Externship Goal: Achieved!

I can remember being 10 years old and receiving my first diary.  It was pink and had a tiny lock and key.  I would pour my little heart out onto those pages.  Initially I would write about my crushes, log the events of my days, or complain about my little sister trying to tag along with me.  As I got older and matured, so did my entries.  

One of the habits that I have had for many years is journaling out a list of goals.  I would often revisit them to check on my progress.  My favorite reason for establishing goals is that sense of accomplishment I get when I achieve them.  In times where I didn't accomplish my goals it's always interesting to see how much I have grown and changed my perspective on life. 

To this date, I had never shared my goals online, but in February I made a bold move to blog about my desire to complete my externship in France.  In that moment, I had hoped that by writing and sharing it with the blogging community it would keep me accountable.  To be honest, I was feeling demotivated because reaching this goal was more challenging that I expected.  Shortly after blogging, I shared my disappointment with a friend of mine and she responded, "Why would you want to go to France?  Holland is much better!" She told me her family had been visiting Tummers Patisserie for several years.  That night I looked it up online and fell in love...their desserts were simply beautiful, the patisserie was elegant, and they even had a tearoom!  I thought to myself, "The Netherlands is not France and I'm definitely no Julia Child, but if I had a little luck on my side I may get my chance to work overseas."  That's when I realized I needed to modify my goal.  I started the process optimistically, but knew that if it did not work out at least I tried. The worst that could happen is that they would say no.

With my friend's help, I was able to get in contact with the owners.  After several emails and a phone interview I received word via Skype that I would become part of the Tummers Patisserie & Passionelle team members.  During my externship I will not only have the opportunity to learn how to make European pastries, desserts and chocolate,  but I will also learn to  make Dutch speciality items such as the Oliebol, Kerststol, and Sinterklaas Dutch Chocolate Letters.

Cake & showpiece that won
Chef Jongsma the '09 Dutch Pastry Award

When I left the military to pursue this new career I was ready to dream big.  I had hoped for a chance to travel to Europe, but my little mind could have never imagined that I would be working in a patisserie that has been around since 1921.  Not only that, I will be working with Chef Daniel Jongsma, a Dutch world-champion patissier.   The picture below is the cake & showpiece he built during the 2009 Dutch Pastry Competition. 

Achieving this goal has reminded me to continue to dream & set big goals, work hard, and most importantly take action in order to make them come true. 

Now that I have achieved the first part of my goal, I think learning to speak a little Dutch before I start my externship will be a great addition to my goals. 

International Patisserie, Cake Formula & Assembly--Week 1

Last week I began my third class which according to the syllabus, we

"will focus on the fundamental production of classical European desserts such as crepes, souffles, sabayon, & frozen desserts...Bavarian creams, variety of mousses, stirred & baked custards...develop skills for the creamed, two-stage, & foam cake mixing methods."

I was elated to finally graduate from the cramped  kitchen located in the center of the school building and move into the more spacious corner kitchen that contained separate work stations, gas stoves & our very own convection oven.  The best part of this kitchen is that we finally have large windows!   I was in heaven!

As with every new class, we were introduced to a new Chef.  I was a little apprehensive about this instructor, but all those fears were washed away on the first day.  Not only is she extremely methodical, a little OCD (like me), but she's funny and undeniably passionate about her job.  

In the first week, I prepared & brought home....

Crepes Suzette:  Known as  a classical French dessert.  The sauce is comprised of orange & lemon juice, liqueur, sugar & butter.  This dish is typically served table side and the waiter flambes (i.e. ignites the liqueur) the crepes.  I learned I'm petrified of lighting things on fire.  It might have something to do with me almost burning down the house during my first year of marriage...which is why I HIGHLY recommend having a fire extinguisher readily available in the kitchen.

Souffles:  Simply divine...and fairly easy to make, but because they are leavened with egg whites they are not stable after they are removed from the oven.  They are the kind of dessert that must be enjoyed immediately (which I don't see being a problem!). 

Gateau St. Honore:  This dessert is made up of 4 elements:  The base is made of pate brisee base (short dough similiar to a pie dough), 12-14 pate a choux  lined along the rim of the pate brisee base, vanilla & chocolate diplomat creme, and caramel.  It took me nearly 3 class periods to put this dish together and in the end, I hated it.  I know it's probably a mortal sin in the world of pastry to hate the one dessert that is in honor of the French's patron saint, but here's my reasons why:

1.  The chef made us create our whipped cream by hand.  Yes, this included my scrawny arm, a whisk and 16 ounces of heavy whipping cream.  Ouch...  

  

2.  I thought making the caramel into decorative sugar work was interesting, but it was not easy to handle.  It can burn easily, scald you, or just seize up and become one literal hot mess.  Which is what I ended up with on day 2 causing me to redo the caramel the next day.  

3.  Assembly...first three letters of this word should have been a clue.  What a pain in the .... each pate a choux must be filled with chocolate diplomat creme, then the tops dipped in the caramel, allowed to sit & cool....and {deep breath} the pate a choux bottoms must be dipped in caramel so that it will stick to the pate brisee base.  

4.  Taste...after waiting 3 days to eat it, I was just heartbroken and underwhelmed.  The cream puffs were bland and the crunchy caramel just didn't seem like it fit in.  Maybe if I would have made it in one day and ate it immediately it would have been great.  However, this was one of those desserts that was more visually appealing.  

Bread Pudding with a Rum Creme Anglaise sauce:  This dish was definitely the epitome of comfort food.  I realized that on any given day you probably have all the ingredients in the kitchen to make it.  

I learned that when making this recipe I hate the feeling of soggy bread on my fingers.  Which I know that many people correlate  this with bread pudding.   However because this dish is considered a baked custard, the texture actually become like a really soft and moist sweet bread.  The best part of this dish is the creme anglaise sauce that was drizzled on top.   I liked this recipe  so much I have to share it...see below for the recipe.   

Making all of these desserts definitely forced me to work on my patience, time management, and organization skills.  I know that the next 5 weeks are going to be filled with even more amazing desserts!  I can't wait to share.  Until next week, I hope you find time to make some bread pudding!  If you do make the recipe, let me know how it turned out.  I'd love to hear from you.  

Bread Pudding 

adapted from LCBK 120

4 slices Texas Toast (or 6 slices of white bread)

3 Eggs

4 oz Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 oz Vanilla extract

8 oz Milk

4 oz Cream

2 oz Raisins

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1.  Cut bread into cubes

2.  Combine salt, cinnamon, sugar, milk, and cream into a medium saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil.

3.  Whisk eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl.

4. Once the milk reaches a boil, slowly whisk half of the milk into the egg mixture.  Once milk and eggs are combined add the remaining milk.  

5.  Add the raisins and set aside.

6.  Place cubed bread into a greased pie pan.  Drizzle milk mixture over bread.  Using your hands, ensure that the each piece is coated. 

7.  Bread pudding must be baked using a water bath (click link for instructions).  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes.  Dish is done when the custard springs back and is golden color.  

Creme Anglaise

4 oz Heavy Cream

1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Egg yolks

.5 oz Rum (or other flavoring Extract)

1.  Whisk together sugar and yolks until smooth

2.  Heat cream to a boil

3.  Temper cream into egg mixture while whisking

4.  Return mixture to the pot and cook on low heat until thick

5.  Add extract and mix to incorporate

6.  Drizzle over bread pudding...and then "genieten" which is the Dutch word for "Enjoy!"

Classic Puff Pastry Dough: A love & hate relationship

What can I say about deliciously sinful puff pastries that most people don't already know?  Well, I can confirm a few things:

Yes, it's loaded with butter.  (But that's a lot better than being filled with shortening like the store bought kind)

Yes, its luscious  flaky layers and sweet fillings are hard to resist 

Yes, they seem complicated to make. 

However, I proved that it's not impossible to make at home.   I decided that I needed some additional practice before taking my last practical for school.  So as soon as I unpacked all the kitchen boxes, I decided to put my small kitchen space to the test.  I'm glad that I practiced because making the dough and baking them in less than 3 hours was extremely stressful.  

If you find yourself with some free time you can save yourself lots of money,  a trip to your local bakery and also impress your friends and family!  The best part is that you can prepare the dough, bake half of it, and then freeze the rest for future use.  Grab your apron and try out the following recipe!  I've included photos to help you through the steps.

Classic Puff Pastry Dough

adapted from Professional Baking 5th ed.

6 oz     Bread Flour

2 oz     Cake Flour

1 oz      Butter, softened

.14 oz   Salt

4.5 oz   Water, cold

2 sticks Butter, sliced

1.  Combine both flours and 1 oz butter into a mixing bowl.  Mix until the butter is incorporated and no large chucks are visible.

2. Dissolve salt into water.  Pour into flour/butter mixture.  Mix until the dough comes together.  This is called the pick-up stage.  

3.  Remove dough from mixing bowl and knead until the dough become smooth.

  Your dough should look like this:

  

5.  Shape dough into a rectangle and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.  The dough is now called the Detrempe.   While the dough is resting, you will now begin working on the butter block, also known as the Beurrage.  Slice butter and lay them out onto a piece of parchment paper.

6.  An important tip when locking in the butter is to ensure that the consistency of the dough and butter are the same.  If the butter is too soft the dough will absorb it and create the wrong texture.  If the butter is to hard, the layers will be uneven and you'll have some ugly puff pastry.  Keep this in mind as you begin the next steps.  If necessary, stop and refrigerate the butter if it becomes too soft.

3-Fold Butter Lock:

Now that the detrempe and beurrage are ready, you will need to lock in the butter.   Follow these steps:

1.  Roll out dough to 1/2" thick.   Ensure that the dough is shaped into a rectangle.  Place the beurrage over the top of the dough so that it covers 2/3 of the dough:

2.  Fold the non-buttered side of the dough 1/3 of the way in.  Then fold the buttered side over so that the  edges meet.   The three fold is like folding a letter. 

Turning the dough

Next roll the dough back out to 1/2" thickness ensuring that it remains in a rectangle.  The dough is ready to begin the folding process.  The method that will be used is called a 4-fold.  

Wrap the dough in parchment paper to prevent it from drying out and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.  After it has rested, you will repeat the 4-fold step (i.e. turn the dough) 3 more times being sure to refrigerate the dough 15-20 minutes after each turn.   This process takes approximately 1 hour and creates the flaky layers.  

Remember, being OCD is okay when making puff pastry dough.  Make sure the dough is 1/2" thick and shaped into a rectangle during each turn.  Once all the turns are complete the dough is ready to be prepped into a variety of puff pastries, refrigerated overnight, or frozen for future use.    

I'm sure by now, you're exhausted and need a break.  So for my next blog post I will demonstrate a the different make-ups for puff pastries.  If you have questions about this recipe, don't hesitate to send me an email at flourbloom@gmail.com.  I'd love to hear from you!  Happy Baking!