I've been looking forward to this for a while! When it comes to breads, I view the baguette as the ultimate test of baking ability. I requires a great deal of patience, finesse, and intuition. There are few ingredients, no butter or other enrichments or additions to hide behind. The technique is nothing like my own. The product is also, very different. It's still good, I suppose...for fresh made bread :) The starter was "poolish," which is old dough, literally, dough we made before (in this case for the dinner rolls) that is incorporated during dough formation, resulting in a deeper, more complex flavor. In general when it comes to lean breads (flour, water, salt, yeast), the longer the process, the more flavorful. When I make a baguette, it takes a few days as well, but I don't use "old dough." What I LOVE about baguettes is the crunchy crust with a light, airy interior. To achieve this, I don't "punch down," instead, leave as much air as possible to allow holes to form. In class, we did punch down, which gave a tighter crumb. The difference is the ratio of taste, in the later you taste mostly the dough (normally, what you want), but for a baguette, I prefer the contrast and attention to the crust. Still, it did turn out well, and vastly better than any purchased baguette (unless it was made an hour ago!)
The day in general was better. Though, no less hectic. But knowing what to expect from the start helps quite a bit. I payed exceptionally close attention to doing everything a perfectly as possible, as quickly as possible. And...managed to keep up without much difficulty. Of course, after class I felt like I needed a nap. I forget that we "work" 40 hours a week, it is a full time job, energy wise. Essentially, I'll be perfectly fine, as long as I never mess up! If I'm careful, this shouldn't be a problem at all! And I am, very, very careful.
We also got to make a savory dish (very similar to a pizza)-trat flambe!
With caramelized onions, gruyere, lardon, and a creme fraiche based sauce.
Re-visiting croissant doughs (practice makes perfect after all!), plain, chocolate, ad ham and cheese.
ast, we made an oat bread.
Mmm, all delicious looking and making me so sad we can't taste them! But I don't like to hear that you expect yourself not to mess up- as you said in one of your other posts, if you already knew how to do all this stuff, i.e. were some variation of perfect, you wouldn't be a student! You've gotta allow yourself some room for mess-ups so they can be learning experiences rather than traumas. How parental does that sound? Good grief.
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