Tuesday, November 17, 2009
jumped the gun
well, I may have jumped the gun--I think I'm going to push back the bake, I'm so sorry everyone--this week actually is turning kind of hectic. (No strep throat, though, phew!) Also, I may have a lead on a kitchen to bake in--not my own--with more space and less family clutter. That would really simplify things. I will let you know when I have definite date--it will be soon! Thanks everyone for understanding.
whole wheat winner!
After some tinkering and applying my new knowledge, I think I have developed a pleasingly moist, light and spongey wheat bread recipe. It is only partially wheat, but I did add flaxseed meal and oatmeal. I acheived the lovely texture by using the sponge method--you allow a small amt of the flour to raise with the yeast and water until double, then you mix up the rest of the dough. I also allowed it to double ferment. Bread raises twice--I did the first "ferment" or raising twice to add extra lift! I brought it to work as a test and it was a hit! And the kids devoured it, which is always a good sign.
I will be doing a bake this week on Thursday and probably finishing on Friday. If you are interested in ordering, let me know asap! I will send out emails too.
I think this multigrain loaf will be $5, and I am also going to offer focaccia with garlic and parmesan, also for $5.
FYI--Skye is sick today, and if we have any more sickness the bake will be off. The baby had a similar thing and was over it pretty quickly, so hopefully this won't be an issue. I'm going to clean my kitchen with anti-bacterial stuff just in case.
I am still looking for an "official" kitchen to bake in! In process . . .
Monday, November 9, 2009
Name Change
Hi! I realize the web address is kind of cumbersome--I first used that when I was blogging just for fun. Now that this might be turning into something, I will be changing the address to www.3flowersbakery.blogspot.com. That will happen next week. Thanks guys!
Three Flowers Lives!
From top: Challah, herb focaccia, apple sourdough, croissants, onion rye twist
Hello friends and customers,
I am having to cut down at school in order to work a little more until Bud finds a job.
Sad.
However, I decided to make lemons into lemonade. This gives me more time to bake on my own for Community Supported Baking! Or: Three Flowers Bakery. Those of you who have talked to me know the plan: I do some baking for friends, on an order-by-order basis. I did this once this summer and it was very successful! If you want to re-read the explanation, go to the main page of the blog and click on "old posts."
My goal is to have my own bakery in a few years, whenever circumstances make it possible. But until then, I'm itching to get going! So I am baking here and there when I get a chance, giving you all a taste of what's to come.
I have been fortunate in the past 12 weeks to gain a lot of knowledge. And, while I am by no means an expert, I do have more to work with now. So I'll be trying to bake again about twice a month or so. I have had so much interest that I am actually trying to find a larger kitchen in Hudson to use, with more ovens and more space. I'll post some pictures of the products I will offer, and soon I will post the dates of the next BAKE and start taking orders. I am going to try to offer a white and wheat bread each time, and a specialty too, like croissants or apple bread or cookies. And with the holidays coming up I'm going to do apple pies. It all depends on what people want!
To order, you can either: Comment on the blog--it's easy! It seems intimidating, but all you really have to do is click on "comment" at the bottom of the blog entry.
Or, you can email me at mastuempy@hotmail.com. When ordering, if you need it delivered please include your address and phone number.
If you become a "follower" of the blog, I think you should receive email updates when I update it. I will try to do that often!
If anyone knows of a lonely kitchen, for example in a closed business or an unused church building, let me know ASAP!
Thanks everyone for your support. Questions and Comments are welcome!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
We're finally baking!
Well,
the first 3 weeks of school are over, and so is the "culinary" portion of my education. Thank goodness. It was fun to learn how to cut up a whole chicken, and how to make the "mother" sauces, and all that good stuff. But that's not why I'm there. We've had our hands in dough the past two days, and boy, does it feel good. I'm remembering the reasons I enrolled. I remember that "zen" feeling I get when the table is covered with flour, and I find myself humming as I gather my mise en place.
And boy oh boy! We start off with a bang! 3-4 recipes a day--we get a demo and then we have to get cooking. We're getting a general overview of baking, and later we'll go back over these same things and learn them more inimately. Yesterday we made Peanut Butter Cookies (using the creamy method) and brysselkex (basically those yummy pepperidge farm merona type cookies). We decided to get fancy--see picture. Today it was Strassler cookies (piped out of a fancy tip! Cool! I made beautiful rosebuds), macaroons--which, sweet saint whoever the patron saint of bakers is, where have these been all my life? I've had those nasty coconut macaroons out of the Good Housekeeping cookbook, and have avoided them since. These are made with crushed almonds, butter, confectioners sugar--they melt in your mouth. You can make sandwich cookies out of them if you spread a little Nutella in between. We also made biscotti, which you have to bake twice! It kept us all late after class because we couldn't get it done.
Which brings me to the more personal part of my reflections: going back to college as an adult is really interesting. I've realized that my time is VERY valuable, and I don't have much patience for laziness or incomptence, especially people at my table who I have to do group projects with. Seriously, kids, welcome to the adult world. I'm getting lots of material for my novel because the stereotypical characters are just thick in the room. You've got the lazy college kids who have everything handed to them and have never had to work a day in their lives. When the chore/work roster was handed out, you should have seen the sneers! "I'm expected to mop? Are you kidding?" All eloquently said with a lifted eyebrow and curled lip. And sleeping during lecture. And not listening to directions! ARGGHH! What do we do? What did he say? Can I borrow this because I forgot mine? Puh-leeze! Everyone deserves some rope, and I do lend stuff. I also need to borrow stuff and ask questions sometimes. But there is a limit. I seriously wonder how many people are actually going to make it through the program. Thank goodness for my table partner who is totally sane, realistic, nice, and knows how to work. We have collaberated a lot, actually, sharing supplies and baking trays and doing projects together. She's another mature (I use that term loosely in my case. Yes, I still laugh at fart jokes) adult with a career behind her, who knows what she wants and how the real world works. Who knows how listen and study and be responsible. We get along.
So, one of my large faults has been exposed--I lack mercy. I'm trying. I've got to vent somewhere. The characters are just so obvious it's unbelievable. I don't have to be creative or embellish at all, I just have to write it down, with the appropriate use of semicolons and no run-on sentences. Gosh, my high school creative writing teacher would kill me. I think my blogging will be more conversational in tone. I ain't go time to edit!
Some things I wasn't expecting: there are no traditional amounts as we're used to seeing them. We weigh everything on a digital scale. The recipe does not say, bake for 30 minutes. It says a temperature and that's it--you know it's done by what it looks like. We have to cream our butter and sugar and whip our eggs by hand! No mixers. We have to do it the hard way. We're going to learn to do it right! No sissy stuff. You eat dirt, and you like it! You walk to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways! That's how we do it in the army, and no whining! I don't know. I'm tired.
Will update pictures soon--
the first 3 weeks of school are over, and so is the "culinary" portion of my education. Thank goodness. It was fun to learn how to cut up a whole chicken, and how to make the "mother" sauces, and all that good stuff. But that's not why I'm there. We've had our hands in dough the past two days, and boy, does it feel good. I'm remembering the reasons I enrolled. I remember that "zen" feeling I get when the table is covered with flour, and I find myself humming as I gather my mise en place.
And boy oh boy! We start off with a bang! 3-4 recipes a day--we get a demo and then we have to get cooking. We're getting a general overview of baking, and later we'll go back over these same things and learn them more inimately. Yesterday we made Peanut Butter Cookies (using the creamy method) and brysselkex (basically those yummy pepperidge farm merona type cookies). We decided to get fancy--see picture. Today it was Strassler cookies (piped out of a fancy tip! Cool! I made beautiful rosebuds), macaroons--which, sweet saint whoever the patron saint of bakers is, where have these been all my life? I've had those nasty coconut macaroons out of the Good Housekeeping cookbook, and have avoided them since. These are made with crushed almonds, butter, confectioners sugar--they melt in your mouth. You can make sandwich cookies out of them if you spread a little Nutella in between. We also made biscotti, which you have to bake twice! It kept us all late after class because we couldn't get it done.
Which brings me to the more personal part of my reflections: going back to college as an adult is really interesting. I've realized that my time is VERY valuable, and I don't have much patience for laziness or incomptence, especially people at my table who I have to do group projects with. Seriously, kids, welcome to the adult world. I'm getting lots of material for my novel because the stereotypical characters are just thick in the room. You've got the lazy college kids who have everything handed to them and have never had to work a day in their lives. When the chore/work roster was handed out, you should have seen the sneers! "I'm expected to mop? Are you kidding?" All eloquently said with a lifted eyebrow and curled lip. And sleeping during lecture. And not listening to directions! ARGGHH! What do we do? What did he say? Can I borrow this because I forgot mine? Puh-leeze! Everyone deserves some rope, and I do lend stuff. I also need to borrow stuff and ask questions sometimes. But there is a limit. I seriously wonder how many people are actually going to make it through the program. Thank goodness for my table partner who is totally sane, realistic, nice, and knows how to work. We have collaberated a lot, actually, sharing supplies and baking trays and doing projects together. She's another mature (I use that term loosely in my case. Yes, I still laugh at fart jokes) adult with a career behind her, who knows what she wants and how the real world works. Who knows how listen and study and be responsible. We get along.
So, one of my large faults has been exposed--I lack mercy. I'm trying. I've got to vent somewhere. The characters are just so obvious it's unbelievable. I don't have to be creative or embellish at all, I just have to write it down, with the appropriate use of semicolons and no run-on sentences. Gosh, my high school creative writing teacher would kill me. I think my blogging will be more conversational in tone. I ain't go time to edit!
Some things I wasn't expecting: there are no traditional amounts as we're used to seeing them. We weigh everything on a digital scale. The recipe does not say, bake for 30 minutes. It says a temperature and that's it--you know it's done by what it looks like. We have to cream our butter and sugar and whip our eggs by hand! No mixers. We have to do it the hard way. We're going to learn to do it right! No sissy stuff. You eat dirt, and you like it! You walk to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways! That's how we do it in the army, and no whining! I don't know. I'm tired.
Will update pictures soon--
Next bread baking marathon
To all of you out there waiting for me to bake bread again: I'm on it. Trying to figure out the next weekend I will do it. I've been waiting to see how my school and work schedule falls out, and how my family adjusts to the new schedule. Plus my kids started school again too. I have to be at school in Mendota Heights at 7 am every weekday morning, and I work nearly every weekend. It's been kind of exhausting.
Actually, in school we were learning about sanitation, about how to cook and hold food safely so you don't get anyone sick. For a while there I didn't know if CSB was going to work out. No matter how clean and sanitized I try to keep things, there's no way I can be as germ-free as a professional kitchen. I talked to my chef instructor, and we decided that while there is some risk, it's not as big a deal as if I was doing chicken salad or something like that. My bread is all baked, and doesn't have any raw ingredients or anything that urgently needs to be kept in the fridge. So, I'm still going to bake for ya'll, though I officially state now that I am not responsible for foodborne illness, and you eat my home-baked stuff at your own risk. Gosh, that sounds harsh. I'm sure nothing will happen, because I am as careful as can be, but I feel like I need to address it.
On that strange note, I'll try to post as soon as I can about when the next disbursement will be. Thanks for your patience!
Actually, in school we were learning about sanitation, about how to cook and hold food safely so you don't get anyone sick. For a while there I didn't know if CSB was going to work out. No matter how clean and sanitized I try to keep things, there's no way I can be as germ-free as a professional kitchen. I talked to my chef instructor, and we decided that while there is some risk, it's not as big a deal as if I was doing chicken salad or something like that. My bread is all baked, and doesn't have any raw ingredients or anything that urgently needs to be kept in the fridge. So, I'm still going to bake for ya'll, though I officially state now that I am not responsible for foodborne illness, and you eat my home-baked stuff at your own risk. Gosh, that sounds harsh. I'm sure nothing will happen, because I am as careful as can be, but I feel like I need to address it.
On that strange note, I'll try to post as soon as I can about when the next disbursement will be. Thanks for your patience!
Friday, August 21, 2009
First week of pastry school
I am very weary.
I think people have a glamorous, romantic idea about culinary school. Or they think it's like "Hell's kitchen" where the chefs yell at you all the time. I am not to those parts yet, so I don't know either. This week I learned :
My uniform: Wear every aspect at all times, wear your apron if you're prepping food--but not in the hall! My commis (unsure if that's the correct spelling) is my skullcap hat that signifies my rank--lowest possible. Maggot. The cravat ties around the neck like a boy scout with the ends tucked in to catch your sweat. Neato chef coat, uncomfortable non-slip sole shoes.
My kit: it was like Christmas. It includes my knives (3), spreaders, peeler, corer, cake decorating tools, silpat cooking mats, rolling pin, measuring cups and spoons, spoon, spatula, etc. Very heavy.
History of culinary: lecture about important (but dead) French guys.
Knife skills: How to cut veggies into many shapes including seven sided footballs (chateau) , mini chateaux (cocottes), concasse (rough dice) batonetts (french fries) Julienne (1/8 in x 1/8 in x 2 in), brunoise (same size, dice), fine Julienne (1/16 in strips and dices), supreme (best part of the citrus, no peel or membrane), and other cuts. Getting used to the balance of the knife, getting a blister, trying not to lose any digits. This is basically what we did all week. And go home and practice, practice, practice! There will be a test.
Food safety: Keep the food in this temperature range or it will kill your customers and you will lose your business, etc.
Cleaning: I heard that people in the food industry spend 70-80% of their time just cleaning. We spend at least an hour doing it, even after just cutting. Washing dishes by hand (and rinsing and sanitizing), learning to use the big dishwasher, sweeping and scrubbing the floor, sanitizing tables, wiping walls and stovetops, and more. (Hopefully with all the mopping I'll drop some of this baby weight. Or not. Chef said many students gain about 30 lbs. during the program. Dang.)
The unexpected up side is: many of those veggies our class chopped turned into our snacks, cooked by us and the chef. He says, put that pot on the stove, add this, melt that butter, go get the food mill and rice the potatoes, etc. And he's always dropping tips that the Pastry and baking (P + B) students might never use, but good to know. Like, you make this recipe out of such and such an ingredient--like the carrots we cut at irregular angles (oblique) roasted on a sheet tray with oil, salt, pepper, and curry--never had that in the midwest before. For example, the onions we minced up, learning, turned into French onion soup and salsa one day, and the next we he reduced them with red wine and we ate them with mashed potatoes (yum!) We also had croutons with the soup made with cave-aged Gruyer cheese ($35/lb!!!!!--wasted on us maggots). The block he brought out was as big as my youngest child. A far as scraps, we try not to waste--inedible scraps go into the "pig bucket" and go to feed real pigs. And lots of stories from his career. Pretty interesting.
In short, even though we are P+B students, they are still teaching us the basics, and trying to cultivate an educated palate. It's all good.
But, class starts at 7 sharp every AM (no lateness is allowed, ever) and no one leaves until the room is spic and span. Then I go home and take care of kids, or go to work, only once or twice during the week. I'm basically working every weekend until this time next year. I've been ready for bed by 8:30 every night. My husband is doing such a good job with the kiddos in the morning. Anyway, I'm whipped, it's Friday night, and I can sleep in in the morning til the baby gets me up! Yippee!
I think people have a glamorous, romantic idea about culinary school. Or they think it's like "Hell's kitchen" where the chefs yell at you all the time. I am not to those parts yet, so I don't know either. This week I learned :
My uniform: Wear every aspect at all times, wear your apron if you're prepping food--but not in the hall! My commis (unsure if that's the correct spelling) is my skullcap hat that signifies my rank--lowest possible. Maggot. The cravat ties around the neck like a boy scout with the ends tucked in to catch your sweat. Neato chef coat, uncomfortable non-slip sole shoes.
My kit: it was like Christmas. It includes my knives (3), spreaders, peeler, corer, cake decorating tools, silpat cooking mats, rolling pin, measuring cups and spoons, spoon, spatula, etc. Very heavy.
History of culinary: lecture about important (but dead) French guys.
Knife skills: How to cut veggies into many shapes including seven sided footballs (chateau) , mini chateaux (cocottes), concasse (rough dice) batonetts (french fries) Julienne (1/8 in x 1/8 in x 2 in), brunoise (same size, dice), fine Julienne (1/16 in strips and dices), supreme (best part of the citrus, no peel or membrane), and other cuts. Getting used to the balance of the knife, getting a blister, trying not to lose any digits. This is basically what we did all week. And go home and practice, practice, practice! There will be a test.
Food safety: Keep the food in this temperature range or it will kill your customers and you will lose your business, etc.
Cleaning: I heard that people in the food industry spend 70-80% of their time just cleaning. We spend at least an hour doing it, even after just cutting. Washing dishes by hand (and rinsing and sanitizing), learning to use the big dishwasher, sweeping and scrubbing the floor, sanitizing tables, wiping walls and stovetops, and more. (Hopefully with all the mopping I'll drop some of this baby weight. Or not. Chef said many students gain about 30 lbs. during the program. Dang.)
The unexpected up side is: many of those veggies our class chopped turned into our snacks, cooked by us and the chef. He says, put that pot on the stove, add this, melt that butter, go get the food mill and rice the potatoes, etc. And he's always dropping tips that the Pastry and baking (P + B) students might never use, but good to know. Like, you make this recipe out of such and such an ingredient--like the carrots we cut at irregular angles (oblique) roasted on a sheet tray with oil, salt, pepper, and curry--never had that in the midwest before. For example, the onions we minced up, learning, turned into French onion soup and salsa one day, and the next we he reduced them with red wine and we ate them with mashed potatoes (yum!) We also had croutons with the soup made with cave-aged Gruyer cheese ($35/lb!!!!!--wasted on us maggots). The block he brought out was as big as my youngest child. A far as scraps, we try not to waste--inedible scraps go into the "pig bucket" and go to feed real pigs. And lots of stories from his career. Pretty interesting.
In short, even though we are P+B students, they are still teaching us the basics, and trying to cultivate an educated palate. It's all good.
But, class starts at 7 sharp every AM (no lateness is allowed, ever) and no one leaves until the room is spic and span. Then I go home and take care of kids, or go to work, only once or twice during the week. I'm basically working every weekend until this time next year. I've been ready for bed by 8:30 every night. My husband is doing such a good job with the kiddos in the morning. Anyway, I'm whipped, it's Friday night, and I can sleep in in the morning til the baby gets me up! Yippee!
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