to any flavour combination you wish. It's not just chocolate chip cookies. For example if you want to make a white chocolate cranberry, or lavender lemon.... no problem. If you would like to add in oats or change to cocoa and white chocolate, you do have to adjust the flour to ensure the cookie is not too dry. Having a break in between the chocolate chip cookie, we made a snickerdoodle. This is a classic vanilla cookie that is rolled in cinnamon sugar. The key to the snickerdoodle is the cream of tartar- it adds a little snap to the cookie that is hard to identify, but you know when it's missing. Finally we are experimenting with the ingredients.... what happens if you use gluten free flour, or chick pea...ghee instead of butter or coconut oil. This day I used the cc recipe and switched out ONE ingredient to see what happened? Tell me, I want to know what you learned from this experiment, there was one control recipe and 11 different options. |
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