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fandomhigh2015-01-26 10:49 am
sharp_as_knives) wrote in fandomhigh2015-01-26 10:49 am
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Baking: Sweet and Savory | Monday, 3rd period
Hannibal nodded at the students and waved them toward the center station in the Danger Shop today.
"Our past classes, quick breads and pies, left out one of the more common elements of baking. This is because it can also be an extremely fussy one." He smiled at them. "I thought it better to have something else under your belts before we began this one."
He set a little dish of powder on the counter. "Yeast. It is one of the more common forms of leavening in baking. It feeds on sugars and produces carbon dioxide, which causes your baking to rise. And when I say it feeds, I'm not speaking metaphorically; it is in fact a living organism. These days, you will most often find it in a powder like this."
He poured a little into a shallow dish. "One of the first things you do with yeast when you're ready to use it is 'proof' it. Dissolve it in lukewarm water, stir in sugar, and wait. If it bubbles, your yeast is alive. If not, it isn't, and you won't be able to use it." He added the water and sugar and stirred a bit. "If your water is too hot, it will kill the yeast, so be careful."
Yes, class, Hannibal was teaching you how to drown things to see if they were alive. It was probably the only thing he'd get to kill in class, but he was going to make sure you could do it right.
"Once you have it proofed and mixed with the rest of your ingredients, you will be kneading your dough." He went into the process in a bit more detail than last week, demonstrating. "Then you let it rise. You will generally do this twice - after it rises for an hour or so, you will shape it, set it in the pan, then let it rise again."
He nodded to their individual stations. "So, as before - alone or in a group. We'll be making a simple baguette today. Let me know if you have any questions."
"Our past classes, quick breads and pies, left out one of the more common elements of baking. This is because it can also be an extremely fussy one." He smiled at them. "I thought it better to have something else under your belts before we began this one."
He set a little dish of powder on the counter. "Yeast. It is one of the more common forms of leavening in baking. It feeds on sugars and produces carbon dioxide, which causes your baking to rise. And when I say it feeds, I'm not speaking metaphorically; it is in fact a living organism. These days, you will most often find it in a powder like this."
He poured a little into a shallow dish. "One of the first things you do with yeast when you're ready to use it is 'proof' it. Dissolve it in lukewarm water, stir in sugar, and wait. If it bubbles, your yeast is alive. If not, it isn't, and you won't be able to use it." He added the water and sugar and stirred a bit. "If your water is too hot, it will kill the yeast, so be careful."
Yes, class, Hannibal was teaching you how to drown things to see if they were alive. It was probably the only thing he'd get to kill in class, but he was going to make sure you could do it right.
"Once you have it proofed and mixed with the rest of your ingredients, you will be kneading your dough." He went into the process in a bit more detail than last week, demonstrating. "Then you let it rise. You will generally do this twice - after it rises for an hour or so, you will shape it, set it in the pan, then let it rise again."
He nodded to their individual stations. "So, as before - alone or in a group. We'll be making a simple baguette today. Let me know if you have any questions."