Mhm, this week the kitchen was filled with the beautiful smell of fresh bread, just the way it was when I used to work in a bakery (until I got bullied out of it). The foundation were the so called 12 steps of baking. Starting with measuring out everything over bulk fermentation until baking, cooling and storing. Another basic idea that can taken over to all kinds of baked goods. Even though I can't remember them yet like in the right order I will soon and apply them to future baked goods.

For example like this:

This was the result of thursday night. The other culinary-school, paragon, were in the kitchen until about 9:30ish so by the time I was able to even start it was 10pm. I had a great little talk with some of the students and the teacher (which is in itself quiet strange...) so I wasn't annoyed at all.

What I baked was a hefezopf (literally translated "yeast-pigtail") which, as further research showed, is called "challah" here in the states (and probably elsewhere too) even though the engredients are different though it looks the same. Hefezopf is with milk and butter, challah is made with water, vegetable-oil and loads of sugar as the main source of liquid and sweetness. I guess I will make a small (!) challah next time just to taste the difference.

Just by making this I learned so much! F.e. as you noticed the crust or skin is quiet dark, almost a bit too dark. I used a egg-wash and steamed the oven 3 times in the baking-process. Also the recipe requested specifically to not let it rest after the bulk-fermentation and forming, but it should get straight in the oven so the inside was quiet "thick" and not fluffy as I know it from back home. Next time I make smaller ones and let it rest (as it is written in the 12 steps of baking) to create the needed structure. Also the taste was a little bit missing. It was good in general, but I think the hefekranz I know from home tasted a bit more buttery, so maybe I'll add a little bit more butter to it at the start.

Then it was finally done, I cleaned up and went upstairs where salome was finally sleeping after keeping miriam awake most of the evening. What a great feeling to wake up to the smell of hefezopf and a incredible husband asking if she wan't to have some fresh hefezopf with nutella and milk?

Here are some more impressions of the week:

As it happens sometimes our class overlaps with the paragon-classes, which is acutally really cool. Look at the next two pictures:

The dean and founder and guru of the paragon-culinary-school victor matthews was in the house and dissasembled a live lobster. We were doing our cooking thing and all of a sudden he came in with his master students and this huge beast, talking about how to cook it but also about dignity, about respecting this animal. It remembered me of the time when we went butchering a pig, we weren't blood-thirsty butchers. There was dignity and a sence of thankfullness in the air. It was amazing.

That was this week.

Greetings,

Chef Paul