Breads and Breakfast Pastries: Week Two

       Wow! I have learned so much since I have moved to Chicago; not only about baking and pastry arts, but about my family as well. About a month ago I started ancestry.com to research my family heritage. I always new I had Italian and big part of German in me, but what I did not know was there was an even longer line of French in me! I guess that is why I am drawn towards making French pastries!

        You are probably asking why I am bringing this up now! Well, I found out that the French part of me started in Alsace, France! The past two weeks, we have been making breads that are big in Alsace! I think it is amazing to not only find out that my ancestors are from Alsace, but to learn about the breads of that region!

Danish

 Apricot and Pear Danish with Almond pastry cream

 Peach danish with almond pastry cream

Kugelhopf

 A kugelhopf (koo-guh l-hopf,-hawpf) is very common in Alsace! It is custom to make these around Christmas time and give them to your grandparents. Inside the Kugelhopfs are raisins, but you cant put anything you want in it.














There are many stories of the Kugelhopf. Here is a link with some of the history of it.

Kugelhopf

One Cake, Many Names

Baguette

            Sourdough
















The best sourdough I ever had was when my family went on a cruise for a vacation. Now I am not sure which one is my favorite because this was so good!

 Just a little stream bonding with shaping the "special" croissants. A.K.A bicolor croissants.

 The biocolor croissants are two toned because the white dough is just regular croissant dough and the brown dough is a chocolate croissant dough.

 Country Bread

(Each shape of bread had a different name. I will give you the names but i do have to warn you they are in French)

Fendu-means split

Auvergnat

Tabatière

Couronne Bordelaise- means Bordeaux Crown

Bostock Brioche

 Bostock is a syrup made with almond powder, extract, and orange blossom water. The bostock is brushed on to the brioche then the almond cream is put on top. Finally it is topped with sliced almonds and baked.

 Almond Croissants

We learned that this is the best way to make almond croissants because you are able to have more almond cream in them! Most bakeries will pipe a line of almond cream before shaping and it will be baked with it inside. However, we shaped and baked the croissants just like normal. After being baked, they are cut in half and brushed with the bostock syrup and the almond cream is piped on. The other half of the croissant is placed on top and it baked a second time. Let me tell you, they are delicious!!!!

Chocolate Croissant

 Multigrain Bread

Love my classmates! I love how we work as a team and have fun while learning so many new things! I wouldn't want to share this experience with any other class!

Today we had verbal evaluations. Chef Jonathan asked me if I was for sure going to do the L'Art de la Boulangerie (bread) program this coming June, because I was talking more about it earlier this week. And my answer was yes. When he asked me why, my first response was that he has had a huge influence on my decision. I never knew I would love making bread so much. Obviously I love bread, but I didn't know that I would have the patience for it and actually like the shaping part of it. Not only has he had a huge influence, but he has been an amazing teacher. I have learned so much in these two weeks, I can only imagine what I will learn in the eight week course! June cannot come fast enough!