Home Stretch

Things are heating up at school. Next week is our last week of this class already. We have a whole lot less down time and a whole lot more "oh crap I have five minutes to get this in the proof box" time. We are on to croissants and danishes right now. They are a lot like puff pastry in that they require folds that can only be done every 30 minutes but they have the added steps of dough that needs to ferment and rise for an hour and then the final products need to be put in the proof box to rise again for 45 minutes or so. It would seem like a lot more waiting around but we have 3-4 products going at once so it has become more of a slow and steady marathon instead of sprints here and there.

So far we have made classic croissants, pain au chocolat (chocolate filled croissants) and standard fruit filled danishes. They have all been delicious.

I have noticed a shift in how I view the things I make. For some reason I view them as this product I make. I don't really see it as food and I have no desire to eat the things I make. Maybe it is because I try the samples of the version our chef instructor makes first and his is better. Maybe it is because I don't want to compare the two. Maybe it is because I know that down the line it is not going to be ok for me to be eating things that I make. Maybe I'm all sweeted out. Maybe after putting hours and hours into one little pastry the last thing I want to do it be responsible for its destruction. All I know is that I am much happier giving them away.

Also I need an iphone. The pictures today are courtesy of the food photo app on my husband's phone and they are much better than anything I have ever put up here.