Saved by the Walnut Bread

I love, love bread. I love making it, smelling it and eating it. When Christa asked who was interested in preparing a bread starter (made of flour, yeast and water) before Saturday’s class, I was an eager beaver. Of course I wanted to do it! Plus, making a bread starter is simple…really simple.

Simple or not, there are certain circumstances when one should not attempt to make a bread starter. Trust me.

I put together (or tried to) my rendition of a bread starter late-ish on Friday night. Yes, Friday night……I’m aware how lame this makes me. Anyway, I was supremely exhausted after a long week, did not have back-up ingredients (in case of a malfunction), and was emotionally drained. I mixed my ingredients together and noticed that the recipe said to knead the mixture a few times. Hmmm….my bread starter had the consistency of buttermilk…not exactly knead-able. I realized that I had accidentally doubled the amount of water and ruined my bread starter. I cried.

The next morning, I went to class bearing my failed bread starter. It didn’t matter. “Okay, don’t use that…make the walnut bread with Patty instead,” said Christa. The walnut bread didn’t require a starter and was a perfect idea to me. I also thought Patty was a perfect partner in my breadventure. She gets my humor (shocker here….not everyone does…).

The walnut bread dough is straight forward, with minimal ingredients (flour, water, yeast, salt, walnuts, and walnut oil). However, walnuts are independent, funky things that hate dough. Upon attempted incorporation, they turn into nutty missiles with bad aim…shooting out every which-way and refusing to become one with the dough.

We had finally defeated the rebellious walnuts by kneading them into submission when we noticed another unexpected result. The bread dough had decided to turn slightly purple. It was odd…made no sense…and is a characteristic of all walnut breads I’ve ever eaten. I’m not sure why the purple tint occurs, but I’m sure there is some scientific explanation. Perhaps some reaction from the walnut oil? I bet Alton Brown would know.

After our dough was done with yet another long rest, we formed it into two rounds, slashed them with “the slasher” and popped them into the oven. The bread is ready when it’s crust is golden brown, and it sounds hollow when you knock on it with your hand (don’t burn yourself….).

Walnut Bread

1 ½ tsp instant yeast
7 fl oz water, room temp.
340 g flour (~2 ¾ cups)
2 tsp salt
½ c chopped walnuts
3 fl oz walnut oil, divided in thirds
coarse salt for crust, if desired

In a large mixing bowl, mix water, flour, yeast, salt and 1 oz walnut oil; knead until smooth and then knead in walnuts (~15-20 minutes of kneading).

Let rise until double, about 1-1 ½ hours.

Knead in another oz of oil; let rise again until double.

Knead in last oz of oil; let rest 5-10 minutes.

Shape into one medium or two small loaves; let rise until almost double.

Sprinkle with salt, if desired; bake in 425 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

What is an Entremet?

Saturday’s Pastry Class was an exercise in the “real world” of Pastry (well, as real world as you can get in a classroom setting...). We were divided into groups of three people, with one person being assigned as the “Pastry Chef” and the other two as “Helpers”. I was assigned into the latter of the two categories, which was not the place I wanted to be.

I tend to be food bossy by nature. Good thing it was still early, I was tired, and was doing a good job of staring off into space (which would make it less challenging to hold back my ever-opinionated self).

The dessert of the day was an Entremet which up until this point, had been a foreign concept to me. Entremet translates literally to "between servings", and in the Pastry world is an exquisite layered dessert. Entremets are often cylindrical in shape and comprised of multiple cake and mousse layers. They do a good job of seducing people to “ooohs” and “aaaaahs”.

During our Entremet flavor huddle, I only had to bite my tongue a few times to avoid being too...ahem…authoritative. I was happy that our group’s Pasty Chef du Jour was up for compromise. Together, we decided to create an Entremet with the following layers: Lemon Genoise Cake, Raspberry Mousse, Chopped Pistachios, a second layer of Lemon Genoise Cake, White Chocolate Mousse and Raspberry Gelee. The toppers we decided on were Pistachio Brittle and Candied Lemon Peel.

It was miraculous to me how quickly the Entremet came together. After completing all the components, we layered them, refrigerating between layers to create visually distinctive lines.

We used acetate to create a mold for the finished product. We cut small circles of cake (smaller than the size of the mold, so that the cake would be covered by the mousse entirely). The finished Entremet was *almost* too pretty to eat. Almost.

A Dozen Soufflés Later

I should have known I was in for trouble when I walked into pastry class and there was a giant cowbell sitting on the counter.  Instead, I was too absorbed in thoughts of soufflés to even notice the bell.

I’ve eaten and enjoyed both sweet and savory soufflés many times, but was a bit wary to try my hand at creating one…soufflés fuel many a rumor mill.  There are dozens of soufflé horror stories out there, usually starring a fallen soufflé and resulting in some baker having a mild mental breakdown.  I did not want to have a mental breakdown, no matter how mild.

Before letting us loose in the kitchen, Christa proclaimed that “A soufflé waits for no man,” which brings me back to the reason for the cowbell.  It was there to alert all of us when a soufflé came out of the oven, because we needed to taste it immediately. (Normally, we do one mass tasting at the end of the class).  After Christa’s exclamation, we were off and I started making a chocolate soufflé with a fresh berry sauce.

Just as I was getting into the soufflé groove, I head the cowbell's cry “BING-BING-BING,” the first soufflé was out of the oven and ready to taste. 

And, it was delicious..so I took one bite and then two.  Then, I went back to work on my soufflé until a few minutes later “BING-BING-BING,” the next soufflé was ready for tasting.  Armed with a spoon in my pocket, I swooped in for a big gloppy spoonful of this Grand Marnier spiked souffle and sighed happily. I liked soufflés. 

Or at least I liked soufflés until I had “tried” the sixth or seventh of the evening.  At that point, I still had another seven soufflés left to taste and already despised the cowbell which had started to evoke a “run away from the soufflé” fear response.  I obviously had not paced myself well.

I must admit that I was a big sissy and hid in the back of the kitchen to avoid a couple of the last soufflé tastings…my teeth were starting to fall out (or at least that was my mental image).  In the end, I’m glad I was a soufflé ninny because I think I was one or two soufflés away from shunning the dessert for life.  Instead, I have recovered and accepted soufflés back into my life.  They are appealing (when eaten in moderation).  The are light and fluffy and saucy all at once…and they look quite impressive, too.  Cowbells on the other hand, I will hate forever.

Here's the chocolate souffle recipe pictured above (recipe courtesy of Tante Marie Cooking School):

Souffle au Chocolate

7 oz. semisweet chocolate

5 Tbsp water

1/3 cup flour

2 cups cold milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

4 egg yolks, blended with a fork

6 egg whites

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Prepare a 2 quart souffle dish by brushing the inside with butter and coating it with sugar.  Clean the rim.  Preheat oven to 400-degrees.  Center an oven rack.

In a bain marie (water bath), melt the chocolate with the water.  When melted, stir until smooth and keep warm.

In a medium saucepan, off the heat, make a paste by whisking the flour and a small amount of milk, then add the remaining milk.  Add the vanilla and bring to a boil, stirring vigorously until thick.  Cook for 1 more minute, then blend in chocolate and remove from heat.  Temper the egg yolks, then add to the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of cream of tartar until soft peak.  Slowly add sugar and beat until stiff peak.  Warm the chocolate base if necessary and stir in 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten, then fold in the remaining egg whites.

Spoon the souffle into prepared dish.  Use your thumb to clean the rim and "cut" into the souffle.  At this point, you may cover with an inverted bowl and leave at room temp for an hour before baking.  Bake in center of oven, turning it down to 375-degrees.  Should take about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and serve immediately.

Blame it on the Baguette

French bread is so delicious.  It just is…as is.  The crunch of the crust is magnificent as it breaks into tiny shards of golden-brown munchy bits that taste deep and almost nutty, but simple at the same time.  The soft, chewy center is a perfect sponge for whatever tasty thing you choose to christen it with (be it butter, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, fresh fruit preserves or maybe some delicious cheese).  Yum.

But, French bread’s deliciousness is not an Abra-Cadabra phenomenon.  In order to create a true baguette…the kind that dreams are made of (…Am I the only one that dreams about bakery cases?), one must take on a lengthy, laborious and often spaz-inducing project. 

French bread making revolves around dough smack-down (the dough, after at least doubling in size, must be heaved over your shoulder, smacked down on the counter, and then kneaded with your hands, then repeated…for approximately 20-30 minutes).   Appropriately, we (this was a partner project and I worked with one of my pastry lovers, Liz) named our dough “Smack Daddy”.

Before rising:

After Rising:

French bread class was a circus of bakery tools.  In addition to flour catapults and dough hunks flying through the air like lassos, I (along with many of my baking comrades) turned into loud and unruly bakers.   The attitude sort of came with the territory…I was swinging around dough like a cavewoman, so it seemed logical to me that I should act like one.  Well, at least until the bread dough was done with it's final rise and ready for oven-time. 

By far, the funniest incident of the day occurred when one wild bakerette (you know who you are,“Mo Reen”) smacked her dough down on the table, hitting the rim of a bowl of flour that was perfectly angled to attack another bread maker (we’ll call her “Jude D.”) square in the face.  Poor “Jude D.” was left covered in flour and everyone was laughing hysterically…leading to a pretty good ab workout.  The obvious conclusion here is that bread is good for our waistlines…or at the very least, it’s good for our souls.

**Thanks to Patty P. for taking the first picture included in this post:-)

Cakery

Cakes.  THE symbol of celebration…and sadly, often the culprit behind disappointed taste buds. Most of the cakes I’ve encountered in my life have been more beautiful to look at than to eat, which I think is a direct result of cakes gone wild…becoming commercialized and ubiquitous.  These tepid tasting cake frauds are cloaked with frostings made from shortening instead of butter.  How can you make a “Buttercream” frosting without butter??  You can’t.  We, as cake eaters, are obviously dealing with a raging epidemic in the sugar and butter world.  

I am relieved to say that there is a cure to this cake problem…a great recipe and the finest, REAL ingredients that you can find.  Beauty is not only frosting deep.

And so, this brings me to the wonder that is cakes done right.  A real cake is a fabulous thing.  It can be light and airy, or dense and luxurious.  It is the perfect vehicle for fruits, spices, nuts, frostings and puddings…or for nothing at all.  Cakes are incredibly versatile and can be simple, impressive, rustic and comforting all at the same time.  Because of the complexity that is cake, there are quite a few Pastry lessons dedicated to the topic.  So far we’ve covered Chiffon/Sponge Cakes and Butter Cakes. 

Chiffon/Sponge Cakes are made with meringue (beaten egg whites with sugar) for lift, and a small amount of fat (relatively) in the form of butter or vegetable oil.  These cakes bake up light and fluffy, and beg to be paired with something juicy and creamy.  I baked an Orange Sponge cake, which was going fine and dandy until I was forced to punch the cake in the face…it was trying to burn my finger.  Luckily, the damage was minimal.

After baking many cakes and making batches and more batches of Buttercream frosting, we also learned how to make edible candied flowers.  We used violas (a type of edible flower) and painted them with a meringue powder and water concoction…and then sprinkled the flowers with sugar.  These flowers perched on top of cupcakes…simply adorable.

Butter cakes are obviously made with butter…and are dense and moist.  These cakes are usually made using the creaming method (beating your butter and sugar together to create tiny air bubbles that help with the rise in the cake).  I made a Cardamom Buttermilk Cake that was fragrant and delicious and receptive to many different flavor components.  I paired the cake with Strawberries and almonds…and a dollop of whipped cream.