professional baking class - yeast baking I

carbs! my faaaaavorite. i love bread, it's no secret. so i was very excited to learn now to make my very own baguette. we also made challah bread, which made for awesome french toast the next morning.

you'll see that my baguette rolling can use a little work. but hey, at least i tried!

professional baking class - Pate a Choux

time to get fancy! pate à choux is a pastry dough used to make profiteroles, eclairs, and other fun and pretty things. it's made with only butter, water, flour and eggs. it rises because of all the steam! that's why these things hollow out, and then you fill them with delicious pastry cream.

my partner and i made chocolate mousse filled profiteroles, and then we built them into a croquembouche. i took it home with me but since it was warm outside it fell apart. but i ate most of the profiteroles anyway. heh. also notice the pretty swans that another group made!

professional baking class - soufflé

our soufflé class was a lot of fun. i had never made soufflé, or even attempted it, because it always seemed so scary. they're so delicate, they're notorious for falling after removing from the oven, the slightest breeze can crush these babies.

however, after making what seemed like a dozen different types, it's really not all that hard. you should try it. you will easily impress your guests/yourself.

included flavors: coffee, almond, blackberry, goat cheese and chocolate

professional baking class - quick breads and cookies

so here are some pictures from my first two baking classes at the epicurean school of culinary arts. our first class was quick breads. we made scones, biscuits and muffins. pictures below are my currant scones, buttermilk biscuits and blueberry muffins.

our second class was about cookies. each group made two different batches of cookies, so you can imagine just how many cookies we had at the end of class. my partner and i were in charge of making thumbprint cookies and double chocolate cookies. other groups made chocolate chip cookies, gingersnaps, biscotti and mexican wedding cakes.

the best part of class is the critique/sample time. we all try some of everyone else's work, and our chef tells us about what we're eating, that way we can learn to determine if something is overbaked, undermixed, too salty/sweet, etc etc.

next classes - cakes!