ADVANCED PASTRY SHOP

Deep dive into more advanced bakes and techniques in the bakeshop.

01

From the cake-like nature of cobblers and their fruit filling to crisps and the crunchy topping, these desserts are North American favorites. Cobblers are like fruit pies made in large baking pans but without a bottom crust. Crisps are like cobblers but with streusel topping instead of a pastry crust.

02

Homework Assignment # 1

Reviewing Fundamentals of Baking, we're looking back at terms like crumb and gluten, and recalling the effect of heat on things like starches, sugars, and proteins. What are the three stages of mixing a dough or batter? Blending, forming, developing, and they have overlapping qualities.

01. COBBLERS & CRISPS

Traditional and speciality fruit desserts:


In Chapter 21 of Professional Baking (p. 599) we take a look at cobblers and crisps. Betty's are also mentioned.


Cobblers are like fruit pies made in large baking pans, but without a bottom crust. They include a cake-like top crust. Crisps are like cobblers but with a streusel topping instead of a pastry crust. The characteristics of a betty are alternating layers of rich cake crumbs and fruit.


Especially after a rich meal, a piece of fresh fruit can be light and refreshing, but perhaps with something from the kitchen that requires a little extra effort such as fruit with cream sauce or a cobbler.


We'll go over compotes in the Crepes and Waffles section, but a simple and versatile category of fruit desserts is the compote, which may be defined as cooked fruit, usually small fruits or cut fruit, served in its cooking liquid. Mixed-fruit compotes are versatile because they can be seasoned and sweetened as desired, and the combination of fruits is infinitely variable.

Recipes

Celebrate a bounty of summer tomatoes with a dish that takes cues from classic Italian flavors. A savory cobbler is a baked dish consisting of a flavorful, stew-like filling topped with a pastry or biscuit crust. 


Unlike its sweet counterpart which typically features fruit, the savory version utilizes ingredients such as cooked meats (chicken, beef, lamb), vegetables, and a rich, often creamy or gravy-based sauce.

 

The "cobbled" appearance comes from the topping which, instead of a solid pie crust, is made of dollops of scone or biscuit-style dough placed over the filling before baking. As it bakes, the dough puffs up and becomes golden brown, with a rugged, uneven top surface that resembles a cobblestone street

Food Network

INGREDIENTS

  • 32 oz frozen peaches sliced into wedges
  • 1.8 oz granulated sugar
  • 1.9 oz brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

Cake Topping:

  • 8.8 oz all-purpose flour
  • 3.6 oz granulated sugar
  • 3.8 oz brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 oz cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
  • 4 oz boiling water

Sugar Topping:

  • 3 tablespoons white sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, fold the peaches, 1/4 cup each white and brown sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and cornstarch until all ingredients are well combined.
  • Divide into 6 – 4oz aluminum ramekins or hotel pan. Place in preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes.
  • While peaches are in the oven, mix together all the cake topping ingredients, except the boiling water, to a medium bowl.
  • Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse meal.
  • Pour in the boiling water and stir just until the mixture comes together and is just mixed through.
  • After the peaches have baked the 10 minutes, pull them from the oven and drop large spoonfuls of the dough topping over peaches.
  • Evenly sprinkle the top of the dough with the 3 tablespoons of sugar.
  • Place the baking dish on a cookie sheet, in case the cobbler bubbles over and drips, and bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden and baked through and the peaches are tender.

Ingredients  

  • 4 cups blueberries, (fresh or frozen) (600 g)
  • /2 cup granulated sugar, (100 g)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest, (2 g)
  • 6 Tablespoons butter, (85 g)

For the batter:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, (120 g)
  • 1 cup granulated sugar, (200 g)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder, (8 g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, (1.5 g)
  • 3/4 cup milk, (180 ml)
  • Ground cinnamon

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
  • Slice butter into pieces and add to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place the pan in the oven while it preheats, to allow the butter to melt. Once melted, remove the pan from the oven.
  • Add blueberries, sugar and zest to a bowl and stir to combine.
  • In a separate bowl mix together the batter ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk, just until combined.
  • Pour blueberries over melted butter in pan. Drizzle batter over the top. Sprinkle with a little bit of cinnamon.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. 
  • Serve warm, with a scoop of ice cream, if desired!

Tastes Better from Scratch

Classic Brownies

Cranberry Drop Scones

02. Homework Assignment #1

Homework Assignment #1

Read - Chapter 5: Basic Baking Principles Pgs. 99-107

Answer the Questions for Review #'s 1-7 (Pg. 107)


Define the following terms:

·      Crumb

·      Hydration

·      Glutenin

·      Gliadin

·      Gluten

·      Coagulation

·      Shortening

·      Dough Relaxation

·      Gelatinization

·      Caramelization

·      Maillard Reaction 


Review Questions

1.       List the three stages of mixing a dough or batter.

a.       Blending

b.       Forming

c.       Developing

2.       What are air cell walls made of? Describe how air cells are formed and 2 functions of air cells.

a.       The cells consist of open spaces surrounded by elastic cell walls made primarily of proteins such as gluten or egg albumin.

b.       When gases are formed by leavening agents, they collect inside the air cells. As the gases expand during baking, the cell walls stretch and enlarge. Eventually, the heat causes the cell walls to become firm, giving structure and support to the baked item.

c.       The cells give structure and support.

3.       What happens when gluten proteins come in contact with water during mixing?

a.       They become hydrated and form a stretchable substance called gluten. The proteins attach to each other and form long chains that form the gluten structure.

4.       What is the result of overmixing on bread dough? Pie dough?

a.       If mixing goes past the state of mature (ideal state of development) the gluten strands can break and the dough becomes sticky and stringy. Overmixing results in poor loaf volume because the broken gluten is no longer able to support the structure. Pie dough will not hold together. Overmixing results in toughness.

5.       Discuss the 7 factors that affect the development of gluten in batters and doughs.

a.       Melting of fats – solid fats mixed into a dough or batter trap air, water, and some leavening gases. When the fats melt, these gases are released and the water turns to steam, both of which contribute to leavening.

b.       Formation and expansion of gases – carbon dioxide is the gas primarily responsible for leavening. It’s released by action of yeast and by baking powder/soda; air, which is incorporated during mixing, and steam, which happens during baking.

c.       Killing of yeast and other microorganisms – most microorganisms and the yeast die when the interior reaches about 140 degrees F. When the yeast dies, fermentation stops and no more carbon dioxide is released.

d.       Coagulation of proteins – gluten and egg proteins are primarily responsible for the structure of most baked goods and provide structure when they are heated enough to coagulate or become firm.

e.       Gelatinization of starches – absorption of starch molecules.

f.          Escape of water vapor and other gases – throughout baking, some of the water turns to steam and escapes into the air. When this happens before the proteins coagulate, it helps the leavening. Carbon dioxide and other gases escape as well.

g.        Crust formation and browning – the crust is formed as water evaporates from the surface and leaves it dry. Browning doesn’t occur until the surface temperature reaches about 300 degrees F and until the surface dries.

6.       Why do some cakes fall if they are removed from the oven too soon?

a.       If the product is underbaked, the contraction of gases may cause it to collapse.

7.       Which kind of cake would you expect to have better keeping qualities: a sponge cake, which is low in fat, or a high-ratio cake, which is high in both fat and sugar?

a.       The text talked about hard-crust breads like French bread staling rapidly since there is little fat. For longer keeping, bakers often add a very small amount of fat and/or sugar to the formula. I would think that high-ratio cakes that are high in both fat and sugar would keep longer.


Definitions


The interior of the baked good is referred to by bakers as the crumb. A loaf of bread consists of two parts: the crust and the crumb.

Hydration is the process of absorbing water. The many ingredients in baked goods absorb or react with water in different ways. All these processes are necessary for dough formation.


Glutenin and gliadin are two proteins found in wheat flour and, in much smaller quantities, in a few other grains, such as rye and spelt. During mixing, these two proteins combine with water (that is, they are hydrated) and form a stretchable substance called gluten. Gluten forms when hydrated glutenin and gliadin proteins uncoil and attach to each other to form long chains. During mixing, these protein chains gradually stretch and become intertwined, forming an elastic network we call the gluten structure.

Coagulation is the firming or hardening of gluten proteins, usually caused by heat. When gluten proteins coagulate during baking, they solidify into a firm structure. A side effect of coagulation is that the proteins release much of the water they absorbed during mixing. Some of this water evaporates and some is absorbed by the starch.


Any fat used in baking is called a shortening because it shortens gluten strands. It does this by surrounding the particles and lubricating them, so they do not stick together. Thus, fats are tenderizers. A cookie or pastry that is very crumbly, which is due to high fat content and little gluten development, is said to be short. French bread has little or no fat, while cakes contain a great deal.


Dough relaxation is an important technique in the production of most doughs. After mixing or kneading, gluten becomes stretched and tight. At this point, it becomes difficult to work or mold the dough. A period of rest or relaxation allows the gluten strands to adjust to their new length and shape, and they become less tight. The dough can then be handled more easily, and it has less tendency to shrink.


Starch molecules make up the majority of most baked goods. Starches make a softer structure when baked than proteins; the softness of the crumb of baked bread is due largely to starch. The more protein, the chewier. Starch molecules are packed into tiny, hard granules that attract water during mixing and, although the water is not absorbed by the granules when cold, it bonds to the outside of the granules. As they are heating during baking, the water is then absorbed into the granules, which swell greatly in size. Some of the starch granules break open and release starch molecules. During this process, starch molecules bond with any available water. That’s why the interior of baked doughs are fairly dry, while unbaked doughs are moist. Most, but not all, of the water is still present but has bonded with starch. This process is gelatinization and begins when the interior reaches 105 degrees F and continues throughout baking or until about 200 degrees F. Not all of the starches gelatinize – depending on how much water is present. Dry products like cookies and pie doughs, a lot of the starch remains ungelatinized. Products from a batter with high water content like some cake has a larger percentage of starches that gelatinize.



Browning occurs when chemical changes occur to starches, sugars, and proteins. This is referred to as caramelization, but it’s only part of the story. Caramelization involves only browning of the sugars. A process that is similar is called the Maillard Reaction. It involves most of the crust browning in baked goods – the process occurs when proteins and sugars together are subjected to high heat. Maillard also takes place on the surface of meats and other high-protein foods. The chemical changes as a result of these two types of browning contribute to the flavor and appearance of the baked item. Items like milk, sugar, and eggs, when included in doughs and batters, increase browning.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients

  • 1

Method

    New Title

Buttercream Icing


Ingredients

  • 8 oz butter
  • 8 oz shortening/cream cheese
  • 32 oz powdered sugar
  • Pint salt
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp heavy cream

Method

  1. Mix butter/shortening together on medium speed until creamy.
  2. Add powdered sugar in small batches until combined. Make sure to constantly scrape mixing bowl to ensure even mix.
  3. Add salt, vanilla, and lemon juice. Mix well.
  4. Add heavy cream, mix well.

Angel Food Cake

Angel Food Method

New Yield: 25 oz

Ingredients

  • 4.55 oz cake flour
  • 10.92 oz sugar
  • 9.1 oz egg whites (8-9 eggs)
  • .163/1 tsp cream of tartar
  • .036 oz/1/4 tsp salt
  • .218/1.5 to 2 tsp vanilla

Method

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Sift flour/half the sugar ingredients together and set aside.
  3. Add egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, vanilla to bowl. Use a whisk and start mixer on low speed, then increase to medium high.
  4. Once frothy, slowly add remaining sugar. Bring to a stiff peak.
  5. Slowly add dry ingredients, folding gently as to not deflate the meringue. Continue until no dry mixture is left. Fill pan.


Note: Do not spray pan with any spray or coat with any fat. The egg white need something to cling to in order to rise.

03. CREPES & WAFFLES

Crepes and waffles are

Pies & Tart Presentation

Tarts & Pastry Basics

  1. Prepare baked and unbaked tarts and tartlets
  2. Prepare a variety of special pastries based on puff pastry, choux pastry, and meringue-type sponges
  3. Prepare pâte brisée and short pastries
  4. Prepare puff pastry dough, blitz puff pastry dough, and reversed puff pastry dough, and make simple pastries from these doughs
  5. Prepare a pâte à choux (éclair paste), and make simple pastries from it
  6. Prepare a strudel dough, handle commercial phyllo (strudel) dough, and make pastries using either homemade or commercial dough
  7. Bake meringue and meringue-type sponges, and assemble simple desserts with these meringues (these are not pastries in the original sense of the word because they are not made from a flour paste, but they're used like flour pastries in combination with creams, fruit, fillings, and icings)


Pastry work is exciting and challenging where bakers can use creativity and imaginations to make so many different types of products.


Pastry comes from the word paste, meaning a mixture of flour, liquid and fat. In the bakeshop, pastry refers both to various pastes and doughs and to the many products made from them. The most important pastries are short doughs, puff pastry (aka pâte feuilletée), and eclair paste (pâte à choux).


Pâte Brisée and Short Pastries


The quality of pastry used to make tarts and tartlets is probably more important than the quality of pie dough. Tarts are generally thinner pies with less filling. The dough is a bigger feature of the finished product and not just a holder for the filling. The best are made with pure butter, not shortening, and they are enriched with eggs and sugar.


Pâte Brisée means broken dough, and is mixed with the same method as mealy pie dough - the fat is combined with the flour. In classical pastry, this is known as sablage (sah BLAHZH) or the sanding method. The fat and flour are mixed until it resembles corn meal or sand. Coating the flour with fat protects it from absorbing water and limits gluten development. Then you get tender pastry. Pie dough production is found on pages 294-296.


Pâte Sablée has even more fat than pâte sucrée and less egg and other moisturizers. It's crumbly and tender and is generally used for cookies but can be used for small tarts and other pastries. In French, sablée means sand. It can be used with the sablage method but it's most commonly mixed with the creaming method like a typical cookie dough.


Here, sablée dough is referred to the 1-2-3 dough, containing 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, and 3 parts flour by weight.


Tarts aren't just pies without the top crust; they're light, usually less than 1" thick and are colorful. The appearance depends on carefully arranged fruit. Tartlets are individual-portion sizes.


Difference between pie and a tart

  • Pie can be sweet or savory; dates back to the 1300s. If we take the word pie to mean any variety of food enclosed in a pastry and baked, then there have been pies for nearly all of recorded history. The word pie might be short for magpie, a bird that collects a variety of things, just as bakers do when they are assembling ingredients to bake in a pie. In the Middle Ages, pie almost always referred to savory pies containing meats, poultry, or game. North America turned pies away from savory and toward sweet. Fruit pies, especially apple are popular.
  • Tarts aren’t just pies without the top crust. They are more closely related to other European-style pastries. They are light, less than 1” thick, and colorful. Tarts contain less filling than pies. Regular pie dough can be used, but more often richer, buttery doughs are used.
  • They’re both pastry-based dishes with fillings but differ in their pans, crusts, and presentation. Pies use deeper, sloped-sided dishes with flakier crusts and served from the pan and can have a top crust, whereas tarts use shallower pans with straight sides for a firmer, crumblier crust, are unmolded for presentation, and have open tops usually.


Difference between flaky and mealy pie dough

  • Mealy – Cutting butter until it resembles cornmeal. Mealy pie dough needs the butter to coat the flour particles. Used for juicy pies (fruit pies) and cooked custards)
  • Flaky – Cutting butter the size of a pea. Dough needs to be large enough to allow for a flaky, tender crust. Use as a bottom crust, but typically better as a top crust.

Definition of tart

  • Tart – A shallow pastry crust filled with a sweet or savory mixture before or after baking. It may be straight or fluted sided and made free-form or in a tart pam, tartlet pan, or flan ring.


Three types of tart doughs

  • Pâte Brisée – Biscuit method; Pastry flour, salt, sugar, butter, eggs, water, vanilla
  • Pâte Sablée – Creaming method; butter, confectioners’ sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, eggs, pastry flour
  • Pâte Sucrée – Creaming method; butter, sugar, salt, lemon zest, vanilla, eggs, pastry flour


Prevent soggy pie shell

  • Careful to use milk because of the added sugar and fat – could cause a heavy, soggy crust
  • Using too much sugar can absorb moisture and create soggy crust.
  • Brush crust with either butter or egg wash prior to filling before baking.
  • Par-bake then fill and finish baking.
  • Put sheet pan/oven proof tile in oven when pre-warming oven.
  • Egg wash the top crust to allow for a completed shiny look.


What are the three types of bakes for a pie or tart and an example for those

  • Straight bake – a pie/tart baked by adding filling, then going straight to the oven (pecan, pumpkin, or any pie with a longer bake time)
  • Par-bake – a pie/tart baked partially then filled with filling to finish baking (key lime, lemon, baked chocolate)
  • Blind bake – a pie/tart shell fully baked prior to adding filling (most custards, chiffons, any filling cooked fully prior to adding to shell)


Preparing for a par-bake and blind bake – add parchment or saran wrap to pie shell then add beans or rice. Put in oven and bake. For par, about 10-15 minutes. Blind bake time is 15-25 minutes depending on thickness of dough.

Various pies and tarts:

  • Fruit pies/tarts – made with fresh, canned, frozen or dried fruit, mixed with sweeteners and thickeners
  • Cream pies/tarts – smooth cream filling like pastry cream
  • Custard pies/tarts – thickened with eggs and sometimes starch, sweetened with syrups
  • Chiffon pies/tarts – typically fruit based fillings with chiffon folded in after cooking, typically low in fat


Final Production


For our final production in class, we made a chocolate tart. This follows the same principles of making the pastry cream.


I left the tart in the oven too long and it began to darken and maybe even curdle on half of the tart. I should have taken it out at 10 minutes, but left it for 12 minutes. I also didn't appreciate the bitter taste of this chocolate tart - rather unsatisfying. I would instead have used semi-sweet chocolate. I rated myself on the product evaluation, below, as my best work is in the future.


Ingredients

  • 6 oz heavy cream
  • 6 oz milk
  • 4 oz chocolate bittersweet
  • 4 oz unsweet chocolate
  • 1.67 oz egg (1 egg)


Method

  • Fill tart pan with tart dough. Park bake, 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of dough.
  • While tart is in oven, mise en place ingredients and follow this:
  • Bring milk and cream to a simmer, pour over chocolate, whisk gently, then temper egg in to mixture.
  • Pull tart from oven, remove beans, then slowly pour chocolate over filling into pan.
  • Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until set.


From my product evaluation:


Taste (15 points):

For me, the taste was quite bitter due to the 4 oz of bitter chocolate. In addition to bitter, it tasted mildly sweet with buttery notes.


Texture (15 points):

After setting and under refrigeration, the texture turned out to be quite smooth with a nice bite to the crust.


Visual Appearance (15 points) (NOT A PICTURE):

Visually, the chocolate tart looked quite nice. Though, because I over baked the tart about two minutes, half of the tart looked darker and visually cooked a little too long. The other half looked lighter and how it should have looked.

Descriptive sentence of product (15 points) (Something you would read on a menu):

A chocolate tart is the perfect treat for the holidays, or any other regular day. The tart’s not so sweet that you can’t eat it. So enjoy it with some whipped cream or fruit.


Explain what you did wrong (if any) and how you could improve your work next time. (20 points)

I did many things wrong. I added the baking beans to the tart without first putting the saran wrap underneath it. I had missed that class when I was out of town and I think the concept didn’t solidify when I came back. I had to dig out the beans, put the saran wrap down, and then I made the mistake of wrapping the entire tart pan. This put me behind schedule and I was the last one in the oven, which is no big deal (someone has to be the last one in the oven). But I still struggle with confidence like when I’m trying to make the crust absolutely perfect. I would think that I need to review some of our production assignments, grow in my confidence level, and check my product at the least baking timer so that I can prevent over baking.


How could you have better utilized your time in producing your product? (10 points)

I needed to refresh myself on the saran wrap of the crust before adding the baking beans in. Other than that, the mise en place went well, and I feel like I was able to roll out the crust well and get the milk and sugar on the stove to make the custard like filling of the tart. 

Recipes

Pâte Sablée (p. 327 in Professional Baking)

Creaming method

New desired yield: 24 oz

Ingredients

  • 7.5 oz Butter
  • 3.7 oz Confectioner's sugar
  • 1/8 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Lemon zest
  • 2 drops Vanilla extract
  • 1.2 oz Eggs
  • 11.29 oz Pastry flour*

Method

  1. Cream together butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest (if using), and vanilla until mixture is smooth and pale.
  2. Add eggs a little at a time and beat well between addition.
  3. Add flour. With a plastic scraper, carefully blend into a soft dough.
  4. Divide into 2 discs. Wrap in plastic and flatten. Chill before use.


*Note: for this recipe, we increased the dough percentage by 1 oz to 12.29 oz and did not use lemon zest. We used one egg and 1/2 tsp vanilla.


*For chocolate pâté sablée, use 1.2 oz cocoa powder and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp grated orange zest.

Pastry Cream (p. 273 in Professional Baking)

New desired yield: 16 oz

Ingredients

  • 9.85 oz milk
  • 1.23 oz sugar
  • .916 oz egg yolk/1 ish egg yolk
  • 1.232 oz whole egg or 1 ish whole egg
  • .768 oz cornstarch
  • 1.232 oz sugar
  • .611 oz butter
  • .147 oz vanilla extract

Method

  1. Dissolve sugar into milk over low to medium heat and bring to a near boil.
  2. Beat the egg yolk and whole egg in a stainless steel bowl.
  3. Sift cornstarch and sugar into eggs. Beat with whisk until perfectly smooth.
  4. Temper egg mixture by slowly beating into high milk in a thin stream.
  5. Return mixture to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  6. When mixture boils, continue to stir constantly for up to 2 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat, stir in butter and vanilla. Mix until melted and blended.
  8. Pour out into a clean pan and cover with plastic wrap  directly touching the surface of the cream to prevent a skin forming on top. Cool and chill quickly.

Pie Dough

Biscuit method

New desired yield: 22 oz or 2 discs (11 oz each)

Ingredients

  • 11.1 oz AP flour
  • 7.1 oz butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 3.5 oz water


Our original class recipe was for 4 discs (44 oz total) so the flour came out to 22.2 oz, butter 14.2 oz, 1/2 tsp of salt and sugar, and 7.1 oz of water.

Method

  1. Mix together flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl.
  2. Add fat (making sure it's still very cold) and mix together with pastry cutter or fingers. (For a flaky dough, cut fat down to a pea-size shape. For mealy dough, take fat down to resemble cornmeal consistency.)
  3. Add ice-cold water. With 3.5 oz, that will be about 6-7 Tbsp. (2 Tbsp = 1 oz)
  4. Work dough together with hands and form into a ball. If too wet, add a bit more flour. If too dry, add a little more cold water.
  5. Flatten into discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
  6. After chilling, roll out dough into pan, gently guide dough into crevices of pan all the way around. Cut excess dough with kitchen shears and fold dough under to create a lip all the way around where you can then decide what kind of pattern or design to create in the crust.
  7. Refrigerate or freeze pan at this point before continuing.

04. BREADS & ROLLS

Bread is a baked dough of flour, water, and yeast. Some hard-crusted French bread contains only these ingredients and salt. Other breads may include sugar, shortening, milk, eggs, and flavorings. However, flour, water, and yeast remain the essential components of all breads.

Breads Presentation

12 steps to bread making

1. Scaling

2. Mixing

  1. Mixing time and speed incorporates all ingredients, develops gluten in flour for elasticity and extensibility.

3. Bulk Fermentation

  1. Bulk Fermentation -optimum for wheat 75-78 degrees. Major contributor to dough development/flavor development.

4. Folding

  1. Folding (not punching) -release gas, even out temperature, increase dough strength, redistribute yeast

5. Dividing

  1. Dividing - cut and weigh dough into desired portions

6. Pre-shaping or Rounding

  1. Pre-shaping or Rounding - creating smooth exterior without tearing in order to trap CO2 gases
  2. Changes random pieces into consistent shapes; Improves final look
  3. Tight shaping = more bench time
  4. Light shaping = less bench time

7. Benching

  1. Benching - relax dough (gluten) on bench cover w/flour sack cloth

8. Shaping or Make-up

  1. Hand molding into final shape time determined
  2. Examples: Oblongs, boules, baguettes

9. Proofing (final fermentation)

  1. Proof box provides ideal temperature/humidity
  2. Lean Dough 75 degrees/80 % humidity; Rich Dough 70 degrees/ 75% humidity - cooler due to butter content; Sour Dough 70-75 degrees (room temp) - longer ferment ideal to enhance flavor

10. Scoring (if needed)

  1. Done just as loading into oven creating controlled weak section for steam expansion
  2. Use sharp blade; avoid tearing or pulling

11. Baking

  1. Usually 420º in deck oven until center reaches 185º

12. Cooling

  1. Best in open air not too drafty-causes cracks

Bonus - Storing


Why ice water/cold ingredients in pie dough

  • Helps keep the fat solid and slows down gluten development

Scoring

  • Done just as loading into oven creating controlled weak section for steam expansion. Done just as loading into oven creating controlled weak. Can be used to identify types of bread or who the baker is. Use a sharp blade – avoid tearing or pulling.

Steaming bread

  • Used for the formation of the crust

Three types of bread dough/example 

  • Sourdough, rich dough (sweet dough), lean dough (ciabatta)

Fermentation of dough (extra credit question)

  • Fermentation is the process by which yeast acts on the sugars and starches in the dough to produce carbon dioxide gas (Co2) and alcohol. Gluten development continues during fermentation times like bulk fermentation.


Yeast Breads

Yeast Activates: 100-110 degrees

• Yeast Dies: 138-140 degrees

• No cover needed in proof box

• Fully Baked at 180 degrees –due to protein coagulation

• Best with steam (2x steam with sour dough)

• Over proofed: taste yeasty and smells like alcohol.


Three types of yeast: Active, Instant, Fresh


Water

Water temperature can be manipulated in order to obtain correct dough temperature or desired dough temperature (DDT)

• By manipulating water temperature being added to a dough recipe we are able to achieve optimal temperature in our final dough even after mixing friction has occurred.

• EX 1: cool water in recipe with ice

• EX 2: warm water in recipe using microwave

• Water is responsible for consistency of bread dough

• ie. more water = softer, loose dough (ciabatta bread)

• less water = firmer dough (French bread)

• Hard water best due to higher acidity than soft water

• Non-chlorinated water preferred in sourdough or levain culture since chlorine can inhibit developing

microorganisms


Salt

Without salt in bread dough it would be flavorless, sticky, and difficult to work-up.

• Salt is hygroscopic (attracts moisture)

• Enhances flavor

• Tightens gluten structure, which strengthens gluten

• Slows yeast fermentation

• Slows sugar consumption

• Delays dough oxidation

• Best to add at beginning of mixing to preserve carotenoids which add flavor and

aroma to bread


Eggs

Impart flavor due to richness in yolk

• Impart color

• Increase nutritional value (protein, calcium, iron, potassium)

• Gives even texture and grain to final product due to coagulating

property of eggs

Sugar

Sugar is hygroscopic (attracts moisture)

• Adds sweetness

• Adds extra color to the finished loaf

• Slows yeast fermentation because it absorbs extra moisture


Fats - shortening/butter

Fats coat gluten strands during mixing, making baked goods more tender

• Causes close-grained cell structure

• Increases shelf life

• Animal fats (butter/lard) add aroma, rich color, delectable mouth feel, and exceptional taste

• Butter melts at body temperature contributing to mouth feel


Milk

Increases nutritional value such as protein and mineral content

• Lactose (natural sugar found in milk) caramelizes surface which imparts rich color

• Lactose also contributes to soft and even grain in bread crumb

• Dry milk often used due to increased shelf life


Inclusions

Anything added to that does not affect dough but will enhance flavor

• ie. Nuts, chocolate chips, raisins, apple chips, herbs, etc.

• Tip: best flavor acquired from roasted nuts

• Tip: only add herbs on surface of dough 10-15 min before fully baked to avoid burning temperature sensitive herbs


Mixing Methods

Straight – in all at once except salt or yeast a bit later

• Sponge – flour, yeast, water

- usually used in rich dough since fat and sugar will slow yeast growth (fermentation)

- can also be used with lean dough(s)

• Modified straight - cream in fats and sugar to get light and fluffy – soft

- Example: challah, rich doughs, some croissants, cinnamon rolls


Focaccia -  Please note there are two flours. You will need to add those flours together and divide the total combined weight of the flour by all the ingredients, including both flours. There is a new yield, please refer to the calendar.

Here is a video on how to make the sponge for your focaccia and ciabatta:

https://youtube.com/shorts/3kYHDFsoDbk?si=cLafEoixIOt2E99dLinks to an external site.

Ciabatta

New desired yield: 40 oz

Ingredients

Make the Sponge

  • 14.5 oz bread flour
  • 4.3 oz water
  • 1/8 tsp instant yeast


For the Ciabatta

  • 14.5 oz bread flour
  • 6.2 oz water
  • 1.5 t salt
  • 1 t instant yeast

Method

  1. Mix together flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl.
  2. Add fat (making sure it's still very cold) and mix together with pastry cutter or fingers. (For a flaky dough, cut fat down to a pea-size shape. For mealy dough, take fat down to resemble cornmeal consistency.)
  3. Add ice-cold water. With 3.5 oz, that will be about 6-7 Tbsp. (2 Tbsp = 1 oz)
  4. Work dough together with hands and form into a ball. If too wet, add a bit more flour. If too dry, add a little more cold water.
  5. Flatten into discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
  6. After chilling, roll out dough into pan, gently guide dough into crevices of pan all the way around. Cut excess dough with kitchen shears and fold dough under to create a lip all the way around where you can then decide what kind of pattern or design to create in the crust.
  7. Refrigerate or freeze pan at this point before continuing.

Challah (p. 139 in Professional Cooking)

Straight Dough Method

New desired yield: 32 oz

Ingredients

  • 17.57 oz bread flour
  • 7.028 oz water
  • .351 oz instant yeast (or 2 tsp)
  • 1.317 oz sugar
  • .105 oz maple syrup (3/4 tsp)
  • ,351 oz salt
  • 1.75 oz vegetable oil

Method

  1. Just one step: combine all ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix. If using instant dry yeast, it need not be blended with water first. If using other yeast, mix with water and allow to sit to activate. Mix until the dough passes the window pane test.
  2. Gluten development occurs during mixing, and continues during bulk fermentation and folding.
  3. Use braid technique for a braided dough challah.

05. SWEET DOUGH & SOFT ROLLS

Simple sweet roll doughs are easy to make and handle, but they need care because they're softer and stickier than bread doughs. This includes rich yeast doughs like brioche, croissants, and Danish rolls.

Soft Rolls

Soft rolls use the straight dough method on p. 124 of Professional Baking. The class recipe calls for a new desired yield of 19 oz using 10 oz of bread flour, 6.25 oz of water, .2 oz of instant yeast, .2 oz of salt, .95 oz of sugar, .47 oz of nonfat milk solids, .47 oz of shortening, and .47 oz of butter. Mix in a blender all ingredients together at the same time. Cover and allow to bulk ferment.


Sweet Roll Dough

For the sweet dough, a rich dough formula, this uses a modified straight dough method: If using fresh or active dry yeast, soften the yeast in part of the liquid, using a separate container. If using instant dry yeast, mix with the flour. Combine the fat, sugar, salt, milk solids, and flavorings and mix until well combined, but do not whip until light. Add the eggs gradually, but as fast as they are absorbed. Add the liquid; mix briefly. Then add the flour and yeast. Mix to a smooth dough.


Egg wash: Unlike lean breads, many sweet, non-laminated dough products and nearly all laminated dough products are egg-washed before baking to give them a shiny, evenly browned, tender crust.


Proofing: For most rich dough goods, keep the proofing temperature at 80 degrees F or lower. Too high a proofing temp can melt the butter in the dough, especially laminated doughs.


Baking: As for lean dough goods, some steam is beneficial at the beginning of baking. Because it delays crust formation, steam allows the products to rise more fully while baking and take on a lighter texture. But too much steam can cause damage to the egg-wash coating. After baking, allow time to cool slightly before removing from pans or handling them. Their structure is still fragile when hot, but becomes stronger as they cool.


For the sweet roll dough recipe from class, our new desired yield is 32 oz. Use: 2.1 oz butter, 2.1 oz sugar, .210 oz of salt or 1 1/2 tsp, .526 oz nonfat milk solid or 3 1/2 tsp, 1.578 oz of eggs or 1 egg, 10.5 oz of bread flour, 10.5 oz of cake flour, .210 oz of instant yeast or 1 1/2 tsp, and 4.2 oz of water.