© 2003 Fairtrade Foundation Chocolate Weeks One and Two I’m combining the notes from the Bakeshop Skill Class for the first two weeks covering Chocolate, I’ll do the same for the next two weeks as well. Due to the weather, the class schedule has been changed slightly (it was 100°F yesterday so we could not […]
Cakes Week Four The final week of cakes in the Bakeshop Skills class. The majority of the lecture was focused on how to assemble and make Opera Cake. The cake makes a nice roundup of all the techniques and science we studied so far. We also covered decorating with Fondant and a molded mouse cake. […]
Cakes Week One Cakes are a sweet variation of bread that is believed to first appeared in Greek and Roman society. In 1956 cake flour was invented by using a soft winter wheat. The base for cake is usually a sponge, consisting of its most basic form of sugar, eggs, and flour. A heavy cake […]
Fall is here and the second part of my Bakeshop Skills class has begun. The first class was basic orientation, but we did cover a basic primer on cakes for next week. The class looks like it will be another interesting and eventful 100 hours. We were also given out certificates of completion for the […]
In Bakeshop Skills Class this week we baked off product from all the doughs we made last week (see Laminated Doughs). We also fried some additional doughs we made in this weeks class. There was no lecture this week, so there are no notes to post about. This week is our field trip and final […]
Bakeshop Skills Class this week covered laminated doughs. Layered fat and dough are what create these doughs. The layers are created by encapsulating a layer of fat into the dough, flattening it and then rolling it out, and folding it over and over. There is a lot of resting time in between rolling out and […]
Flatbreads were the topic in this weeks class. A flatbread is usually made with flour, water, and salt and then rolled into flattened dough and baked. The lecture in class was very short this week, since most of the knowledge needed is just an expansion of the previous two weeks (lean dough and rich dough). […]
This weeks class covered rich doughs. Rich doughs are yeast-based doughs that contain butter, cream, some kind of fat or eggs. Rich dough produces a bread that is soft with a tender cake-like texture. The added fats shorten the gluten strands, making the finished product tender and soft. These are easier to make in a […]
We started our five-week venture into breads in this weeks class. We start with lean doughs. These are doughs that consist of flour, salt, yeast, and water. Lean doughs are distinguished from rich doughs because they lack added fats in the dough. Bread making is a complex process that relies on technique, geography, and ingredients. […]
This week’s class covered fruit desserts. In San Diego most types of fruit are available throughout the year, however, that does not mean it’s at it’s prime. When choosing fruit, for a bakeshop or even personal use, it’s important to take into account the fruits seasonality. If the fruit is available, how much does it […]