Today was normal, didn’t do anything new, but I definitely
am getting faster and more efficient at things though. I got to taste a tarte
abricot which is pate feulleteille with crème patissiere and tinned apricots
which is baked so the edges of the apricots start to caramelise and almost burn
which gives them a nice chewy spun sugar taste to contrast the slight tartness
of the apricots. I also tried the tarte chocolat which is self-explanatory and
a madeleine made with pistachio paste which gave the final product an almost
floral aroma and flavour.
I went down the road to do some espionage at another bakery
and bought a baguette de tradition, baguette de campagne and a croissant. Both
breads had very little flavour and the “aveleoration” or cell structure was
very dense with very few large bubbles. You could also see where the seam was
from the shaping as a thin line of unhydrated flour was visible which is also
partly because the dough doesn’t have a high enough hydration, so during the
secondary fermentation it can’t absorb water because the dough is too dry and
therefore hard. Croissant was standard frozen, bodiless shit. I’m really glad I
work with people who don’t make the most money even though they make a
fantastic product but who really care and pride themselves and what they do. That’s
the kind of person I hope I am in the future and can pass it on to the next
generation. It’s all about the love.
After work I brought a “baguette de gones” home (“gones” is
a term only used in Lyon when referring to kids) as well as a miche de
multicereals biologique which has a coating of oats which gives it an almost
peanut butter like taste which is really unique.
