Finally Some Baking!!!

So after two weeks of being here (it feels like a month already, though) I feel like I got to do some REAL baking. As in, I actually got to apply things that I learned in pastry school to my work. Today it was just me in the kitchen (plus the decorator at her station) and I just had to get the shop front counter set up by noon. So I had some of those items working, but for the most part its pretty easy. And then I was in charge of testing out a recipe for cinnamon rolls. Apparently some intern they had a little bit back (not sure if they were from my school or not) had made this recipe and they were great. Well since the intern left, every time anyone at the cake shop has tried to make them, they weren't light and fluffy. So I figured I'd give it a whirl. First of all, the recipe was AWFUL! It gave measurements of time, like how many minutes to mix the dough, to ferment the dough, to proof the dough. When you are working with bread you need to look at it and see if its ready, not just assume the time they give is correct. So many outside factors can affect your dough and how it behaves (humidity & temperature, and sometimes it just likes to be a pain in the ass). So I ditched the instructions and followed what I was taught at school (warm the milk before stirring in yeast, mix until gluten forms, ferment until doubled in size, proof until doubled in size). All of these things would NOT have happened if the instructions were followed properly, which is probably why their rolls never turned out right. So I am happy to say that all my hard work (and my Chef Nicole's hard work) from school paid off, because they were delicious!

I had a great time just trusting my instincts and not having to make the same 5 things over and over. Now that it worked and the owner knows I can work with bread, I'm hoping to be able to do more. Maybe some croissants! After work I wandered toward the city center, basically skipping my first metro ride and walked the "scenic" route to where I could catch my second metro. I found a fun little series of alleyways off of Rue Saint-Jacques that are crammed with restaurants, cafes and little tourist stores. They had some good looking places to eat, like a fondue place and a Moroccan place. I also stumbled across this delicious looking chocolatier shop. Complete with French macarons and chocolate scenes of the Eiffel Tower. I'm thinking I'll take my mom along here when she gets in tomorrow. Can't wait!