artisanbaker

add 7 yolks and temper this mix into 1 liter of very hot milk. bring to boil and boil 2 minutes while whisking vigorously. you will have a thick pastry cream custard. you can flavor with chocolate. you might want to strain if there are lumps. use the whisk to push it through the strainer. the recipe is probably closer to 150g of flour; that's why i say "thick." my pleasure.

i forgot to add that chef homaro was very kind to make the "hot ice cream" for us, in spite of the fact that it was not on the menu for the night. it was quite strange seeing an opaque ball with what looked like fog drifting around it.

s'il vous please boulak, could you spare a few minutes to tell us about your faves?

how far are you from la grange, il?

christine ferber showed me a way to make confiture of shallots that you can sub onions for. it takes about an hour and i would challenge one to say that it is not as good as the 20 hour confit. it involves making a caramel and a combo of balsamic vinegar/riesling. it is also preservable in jars.

i would consider this to be one of the greatest restaurants in chicago if they served bread all kidddings aside i ate a meal at moto several weeks ago and i was treated to the full moto experience. chef homaro came out and inquired about our meal; very kind of him. it was quite a "trip" which started symbolically with a piece of "blotter" hidden underneath the tablecloth. we where clued in to said "blotter" by a magical inflating balloon with a message inside. the food was inventive and i think it was at times more novel than "good," but certain dishes like the duck stood out as sublime. one of the gastronomic highlights for me was the 1976 porto that we were served at the end of the meal. jennifer aniston was there and possibly brad bitt; i couldn't tell if it was him. the service was very good; the style was in line with the food. the music got on my nerves a bit. like malysian atmospheric drum n bass or something. i would recommend moto to anyone interested in gastronomic experiences, but i would be curious as to how many would be rushing to repeat the experience. isn't there a tolerance build up to these trips?? doesn't one have to wait for a prescribed amount of time before one can expect the same effects? or is the first time always going to be the best... good luck and best wishes for a happy new year to the moto team.

don't forget about the 44 other courses of such high food cost items like fried fish skeletons... (respectfully kidding)

does anyone know when their jamery/bakery is scheduled to open? this is a beautiful place.

I was curious as to how the local clientele takes to this kind of cuisine. How open are the Tennessee diners to this food? I will try to stop by next time I am in the area to give it a go round, since I am from Chattavegas.

albert adria told me the trick is using lecithin. just a pinch per liter. the flavor of the liquid must be very strong in order to obtain an air with recognisable/sufficient flavor. also, one must blend the mix in 3 stages with a brief rest in between each stage of a few minutes. the final mix will yield a foam reminiscent of bath foam. it is indeed stable and freezeable. the frozen texture is that of the lightest snow. kinda gimmicky but it could work well if applied liberally. good luck

saf instant is the best simply because it contains a higher amount of dormant yeast cells per gram. the competition has a higher amount of dead yeast cells

Rye breads. But also, there is a wealth of understandable technology that can be easily applied by both a home baker and a pro. That is why i think so highly of it: it will appeal to both home baker and pro alike in the same way that "The Village Baker" does. It has baker's math so formulas are readily available for pro use. It has a wide range of recipes for many vareties of breads. The pictures are beautiful but there could always be more. Occasional anecdotes and factual bites. Jeffrey is one of the finest bakers in the country and his book is the first baking book that i have considered buying from a regular bookstore (not chips) in ages.

is the best bread baking book i've seen in years. check it out! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=books

whenever i did one i fashioned a mold out of cardboard paper with aluminum foil taped to the inside. i then rolled it into a cone with the foil on the inside and cut the end to make the flat base. i sprayed the foil with non stick spray.

Albert Adria told me last month that personnel requirements is what keeps el bulli from expanding to open other restaurants. It's hard to find good employees.

cake flour: the chlorination permits a higher ratio of fat and liquid, so much that one no longer tastes the subtlities of wheat. bob's red mill carries a wonderful pastry flour, but last time i ordered some i paid more for shipping than for the flour itself. happy baking

this style of hook makes the dough come together faster but it does a less effecient job of developing the gluten. (according to didier rosada)

"So they designed a place for people to be trained more or less in the Hermes style?" exactly. the quality of training is likely to be at least on par with the Ferrandi program which enjoys an excellent reputation. It might be better depending on how much it's micromanaged by Herme. "Also so no one messes up the actual production lab or rather the products being made in it?" exactly "BTW, does PH have a website?" oddly, no.

Hi Ted, Herme's staff has arranged for training per Herme to take place at a new, specially designed facility by certified instructors. It reads that the demand for stages at the actual production facility has resulted in this collaboration. It's more legal and it is probably cheaper than interupting production. regards

that is what we might call a freudian slip (rant) i wanted to go the apprenticeship route but ended up finding myself with the strong desire to get a formal education, even if the classes were continuing ed (certificate) classes. everybody, school or not, will end up reading books at some point. certain schools have the additional networking advantage as well. good luck

i don't believe in self taught people. one should give credit where credit is due, and people who learn on the job pick up skills from associates and bosses. pride can be misleading. school can be excellent but it depends on the school and your personal desire to learn. debt sucks. for short term programs i go to the french pastry school or sfbi but i specialise in european baking.

http://www.egf.ccip.fr/# I ran across this and thought that fellow francophones might be interested. Herme has teamed up with Ferrandi to deliver Pro Courses by "authorised" pastry chefs. The courses are 5 days and cost 1800 Euros. Regards

i am making this for the chicago market. ask for it at your local trader joe's. 100% sourdough (72 hour process)

fresh yeast is so 1990 saf instant is the way to go

roulpat: marketing ploy