Lean Doughs

Today we made lots and lots of bread. I love bread, but this was A LOT. It was weird to have a baking class that didn't leave me in a sugar coma for a few hours! Since I like bread, this class was fun. We actually started making our dough before we had lecture. All of the doughs had to do their first rise, so we got started right away. The bread I was given was Cheddar Cheese Bread...yummy! My dough took longer because there were extra ingredients that had to go into the dough. Everyone else was pretty much had just yeast, flour and water. This was the first class that we had to start kneading dough. We had to make it so that it felt like the back of your earlobe. My dough came out awesome. It was so soft, even with a pound of cheddar shredded into it! We set them in the hot box to rise and started the lecture.

My dough didn't rise as much as I had though, but I wasn't disappointed by that because it looked so good! Next, we had to shape the dough. I made a braid, a twist and 2 small loaves. Then, they had to rise again. This didn't take nearly as long. Mine was done in 20-25 minutes. I sprinkled poppy seeds and more cheddar on top and then popped it in the oven. As soon as it was done, we started to dig into the smaller ones while they were still hot. Oh, man, it was so good! I liked most of the bread everyone made today.

I also had my seminar tonight. This seminar, we took our ServSafe exam. I just have to get a 75 to be certified. I should have the results within the next week or so. Some of the questions were common sense. I can't imagine anyone not passing it.

Today's Recipes:Pane alla Salvia, Mushroom Bread, French Bread, Sourdough Bread, Sun-dried Tomato Bread, English Muffins, Chocolate Bread, Beijing Steamed Buns, Pita with Tabboulegh, Tuscan Bread, Macedonian Green Cream, Cheddar Cheese Bread, Bagels