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How I spent my Sunday

While B. is busy fixing the gazillions things left to be perfected around the house, I am busy making sure that my oven can indeed bake and speedbake and that I can run danishes as well as cookies as well as homemade strawberry jam…at the same time. If it can’t take the heat…I definitely need to upgrade!

Weird thing: up until last year I was the pastry chef for a small family owned French restaurant. I used to make 100+ baguettes a day, creme brulees, tartes tatins, tartes au citron, chocolate cake, cheesecakes, nougat glace, and creme caramels, every single day, in one day…now I feel slow when I only make 2 to 3 things. I kinda enjoy spending the time, putsing around on the computer while the dough rises, but I miss my Hobbard, I miss my steam oven and my prooofbox…but then I remember why I left: no dweeb big chef who thinks I am after his line job (not in a million years), I can spend $$$ on chocolate and not have the owner raise her eyebrow because she does not know what brand of Valrhona makes the best gateau. I should stop my rant now, and leave it for the (I feel) next post: "from pastry chef to personal trainer"

The above picture is some of what I did over the weekend: Baguette Monge courtesy of the French blog Papilles et Pupilles , papillesetpupillesannexes.blogspot.com,,, 10 Grain Sandwich Bread from the same blog and ciabatta rolls, handwritten recipe from a baker friend of mine.

Baguette Monge: ingredients for 3 baguettes

– 500 g. bread flour

– 100 g. starter

– 5 g. yeast

– 10 g. salt

– 27 cl. warm water

Put the yeast into a bowl, add 10 cl water and let bloom for 20 minutes. in another bowl, mix the flour and salt. Form a well with a spoon and add the yeast/water combo, add the rest of the water and the starter. Mix well with the dough hook and either knead by hand or still with the mixer for a few minutes (up to 12). Let rest in a covered bowl for 20 minutes. Divide the dough in 3 parts and shape into rounds, let rise another 40 minutes. Form into baguettes and put on a baking sheet, let rise 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425. Sift some flour over the baguettes and cut slits on top with razor blade. Bake for 20 25 minutes.

This bread comes from the Kayser Bakery, located on Monge street in Paris.

Starter: from Eric Kayser, 100% Pain.

Day 1: mix 50g. warm water and 50g bread flour. Let stand at room temp.

day 2: add 100g warm water and 100g flour, add 20g sugar. Let stand at room temp.

Day 3 : add 200g water and 200g flour. Let stand 12 hours.

Remove quantities as needed for recipes, if not used within 8 days, refrigerate and add more water/flour if the starter seems to lose life.

Pain de Mie or Sandwich Bread:

Mix 1.5 tsp. yeast in 80 ml. warm milk. In stand mixer bowl with dough hook mix 400g. flour (I mix 1/2 bread flour, 1/2 10 grain flour), 15g sugar, 1 tsp. salt, add yeast mixture plus 160ml. warm water, mix well and add 30g soft butter until the dough comes together, knead for a few minutes. Let rise in a draft free place until doubled. Punch dough down and form into a loaf, put into a greased loaf pan and let rise again until doubled. Bake in a preheated 400 oven until sounds hollow when tapped.

Easy peasy….

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Comments


Anonymous March 27, 2006 um 2:43 pm

Oh my goodness! I would love love LOVE that 10-grain recipe!


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