Chef of the Day (COD)

Chef of the Day or as the kids like to call it COD is our final project at school. We have to make 6 items and present them to our 3 chefs who then judge each item as well as our table set up. The items we have to make are:

A tart

A cake

A bread

A breakfast pastry

A chocolate

A plated dessert

It was a tough call - but a fun project. I think like any obsessive person I began thinking about this project the first quarter I started at school. I wanted something

simple and clean, using good local products if possible (although as it is winter quarter - there isn't a whole lot of produce available... and I don't know how a cabbage cake would work out...)

So my menu was:

Cake - A Honey Yoghurt Baklava Cake. Last quarter I tried making this cake that had this really tart, zesty mousse on top of a muesli base. It was pretty gross actually - so savory it was basically plain yoghurt on top of muesli. So I jazzed up the mousse a bit, added fireweed honey as my invert sugar used this amazing honey flavored greek yoghurt and added more milk chocolate to the mousse, and it worked really well.

Underneath that mousse I have a praline layer (basically

hazelnut, sugar and a smidge of salt), this layer melts, creating a type of syrup, rather than a crunch to the cake. It's the layer of caramel color that you see beside the cake. Under this there is a toasted sesame bavarian layer.I simply toasted sesame seeds, roughly ground them and then steeped them in hot milk for half an hour.Then there is the final layer, a roasted walnut sponge cake with a ed honey sponge.

I was really happy with this cake - it had the tang that I wanted from the yoghurt, the richness of the honey and the warmth of the sesame seeds and walnut.

Tart - An onion tart. This is a savory tart

made with a red wine onion confit (local syrah used), with a strong and seriously ripe muenster cheese, a creme fraiche custard, thyme and potatoes. It's a pretty pungent tart, made for small slices and best eaten when slightly warm.

Bread - the miche. This was such a beautiful bread - how could I not make it?

A breakfast pastry - Simple whole wheat croissants with a preferment. I love these croissants, so buttery, slightly sweet and slightly nutty. They are also slightly larger than your normal croissant (3oz as opposed to 2.5oz) which I have to say appeals to me as well. Just what I want for breakfast.

Chocolate - This is my beehive. It's a buckwheat honey ganache filling (the honey is from a local apiary) and a liquid honey center (which is simply

buckwheat honey). It has a milk chocolate covering. For those who don't really know buckwheat honey the descriptions I get when people smell/taste it are: horse, hay, farm. It's an incredibly earthy, natural taste which pairs brilliantly well with the warmth of milk chocolate.

Plated Dessert - This is a goat cheese cheesecake made with creme fraiche. It is covered in hazelnut toffee - so it has this earthy, nutty, crunchy texture/flavor. The sauce is a caramel blood orange sauce. The sorbet is a grapefruit and Gewurtztraminer (from a local winery) sorbet and it sits atop a rosemary sucree.

So that's it.

It's been so very draining, I didn't do a whole lot of baking outside of school because I was so intent on figuring out the baked goods for school.

Sorry once again!

Hearty Breads

Oh beautiful grainy, hearty breads I seriously like you. I think it's something that I have learned the more I make breads, the more I like some substance to them. For me, this means grains. Some serious grains at that. Lately I've been 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over rye. Not rye the flour so much as cracked rye. It has this lovely nutty flavor and a beautiful soft/chewy texture that I adore.

I've made a ton of bread at school: rye baguettes (the photo on the bottom of this post), dreikornbrot (the first photo. It has flax, rye chops, sesame and oats), a rosemary levain bread (which looked more like a roasted potato than a loaf of bread but was amazingly tasty and moist) miche, sunflower and rye bread, plenty of baguettes (ranging from straight dough to many preferment's), pumpernickel bread (takes 24 hours in the oven in order to get the color and taste that pumper has! AND it's basically all rye chops [cracked rye soaked with water]) and many more fabulously grainy breads.

Naan

I adore Indian food; its complexity, warmth, the fact that you can eat it all with your hands. I have made naan before. Unfortunately, it wasn't a great experience.

At school when you are 2nd quarter you are in charge of supplying the bread rolls and other such sundries the schools restaurants require. The week I was doing my bread rotation just happened to be the week when they were doing a middle eastern/ Indian theme. All I remember is standing by the sheeter (a mechanical rolling pin essentially) and making flat breads for what felt like hours. Under stress - because they wanted the bread now.

But, I went to dinner at Tricia and Tim's place and well, it was Tim's birthday and he requested naan, so I had to make it!

It was alright. A little dry - I like my naan moist and filled with pannier- which I din't use in this naan. A really easy bread to make though, only requires one fermentation (rather then two) and has a little zing due to the yogurt used.

It was a good accompaniment for all the delicious Indian food we had made - so that means success for me.

It's really is funny though, how I'm never satisfied with what I make. It's never perfect. It can be 'alright' or 'pretty good' but usually not brilliant (note the exception below this post the tomato, mozzarella tart - go and buy yourself -if you are in the Northern hemisphere, some beautifully ripe tomatoes, some good buffalo mozzarella and make the tart tonight).

Light Rye 60%

I adore rye bread. Something about the flavor adds a heartiness and depth that you simply can't achieve using white flour alone. This rye has caraway, a little dark rye flour and has a sourdough starter using some of the levain I've been faithfully keeping alive for the past few weeks. So it has a little added sourness to it, and the flavor gets better as the bread ages.

I like to call the style of cut I used on the bread "the comb over". From Hamelman.

Rustic Bread

I've been making all my breads by hand lately. There is something so satisfying in the knowledge that you really don't require machines (bar the oven) to make some really good bread. I also love touching the dough and learning through the feel of a dough if it is read; ready to be mixed some more, ready to have more water added, ready to be shaped, to be baked, ready to be eaten.

This was a bread that was pretty simple, again it did have a preferment, but it was a pretty easy bread to make and shape. It has a mixture of mostly white bread flour but with a bit of rye and whole wheat thrown in as well, so it's a little earthy in it's flavor. I added rosemary and salt to the top of the bread because Josh loves those two together.

Pain Rustique

Josh makes these amazingly good sandwiches with a local product called field roast, aoli and caramelized red onions. We usually go out and buy the bread rolls for them, but this time I decided to make them.

This bread is called Pain Rustique. It's a rather wet dough that requires more folding then punching, but it's a pretty easy dough to work with once you get the hang of it. I think they key is to not worry about the shape too much, instead spread the dough out on your counter top in a roughly rectangular shape, and use a metal bench scraper to cut the dough into squares. Easy as that!

This bread is once again from the Hamelman book 'Bread: A Bakers Book of Techniques and Recipes'.

Miche

This is a gigantic bread. Before it is baked and water weight is lost it weighs 5lb.

It is also a seriously good bread that gets better as it ages. The flavor is hearty, slightly acidic and full. It is mostly made with whole wheat flour (I had to add a smidge of white flour as my whole wheat wasn't high extraction whole wheat).

The history of the bread seems to be that it was eaten by the early settlers of Canada, and by Europeans for many generations before this. It would last a while and it would still be good to eat after a good while.

It did take 3 days to make as it was a bread that was made with a levain, however in the Hamelman book it does suggest that you make it in two days, but at school we made it in three, so I thought I'd just do what I know. This bread is a really wet bred, so make sure to flour all surfaces really well. I did make a stencil for this bread but I had floured the surfaces it touched so extensively that I couldn't use it anymore!

Roasted Potoato Bread

I have been rather inspired to make a lot of bread since I did the bread rotation a few weeks back. We had some potato's hanging about the house so I thought I would give this bread a go. It is from Hamelman's amazing bread book. It took a couple of days to make as there was a pate fermente (which simply means you make a preferment - this one included yeast, flour and water, just as many do) but it was a tasty bread.

I'm getting better about forming the bread and reading it, but still have a long way to go. At the end of May I'll be going to a hearth breads workshop which I'm excited to try out.

I'd like to learn how to tell the right consistency of bread, of all the different types of bread (especially the consistency I'm looking for with mixing which is amazingly varied depending on the bread), I'd love to learn more rye breads as well as I feel that they tend to 'ripen' with age and I love the way they taste. Breads: I'm pretty excited!

Bread Rotation

I just recently finished the bread rotation at school. A sometimes really intense rotation, filled with changes, and constant watching. I actually really enjoyed making breads, whereas I was worried that I wouldn't. I worked with some great people and I think that made it easier, but it was still intense. I like making breads as it is all about touching the dough, you have to know what you are looking for (or feeling for).

The hardest part for me was mixing. I often had no idea about the density of the dough - should it be a wet dough, or a stiff dough? But I think I'm better at gauging that now.

I'm looking forward to dough's again in the future!

Bread Pudding

A simple bread pudding using ready made ingredients: challah bread, dolce de lechi syrup some bitter sweet chocolate and eggs. It was alright, I'd been wanting to try this recipe for a while and when I finally got around to having an occasion to make it (thank you games night!) it was pretty easy to assemble. Not the greatest pudding, but pretty good in a pinch!
Thank you Josh for the photo!

Oat Bread

A wonderful bread for winter, hearty, and filling this oat bread was pretty easy to make. It was also (by bread standards at least) pretty quick to make. 

I gave one to my diabetic neighbor Linda as an xmas present, and she really liked the bread. 

It is once again from the master of bread Jeffrey Hamelman "Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes". 

Fig, Roasted Hazelnuts, Fennel Seed and Rosemary Bread

Wow, it's pretty jam packed. This bread is a 'quick bread' meaning it doesn't require a starter dough made the night before. However, I did start it around 9 am and finished it at around 2pm... so I guess quick bread isn't really the right name for it. However, it was worth it.

It is half whole wheat, half white bread flour, so it is already nutty without the addition of the hazelnuts. The fennel certainly gave it a anise kick, and the rosemary added some more oomph. The figs were sweet and contributed a lot to the crust color. A tasty bread, good with cheeses as well as with butter.

Taken from the Jeffrey Hamelman book "Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes". An amazing bread book.

Squirrels and other Edibles

The last rotation at school was breads. It was mostly us, the first quarter getting things ready for the next day (weighing various amounts of flour, salt and fresh yeast most of the time). However, some days we did some quirky things. Like these. Squirrels? Weird yes, kinda weirdly cool - I think so. We have a book at school that basically details how to mold bread dough into various forms - masks, wheat stalks, rabbits, chickens, snakes, crocodiles, teddy bears and yes squirrels.

This guy was my favorite - it looks like he just fattened himself up on some tasty acorns. Next quarter we have to figure out some topping for foccacia that we'll sell down at the bakery at school - does anyone have any suggestions? We've done a lot of toppings that are pizza like ie. feta, olive, capsicum and tomato. But I was wondering if anyone had a topping that they really enjoyed on a pizza or a foccacia that we may try and use next quarter when we make the topping descions (2nd quarters tell the 1st quarters what to put on top). Sweet idea's would be great as well, we had one that was thinely sliced apples, a oatmeal, brown sugar and butter crumble and then some caramel on top as well. That one looked pretty amazing.

Monkey Bread

This was seriously tasty. Buttery balls, covered in cinnamon, fused together by caramel. Seriously good. I also added some pecan caramel to the top (I messed up with my caramel which was meant to be a firm caramel candy rather than a goopy mess). This was totally amazing warm. Seriously.

Baguette:s Take 2

My husband (http://lowerfood.blogspot.com) and I decided we wanted to make baguetts over the weekend. They turned out pretty well. I'm learning that making bread is a seriously labourious task. Full of: waiting around, seemingly random rearranging of the dough and pampering the yeast. However, it is immensely satisfying to have a fresh loaf, stick whatever from the oven and know that you made it work. 

Pain Rustique or the Beasts 1st child

Ok, I'm not saying I didn't have some serious issues making my first bread at home, using my own oven and levain (the beast). What I am saying is it's not bad, not at all. 

This has a crunchy top, and a soft, uneven crumb. I was scared to make this for many reasons: we don't have a steam oven, the oven is super hot (460F) and I'm a total novice. But once again the Hamelman book came to the rescue, nice details, bar one. When do I add the second batch of yeast and the salt? Two huge issues. Needless to say I forgot about both. But you know what the bread still tastes like bread but needs a salty spread, topping or something to be truly tasty. It does cut a good figure though!

Day One: The Beast aka my Levain

I'm growing a beast, a pet that requires feeding regularly and for the next 6-10 days it needs to be fed every 12 hours and then every 24 hours after that day in and day out. Yes my beast is a levain. Something that when I start to make breads at home will add to the complexity of the flavors. 

At school I hear "David, have you fed the levain?" "Sarah, have you fed the levain?" everyday the beast requires feeding. Then you rip a portion off add it to your bread and Bam - instant sour goodness! 

I'm using a book that one of my teachers recommended called:  "Bread: A Bakers Book of Techniques and Recipes: by a crazy obsessed bread man called Jeffrey Hamelman. Heaps of recipes, lots of great advice. The books geared to both the home bakers as well as professional bakeries, and the portions show it (for instance 23 loaves of roasted garlic levain vs. 2 loaves).

Anyway, everyone meet the beast. 

Raisin Swirl Bread

A nice bread, I made this one without the raisins because Josh doesn't like them. It wasn't as moist as I like it so I would recommend making it with raisins, or at least another dried fried ie. apricots.

Ingredients: Bread
1 packet yeast

1/4 cup sugar, plus a pinch

1.25 cups just warm milk

1/2 stick butter (4Tbs.) at room temp.

3/4 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

3.25 - 4 cups all-purpose flour

Ingredients: swirl

1 Tbs. sugar

2 tsp. freshly ground cinnamon

2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup moist plump raisins

3 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened to a spreadable consistency.

Method: Bread

1. Put the yeast in a small bowl, add a pinch of salt, and stir in 1/4 cup of the warm milk.

2. Let this rest for 3min, then stir.

3. Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the rest of the milk, the butter and 1/4 cup sugar and mix on low speed for 1-2min.

4. Add the salt, egg and vanilla and mix.

5. Add the yeast mixture and beat on medium-low for 1 min or more.

6. Turn the mixer off and add 2.75 cups of flour. Mix on low speed until just worked into the liquid.

7. If you have a dough hook switch to it now.

8. Add another 1 cup of flour, increase the mixer speed to medium and beat the dough for a couple of minuets.

9. If the dough does not come together and almost clean the sides of the bowl, add up to 1/4 cup of flour, 1 Tbs. at a time.

10. Keep the mixer speed at medium and knead the dough for another 3 min. The dough will be very soft.

11. Butter a large bowl, and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size - around 1.5 hours.

12. Scrape the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and wrap it up. Put it in the freezer for 30 min. or until it is firm enough to be rolled out.

Method: Swirl and Assembly

1. Butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

2. Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and cocoa.

3. Put the dough on a large work surface lightly dusted with flour.

4. Lightly dust the top of the dough, and roll out to be roughly 12 x 18 inches.

5. Gently smear 2 Tbs. of butter over the top (using your fingers is the best tools to use in this case).

6. Sprinkle over the sugar mixture (and scatter over the raisins).

7. Starting from the short side of the dough, roll the dough 'jelly-roll' style, try and make it nice and tight, so that it holds together in the oven.

8. Place seam side down in the loaf pan.

9. Cover loosely with wax paper and let rise for around 45 min.

10. When the dough has risen again, center a rack in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 375F.

11. Melt the remaining 1 Tbs. of butter and brush over the top of the bread.

12. Bake in the oven for 20min, then cover with a foil tent for 25 min, or until the bread sounds hollow when it is tapped.

13. Transfer to a rack to cool down for 5 min, and then unmold. Let it cool down the right way up. Enjoy!

Taken from Dorie Greenspan's 'Baking: From My Home to Yours' pp. 58-60.