Bread comes in almost every size, shape, and color imaginable, but I will let you in on a little secret, it all starts out the same. The basic ingredients for breads are wheat flour, water, salt, and a leavening agent, most often yeast. Using these four basic ingredients, we were ready to start making some dough. Each bread followed a slightly different procedure. Sometimes that meant changing the method of leavening and others adding additional ingredients. But in the end it always needed a little time to rise. Making the perfect bread starts with the perfect dough, it is all about how it feels. Our bread was beginning to take shape, literally. The most difficult part of the class was trying to keep up with the Chef as he demonstrated the two different steps of shaping the bread. He shaped the bread so fast that we struggled to make our dough look like his. Once again, we were waiting for the dough to rise. While the bread was resting, we weren’t. We were constantly working on something new, another baker’s secret. Now it makes since, how we can make so many breads in such a short time.
I'm a little jealous of this class. The Art Institute's local culinary school has classes like this you can sign up for, but they're pretty pricey. What a fun experience for you!
ReplyDeleteLast week LInda and I went to the Broadmoor Bistro that is part of the Shawnee Mission School. The evening of dining was great fun. All prepared by young students. At the end of the meal, we got to tour their kitchens (one is devoted to bread making and pastries).
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