Week 1 of Baking Arts

Photo Credit:  Jerome Callender

Week 1 was pretty exciting!

As soon as I arrived in class, I was sent away to the bookstore to pick up my uniform and return wearing it :)

The uniform package consists of a chef coat, pants, hat, half apron and 2 side towels.
  
Returning to the kitchen all suited up, I got to get comfortable at my new work space and meet the person I will be working with for the rest of the class (he seems nice enough).  All the recipes are written for 2, so we work in pairs each week, but still get to take home full portions of what we are making.

Feels so good to be in a professional kitchen looking like pro!

After general housekeeping stuff, a tour of the kitchen and going over what tools we'll need to buy for week 2, the instructor gave us a demonstration on making pie crust.  I've never made pie dough before, so this was a first for me.  I learnt about the fat and moisture levels you need and how breaking up the fat will determine the flakiness of your pie (larger chunks = larger flakes).

We mixed up our pie dough, both using the professional grade mixer and by hand.  The professional grade mixer was massive, like 10x the size of my Kitchen Aid at home!   We then bagged the dough and left it to be refrigerated for the week.

Class ended pretty early, but that's ok, lots to do before week 2, mainly shopping :)