C...is for Challah

So I know I am terrible about posting pictures on this blog. Frankly, we are just moving too fast in the kitchen. Some days I'm lucky if I even get time to taste everything I've made. But today I made sure and snapped up a picture of the Challah bread I made yesterday. It really turned out beautiful.

Challah (the C is silent) is a traditional, sacred Jewish bread. It is meant to symbolize the manna from Heaven that fell in double quantity before the sabbath and holidays. It has a place of ritual and is eaten at each of the Sabbath meals (Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon.) It is also served on sacred holidays. The ones I made would technically be considered a Turban Challah because of their ring shape. It would traditionally be served at Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) to symbolize the cycle of the new year. Challah is easily recognized by its braided appearance and golden color from the amount of eggs in the dough.

So that's probably way more than you ever wanted to know, but I thought it is really beautiful in appearance and significance and you might enjoy seeing something I actually made myself. :)

And Sorry it is a crappy picture, I snapped it real quick with my iPhone.

B...is for Bread!

This week I am on the bread station. We make bread to be served in the restaurant and for a variety of other uses. I think that the smell of fresh baked bread, or even the yeasty smell of rising bread is among the greatest smells in the world. It just smells fresh, and homey. The kind of smell that makes you feel like everything is going to be alright.

Anyway, so far we've made sourdough, marbled rye, French baguettes, Italian, Foccacia, honey whole wheat, bagels, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, and pizza dough to name a few. Tomorrow we are braiding Challah and we have many more in the works.

I found a bunch of great quotes about bread and since other people are so much more eloquent than me...please enjoy!

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.”James Beard (1903-1985)

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

"How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?"Julia Child

"Bread is the warmest, kindest of all words. Write it always with a capital letter, like your own name." Anonymous

"Without bread all is misery." William Cobbett, British journalist (1763-1835)

"Bread is like dressed, hats and shoes -- in other words, essential!"Emily Post

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.” Robert Browning (1812-1889) English poet

"I am going to learn to make bread to-morrow. So you may imagine me with my sleeves rolled up, mixing flour, milk, saleratus, etc., with a deal of grace. I advise you if you don't know how to make the staff of life to learn with dispatch."Emily Dickinson, American poet (1830-1886)

I really love that last one from Emily Dickinson. Think of ME tomorrow with my sleeves up, covered in flour, making bread. And if you don't know how, learn with "dispatch." It isn't nearly as hard as it seems. It just takes a little patience and a little time, as most worthwhile things do.

D...is for Dessert!!!!

This week I started my Baking class and I absolutely LOVE it!! It is so relaxing to me, and really natural. In some ways, a lot like what my days would be like if I wasn't going to school...making cookies and cakes.
We have 3 rotations in baking and I have spent my first one in Desserts. Basically I make all the desserts for the restaurant at school, plus all the cakes for the advanced baking class to decorate, and then a bunch of other things to feed the school during morning break. Initially I was a little worried because I got put in a group I didn't feel very confident in, but we divided out the work and do it individually and it has made a huge difference. Chef said today that he thinks my work is "top notch" and "some of the best work he has ever seen from a student." I sort of feel like it's things I have been making since I was 15, so it's no biggie! I mean how do you screw up cookies? Apparently it happens.
Some of the delicious things I've made this week are: creme brule, chocolate creme brule, angel food cake, devil's food cake, strawberry rhubarb pie, apple pie, oatmeal rasin cookies, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles, pie crust, lemon pound cake, cheesecake, orange-cranberry sorbet, vanilla caramel ice cream, coca-cola cake, and a bunch of other things I can't remember.
When we make a recipe, we also make A LOT of it. Like 10 dozen cookies at a time or 15 - 8"and 10" cakes. So big quantities and everything has to be measured very precisely. I think one of the things I'm most proud of making this week is the Coca-Cola cake. Chef asked me to make it for the advanced pastry Chef's Wife for her birthday....no pressure right? He also added that he had made the recipe 2 times and once it was great and once it was a total disaster. Luckily it turned out PERFECTLY! I was really happy. : )
I love Baking...I think it is my Happy Place.