A couple days after my initial foray at home, class actually started. 10/10/09 was our first day baking, the previous day being just administrative work. This week we made quickbreads. On Friday the 10th, we made 3 recipes: Country Biscuits and Blueberry Muffins. First day baking, easy stuff.
Our Country biscuits. Compared to the rest of the class, I think ours turned out pretty good. We kept the butter in pretty big chunks when we baked them so they were pretty flaky. It is interesting however that you can see the difference between batches. After you cut your first biscuits, you gotta re-roll the dough, knead a little, and stuff. It is apparent how even that little bit more work on the dough affects it. Subsequent cuts yielded poorer quality biscuits, some of which were kinda falling apart, compared to the first cuts which were nice and formed.
And our blueberry muffins. The real deal compared to my poor attempt at home. These turned out pretty good, but we still weren't without our share of problems. Like at home, the main problem was with the ovens. This was our first day baking in a brand new kitchen with brand new equipment... and the ovens weren't calibrated. Not even close. This is why I'm glad that the chef recommended we get hanging thermometers, and that I did. Despite hassles with the temperatures, they did come out pretty good. Tunneling was minimal. I think they were overdone just a bit, like a minute, they had a bit of a harder "crust" forming, where I think they should be moister. Also a nifty trick with muffins. Let the pan cool completely. If you sprayed the pan well, you can just bang the pan's side down on the table and the muffins will all fall out. The more you know.
Our Country biscuits. Compared to the rest of the class, I think ours turned out pretty good. We kept the butter in pretty big chunks when we baked them so they were pretty flaky. It is interesting however that you can see the difference between batches. After you cut your first biscuits, you gotta re-roll the dough, knead a little, and stuff. It is apparent how even that little bit more work on the dough affects it. Subsequent cuts yielded poorer quality biscuits, some of which were kinda falling apart, compared to the first cuts which were nice and formed. 
And our blueberry muffins. The real deal compared to my poor attempt at home. These turned out pretty good, but we still weren't without our share of problems. Like at home, the main problem was with the ovens. This was our first day baking in a brand new kitchen with brand new equipment... and the ovens weren't calibrated. Not even close. This is why I'm glad that the chef recommended we get hanging thermometers, and that I did. Despite hassles with the temperatures, they did come out pretty good. Tunneling was minimal. I think they were overdone just a bit, like a minute, they had a bit of a harder "crust" forming, where I think they should be moister. Also a nifty trick with muffins. Let the pan cool completely. If you sprayed the pan well, you can just bang the pan's side down on the table and the muffins will all fall out. The more you know.
No comments:
Post a Comment