Cinnamon Buns

Cinnamon buns 

I made cinnamon buns with cream pan sauce. It was my first time. I used whole wheat and that made my cinnamon buns dense (heavy). I had to roll out the dough into rectangle.It was a little bit hard to roll out. It was thick on one side and I had to make it thinner. My classmate Jada helped me roll up the dough. It is hard to start. I baked it with the cream sauce on the bottom. Mrs. Nikkel helped flip the pan after they cooled. Now all the sticky sauce was on top. I shared with the class. They were delicious.  

Cookies and Brownies

So far I am enjoying bakeshop. I have made cookies and brownies. The cookies and brownies turned
out well.
I am looking forward to trying the different stations and learning to bake many different things,
I like that we can sample the foods we make. The chocolate pudding tasted amazing,
We watched as Mrs. Nikkel showed us how to brown the top of crème brulee. I liked the browned sugar but not the custard.

I am enjoying the Baking class, because you experience different things and get to bake. I baked a raisin pie on Monday and made soup buns on Wednesday and started making Bagels, it is fun, but I always have to make sure the dough is not clumpy, because I need a smooth dough. When I made the raisin pie, the dough was really fine and crack able, so I had to be careful that the pie shell doesn't brake, but the pie turned out good. Once I tries out a Lemon Meringue Pie at home, but the filling was really flowy, but then I found out what my mistake was. I enjoy baking at home and trying out more complicated things, because the more things you try out the better you get. Once we baked cookies at home and then it smelled like something was burnt, and I was right, the bottom of the cake was black, and the inside raw. That was so weird, then we made cookies and they also were in the same situation, so then we didn't bake for a while, but we found out that our oven was broken a bit, but thankfully Sawatzky's Appliances fixed our oven😄. I always work in the kitchen at home and help my mom making cakes. If I am bored and don't know what to do then I go and start baking. My mom is also a great Baker, if she makes something, it goes away very fast, because it tastes good. Usually when I bake something it turns out good, but it doesn't go away that fast(probably because I made it). I am hoping to get better in the future and know more baking methods.

the beginning

I've only been in bakeshop for almost a week and it has been so much fun because I get to do what I love for a whole day, but the one thing I miss is my home school and all of my friends there. So far in bakeshop I have made plain bagels and maple cinnamon bagels and both recipes turned out really well for my first time making them, my family really enjoyed them and they said that I should make them more often and today I will be making chocolate cake hopefully it turns out well.

It’s been almost a week since we started our Baking and Pastry Arts class. We haven’t done a lot of baking yet, but have been able to get to know where everything is and kind of practiced making a few things to sell in the Cafeteria. This week I have made a few things like a really soft and moist Zucchini Pecan Bread, and Chocolate Chip muffin batter.  Nothing too difficult but still something new that I haven’t done yet, the muffin batter was made a different way then I usually do at home, and I have never made a loaf of bread with Zucchini in it, but it’s still always good to try new things.

Being in the Baking program is pretty great because we get to spend most of the day just doing what we enjoy, Baking. By the end of the day we always feel like we accomplished something and had fun while doing so. The best part of getting to bake, is being able to sample everything we make. Today is a new day with many more new things to accomplish today and new things to bake and sample. It’s always fun to spend the day doing what you enjoy.

           

I love to bake, and from what my family has told me I am pretty good at it too! I almost never have trouble baking, but I have never successfully made cinnamon rolls. Until now, yesterday I made cinnamon rolls and they turned out good. They looked good, tasted good, thanks to this course. I hope that as I continue this course I will be able to conquer recipes I could not before, and learn new things along the way. I have always been curious about the science behind baking (why do you use baking powered instead of baking soda, why does the amount of sugar make it chewier, what ingredients make a fluffy cake?) things like that. I would be really happy to learn about the science of baking and maybe, one day, make a recipe of my own. (one that taste good of course!) I am really excited to learn new things, something I have not made before, recipes I can take home and make for my family!

Soup Buns

I enjoyed making soup buns.

The first day I made buns they did not rise.

I forgot the warm water. I used cold water. The 2^nd day I used

warm water. They rose higher. I put them in the oven. The tops

 were brown. My muscles were sore. Good exercise. I was the

boss for 3 days. I had to check if the areas were dirty, full the

poofer with water and turn on ovens.

Life in the Bakeshop

It is currently the fourth day of Bakeshop class and as I’m sitting here composing a blog I realize two things: I’ve never written a blog and I’ve already learnt a lot. the idea of my words being posted on a site for everyone to see is -if not already strange- is a little intimidating. Who knows if someone would be judging!? But since they wouldn’t know who I was and would be reading it on a screen I don’t have to hear it. So, I guess it isn’t too bad, having people read what I write. This school though, is a strange experience. The first thing that happens when you walk through the doors is having people stare at you as the commons area is right in front of you. There are not very many halls yet finding the classroom you need to be in is still confusing. the anthem is played between the first and second periods which is something to get used to. Also, since this school is new to me and not my home school, it leaves you missing the school that you know and the friends that you can hardly see anymore. But in the class, I am learning so much. For example, at the beginning of this week, I made chocolate pudding from scratch for the very first time. I was uncertain in how it would turn out and some small part of me worried about burning it. But when I finished putting it all together, I was surprised-but also pleased- by the outcome. It was rich in flavor and creamy in the mouth. It was delicious. And then yesterday, I made crème brulee. I didn’t know what it looked like, what it smelt like, or what it tasted it. I’ve only ever heard of it. But again, I was pleased with it. I created it and tasted it and it was sweet and quite pleasant. I’ve learned that it tastes better cold, well at least for me. I continue this class hoping that I can learn much more and hoping that I don’t burn anything.😆

The beginning

In the baking and pastry arts program provided by Northlands Parkway Collegiate you can learn technical skills and how to bake simple things from breads, muffins, and cookies, all the way to crème brulee, fancy pastries, and complex cakes. The year 1 curriculum for baking and pastry arts covers a variety of different baked goods and skills you’ll learn and then use onto your own baking. The teacher, Mrs. Nikkel, is heavily experienced in the baking industry and knows what she’s talking about and what she’s doing. So far we’ve only baked buns, breads, muffins, cookies, and other simples baked goods, but they’ve all turned out great! I had made buns the other day in class, and no word of a lie, they were the best buns I had ever had. This course gives you the opportunity to become a better baker and to educate yourself on different methods of mixing and cooking the products. It motivates me to do much more baking at home and makes me even more eager to open my own bakery in the near future! With the guidance of a skilled baker and my fellow classmates, we are able to create beautiful and delicious things for everyone to enjoy.