Long gaps in between my Pastry class, not until next Thursday. Eventually I finally finish all the items I bring home, so I get to bake at home. Even with my tiny little kitchenette and crappy oven, I still really enjoy it.
Strawberry muffins, take 2. Much better this time. I foolishly photographed them in a bird's eye view so you can't see their nice rise. The insides were very well formed, only minimal tunneling. Edges were golden brown, and best of all they were fully cooked. Had issues with the strawberries again though. After last time I had cut them up and refroze them. However, when they refroze, instead of being frozen whole strawberries like the first time, it was a frozen brick of strawberry pieces. So I had to thaw it out again, though this time I was able to do so only enough to be able to chip off pieces. It made a better product, but the strawberry pieces still didn't hold up very well during baking. I guess I need whole fruits-any kind of smaller berry. Trader Joe's is the only place with cheap frozen blueberries, don't ask me why, couldn't tell you why their frozen blueberries are half as much as everywhere else. But next time I plan on making berry muffins I'll just get blueberries. Regardless, I'm happy with my result.
Next week in class we are beginning yeast doughs. Again, I like to do things on my own first, so I took a stab at some whole wheat sammich bread. I was kinda apprehensive since my only guidance had been my book reading. I went back and forth between whether or not I wanted to try it, but finally gave in. And I'm really happy I did. To put it simply, I was amazed at the outcome of my product. I never expected it to turn out so well. Of course like everything in my life there were some problems. I hadn't baked anything yet on my sheet pan and so I discovered...
that it doesn't fit in my crappy oven. It
almost fits, but just not quite. The door doesn't close all the way. It's not noticeably ajar, but it isn't sealed. Regardless, the dough seemed to have baked perfectly. I just gotta get a smaller sheet pan now. If only I could get a bigger kitchen. But still... look at those slices. Beauty.
Strawberry muffins, take 2. Much better this time. I foolishly photographed them in a bird's eye view so you can't see their nice rise. The insides were very well formed, only minimal tunneling. Edges were golden brown, and best of all they were fully cooked. Had issues with the strawberries again though. After last time I had cut them up and refroze them. However, when they refroze, instead of being frozen whole strawberries like the first time, it was a frozen brick of strawberry pieces. So I had to thaw it out again, though this time I was able to do so only enough to be able to chip off pieces. It made a better product, but the strawberry pieces still didn't hold up very well during baking. I guess I need whole fruits-any kind of smaller berry. Trader Joe's is the only place with cheap frozen blueberries, don't ask me why, couldn't tell you why their frozen blueberries are half as much as everywhere else. But next time I plan on making berry muffins I'll just get blueberries. Regardless, I'm happy with my result.
Next week in class we are beginning yeast doughs. Again, I like to do things on my own first, so I took a stab at some whole wheat sammich bread. I was kinda apprehensive since my only guidance had been my book reading. I went back and forth between whether or not I wanted to try it, but finally gave in. And I'm really happy I did. To put it simply, I was amazed at the outcome of my product. I never expected it to turn out so well. Of course like everything in my life there were some problems. I hadn't baked anything yet on my sheet pan and so I discovered... 
that it doesn't fit in my crappy oven. It almost fits, but just not quite. The door doesn't close all the way. It's not noticeably ajar, but it isn't sealed. Regardless, the dough seemed to have baked perfectly. I just gotta get a smaller sheet pan now. If only I could get a bigger kitchen. But still... look at those slices. Beauty.
No comments:
Post a Comment