Posts

The Things I Can't Do (but I think I Can)

I can't decorate a cake I can't  I can't do a chocolate drip. It's supposed to look messy but it looks like shit I can't do a buttercream. I don't even know the differences between them. Italian, French... fuck em' all. I can't ice a cake. And when the buttercream is shit, there's no way the icing will be any different than shit. I can't even unmold a cake. And I spent $30 yesterday in a stupid mold. I can't boil water and sugar. Well, I can, but I can't do anything with it afterwards. I can't work with chocolate, no matter how good or expensive it is. I can't use an offset. I can't use a scraper. I can't use a cake comb. A Turntable? I can't I can't pipe. I did it once. I can't now I can't say no I can't make meringue. Can't tell if the peaks are soft or hard. Can't tell which one I like better: the French, the Italian or the Swiss. Fuck em' all I can't crack an egg. I can't crack a...

11.02 Re-Crystallizing Cocoa Butter

Image
Tools: Scrapper (Putty Knife 7" or 8") Offset Spatula ( Larger than Scrapper) Bowl Hold Offset with dominant hand Don't use larger quantities of CB. Smaller quantities are more manageable and are easier to move around. Pour some melted CB on the table (either 2/3 or 3/4). The warmer the kitchen. the more it can be poured, up to 100%. The poured CB will be used to build the crystals, and the rest will be used to warm it back. The poured CB will be cooled down to 29ºC. Temperature range for generation of  𝛽 2  crystals is 29º-34ºC. Melting-Crystallization points of CB Polymorphism: I      II           III      IV V      VI γ      α           𝛽′2′      𝛽′1 𝛽2      𝛽1 17.3    23.3 25.5      27.5 33.8      36.3 Temperature Dark chocolate Milk Chocolate White choc...

Assessing Croissants

Image
A few things to have in mind when evaluating Croissant's quality: Colour, shape, rise can be judged from the outside appearance. For a better idea, sometimes the croissant has to be cut, this will show things like: Alveole size and distribution: Short mix will create bigger and irregular alveoles. An intensive mix will show smaller but regular alveoles. Honeycomb: There should be nice, large alveoles, and dough layers should be thin and separated NOTE: Always wait until the bread has cool down completely (no more moisture inside) before cutting it

Ideas for Danish and Croissant Scraps

Image
Cinamon Loaf Cut the scraps into 2 cm pieces (better when cold) Toss in a bowl with cinammon sugar Place 100g of them into a small loaf mold

Cutting and Shaping Danish

Image
Dough should be relaxed and trimmed to 12" wide with 3 straight edges Mark and cut the dough to get 4x4" squares If less than 4" wide, save the last cut for 12" strips Shapes: Pocket: Fold the corners in leaving about 2cm gap in the centre Pinwheel: Cut diagonally from each corner, about 1/3 of the total diagonal distance. Fold the alternate corners to the centre and pinch to seal in place Vol-au-vent: Fold in half diagonally, cut 1cm strips parallel to the short sides up to about 2cm from the tip. Open and fold the strip corners to the corners of the inside square. Danish twist /snails/spiral: Twist and roll the 12" strips tightly and then roll loosely. Place the outside tip under the spiral. Should be proofed and baked in a separate tray

Cutting Croissant Dough

Image
Relax the dough before cutting Pain au Chocolat Cut dough to 12" wide Trim one of the short ends so you end up with 3 straight sides Mark 3" marks lengthwise Cut across so you get 12x3" pieces Fold the pieces lengthwise and tap at the crease to find the centre, or measure 6". Cut to get 6x3" pieces Place 2 chocolate sticks a bit off-centre and fold one side of the dough over them Place the other 2 sticks on the extended part of the dough and fold that side over, taking care in not extending the dough over the side. Keep it close to the center (03:15) Turn the PAC upside down so the flap stays down Croissants Dough should be already trimmed to 12" wide, with 3 straight edges Place the roller so one of the triangles point is aligned with the dough corner Mark the dough with the roller (try not to cut it) Complete the lines to the unmarked side of the dough Cut the triangles Cumplete incomplete triangles if possible Cut an 1" mark in the middle of every ...

Laminating Croissant or Danish Dough on Sheeter

Image
After the first fold, paton will be a bit raised because of the yeast. That is expected. Final width should be 13", widen the paton until it reaches 13", then turn and roll until is no more than 5mm thick, ideally 3mm to allow for vertical relaxing If the paton gets stretched over 13", relax it by eliminating tension between working surface and dough As the paton gets thinner, it may be caught in the rollers. To prevent this, hold the end of the paton as it goes through the rollers Let the paton relax before cutting, so the tension is relieved and the dough won't retract after cutting