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.

Blog Start # 6

 

I’m going to write about my lemon Soufflés. My lemon Soufflés because they tasted so good and it turned out to be very good. I didn’t usually eat or like Soufflés but now I like them because of the lemon and the icing sugar. I now will eat them unless there is no lemon in them but otherwise I will eat them so they don’t go to waste like some desserts when they don’t get eaten then they go to waste and that is a bad thing because that makes us lose money and that is so awful. I can’t wait to make the lemon Soufflés again because they taste good and they turn out which that makes me happy.