Baking Science & Theory wk7

Enriched Yeast Doughs

      This week we had the opportunity to make Jumbo Cinnamon Buns, Pecan Sticky Buns, and Cream Scones.  

 

          I was most excited about making the scones, and they were my favorite product by the end of class. 

 

          Beforehand, the instructor said they should be lightly sweetened, and have an almost biscuit like texture like a quick bread.  We were also advised to use a variety of mix-ins to create different scones, such as fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips. 

 

         Our team chose to add fresh blueberries and dried cranberries to our scones. They were critiqued to be very nicely done; they have a nice texture and flavor without being overly sweet.  They were the clear favorite.

          The cinnamon rolls were quite unlike the cinnamon rolls I have made in the past. This recipe called for double the number of ingredients than I'm used to;

 

with ho hum results. 

 

          True to their name, these rolls were quite large, and seemed to almost grow out of our sheet pan.  This made the product less appealing to me, since it was more difficult to eat. Also, to apply the filling, we were instructed to use melted butter in the filling.  In the future, I will continue to use softened butter, which will give the rest of the filling something to hold on to as the dough is rolled together and cut into sections.

 

          Despite my harsh  review, our finished product was critiqued to smell good, and to have a very good flavor and texture.  Our first batch of dough was a team effort, and was combined in a stand mixer.  It did not come together very well. We set the first batch aside, and helped to complete the dough for the sticky buns. After which, I elected to remake the cinnamon roll dough by hand.

 

          I very carefully combined and sifted all of the wet and dry ingredients together, and kneaded the dough together by hand, taking great care to not over mix it.  I  believe this was the best course of action, and produced superior results.

 Unfortunately, the sticky buns did not turn out as favorably. 

          I did elect to mix the dough by hand for this as well, which gave it the desired texture, but some oversight by some or all of our team did result in the dough being far too salty for consumption. 

         This also led to a problem with the dough's ability to rise properly. 

If that was not bad enough, I broke my nails trying to scrape clean the topping off our sheet pan!

I do not imagine I shall ever desire to give another attempt to this particular recipe...

Baking Science & Theory wk6 Midterms

 Midterms

 

            We have made it to the interim of our class load for this course, and reached Midterms.

 

This was a wonderful opportunity to use the culmination of our skills learned to date.  In addition to the written exam, our team was tasked with a creating four products that would reflect each of the different baking subjects covered to date. 

 

Our menu included: Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cookies, Classic Poppyseed Bread, Yeast Rolls, the Foolproof Pie Dough, and a Pumpkin Pie with Brown Sugar-Walnut Topping filling. 

 

I would really like to commend my team for this week. 

 

With the continued exception of the doneness of our Pumpkin Pie filling, all of our products were executed perfectly, cleanly, and in a swift, efficient manner!  We have learned how to work well together, and how to communicate the various tasks. 

 

Also, each team member stepped in to select tasks which played to our strengths.  We also helped and encouraged each other along the way, as well as helped to keep track of items baking, and reminders of previous critiques to improve our finished products.

The cookies looked nice, with a nice spread to them. They were critiqued to be a little light, and could have browned a bit longer. But, they were proclaimed to taste really good.

 

The Poppyseed Bread was by far my favorite product on this menu.  It was judged to look nice and have a good texture. 

 

I made the pie crust for our pie this week, and was able to get my crust into the pie pan on the first try this time.  I also gave the crust a fairly thin bottom for quick baking, and a strong fluted crust around the edge; which kept its shape and did not break upon slicing! I was also more practiced with this recipe's saturation factor, and was not caught off guard by the extra pliability to the pie dough. 

 

Despite ample bake time, and the employ of a different oven with perhaps a more reliable thermostat, our pie fillings continue to come out underdone.  This problem seems to continue to plague many of our classmates as well. Our pie was, therefore, critiqued to still be a little soft in the middle, and could have baked for a few more minutes.  I do not know how many more minutes it would have taken for that pie to set up correctly.  But its flavor was well balanced, and the crust was golden brown and delicious. 

The pronouncement that the rolls looked nice may have seemed a bit anticlimactic at that point, but at least they were not underdone!

 

ha. 

 

Overall, I think this week was a huge success! 

Baking Science & Theory wk1

The Best Banana Bread
From: Cook's Illustrated

When asked to prepare “The Best Banana Bread” from Cook's Illustrated, our teams worked together to measure and assemble the ingredients before they were poured into the pan and baked. We were also instructed to go ahead and grease the sides of the pan as well as the bottom, to insure the finished loaf would pull free of the pan without breaking. The final product was critiqued to have great flavor and texture overall, but was still underdone in the center of the loaf. It was suggested that the bread could have been baked longer. The loaf had been pulled prematurely from the oven due to a fear that it would burn on top. To remedy this in the future, our team was advised to cover the top of the loaf loosely with aluminum foil. This added step would protect the loaf from over browning, while still allowing the bread to bake until it was cooked through. I believe that is an excellent solution, which will provide more favorable results in the near future! I would also greatly benefit from further instruction of how to properly work the mixers, scales, and ovens. Also, this banana bread recipe differed from the one I usually employ when baking banana bread, most notably in that it lacked the addition of Crème of Tartar, and was improved upon through the addition of a cup of plain yogurt. I look forward to preparing and sampling both recipes side by side one day.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

 

            The “Cheddar Bay Biscuits” are my new favorite bread product to prepare for just about any savory meal!  I was particularly thrilled to receive the recipe for a typical “Biscuit Mix”, since my family has always purchased such a product in the past.  The ingredients for this menu item came together easily and almost effortlessly, and resulted in a very tender, flaky, chewy, crumby, savory delight to eat!  The real cheddar used in the dough made the biscuits delectable and irresistible.  The glistening melted butter and fresh parsley sprinkled on top was the perfect finishing touch.  The final product was visually appealing, and textually addictive, with a full bodied flavor throughout.  The product was critiqued to have great flavor and texture overall, and was completely eaten.  The only thing I would do differently with this recipe in the future will be to double it since there were certainly not enough to feed the incredible appetite for these cheesy delights!


 

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins

The recipe for the “Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins” is my new favorite muffin!  The final product was moist, tender, and had a nice crumb and mouth feel.  The additional instructions to lightly flour the blueberries after they were rinsed, made all the difference!  This extra step gave the blueberries a bit of texture, and allowed them to be fully integrated into the batter, and prevented the tendency for the heavy berries to sink to the bottom of each muffin.  We were also advised to use a larger grain sugar crystal for sprinkling on the top of each muffin, which added a notable sparkle and a bit of crunch to the texture, as well as pleasing the visual pallet before consumption.  The finished product was critiqued to have great flavor and texture over all, and that the product was not over mixed. We were also praised for following instructions with the blueberries, so that they were evenly distributed throughout the finished product.  If there were anything we could do to improve upon this in the future, it would be to bring the butter to room temperature before beginning production.  Since we lacked the time for that luxury, I cut the butter into small chunks, and worked them through with the mixer, until they were the proper consistency to cream with the sugar.  This was properly executed, and provided a nice texture to the finished product!