Week 15: Practice, Practice, PRACTICE!!!

This week's blog post is going to look a little different. I'm not giving you the history and method of cookery, etc., because this week is all about practicing for our final. I desperately need to work on my Pâte à Choux, and I covered the basics of that back in Week 7. When I attempted it previously, the dough never would come together properly. I think it had too many eggs. It created too much leavening and caused my dough to be dense and heavy after baking. "That’s the finicky part– the number of eggs in choux pastry isn’t really consistent between batches. Humidity, the exact size of egg, or an accidental extra 1/2 teaspoon of flour creates inconsistencies. 4 beaten eggs is an ideal starting point, though. Only add as much as you need to create a shiny, thick, and smooth dough with a pipeable consistency. I usually leave a few teaspoons of beaten egg behind, which can be used with the egg wash." (Sally, 2018) That was mistake number one. I didn't pay attention to my dough while adding the eggs. I just added as many as the recipe called for. It was not light and airy, as it should have been. "Most of the ingredients are cooked together on the stove; this initial cooking causes the starch in the flour to gelatinize, which will help the pastry hold onto steam and puff up." (Sally, 2018)

I did some research online and found a recipe I want to try this week to see if it changes the consistency of my choux dough. Of course, it came from Sally's Baking Addiction. She's amazing!😉 I also learned a new technique to help get the proper puff to my pastry. "Bake the pastries on parchment paper, the BEST nonstick surface for this choux pastry dough. But before you pipe the dough onto the parchment paper, moisten it with water." (Sally, 2018) I have gotten a ton of recipes and tips off this particular baking blog. I trust almost everything I learn from Sally, so hopefully she'll help me create a winning dish for my final exam. Fingers Crossed! 😊

We need to make two separate pastries with our choux dough for the final exam. We are required to have eclairs as one shape, and we choose the other. My plan is to create profiteroles. This week I will be filling both pastries with pastry cream and topping them with chocolate ganache. You can check out our practical exam requirements here...

We'll have four hours to complete everything and have plates ready to present to the judges. Nervous is an understatement.

References

"Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)." Sally's Baking Addiction. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/choux-pastry/. 3 September 2018.

Dish Production Components

Recipes:

Plan of Work:

Plate Presentation:

Sources:

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/choux-pastry/

http://www.rosendorffchallah.com/cakes-and-pastries/mini-eclairs

Reflection & Summary of Results

What Happened(?): Pâte à Choux is not my friend! ☹ I can master most things in the kitchen; especially when it comes to baked goods. However, this choux pastry and I cannot seem to get along. Initially, my dough came together beautifully. It was the baking process that sent me into fits this week.

My pastry cream was phenomenal.

My ganache was silky and smooth.

But that darn pastry is going to be the death of me! 😉 I plan on practicing at home more this weekend. I am determined to get this right. If I can get it to behave and stop acting like a spoiled child, I’ll update the end of this post. In the meantime, check out the awesome dishes my classmates made this week.

Food Cost:

Evaluation: My goal was to make mini eclairs and profiteroles. I got my baking time way off and the eclairs turned into something completely inedible.

I did a second batch in the convection oven after piping them a little bigger. They turned out much better, but still weren’t great.

Conclusions: I need to increase the size of my pastries and leave them in the oven for a few minutes less than I predicted. Not being able to open the oven makes it more difficult. “Do not open the oven as the pastries cook, as cool air will prevent them from properly puffing up.” (Sally, 2018)

The profiteroles weren’t too overdone, and they were able to be saved with some pastry cream and chocolate ganache. If time allows, I’ll be making an Italian Meringue to fill them with for my practical exam.

References

"Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)." Sally's Baking Addiction. https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/choux-pastry/. 3 September 2018.

Update

I finally got it! The Pâte à Choux came together marvelously when I practiced at home. I'm doing my best to prepare for our final.

I'm still struggling with my timing. I was 2 minutes over my allotted 4 hours today. Today's effort wasn't my best visual presentation. I think I'm getting a little burnt out from making the same dishes so many times.

Hopefully I can pull it together before tomorrow. Wish me luck! 😊