pastrygirl

Felchlin has a few formulations without soy, the Arriba 72% is one that I use. Price-wise, they have a range; I believe the ones without soy are also the ones with a very long conch time and tend to be more expensive, closer to Valrhona pricing. I get the soy question occasionally, somewhere between the number of people looking for sugar free and the number looking for vegan. I don't think the soy lecithin in chocolate is enough to trigger an allergy, people may be more concerned about GMO soy or something else that may or may not be pseudoscience woo. So it's one concern, but personally not high on my list. You can't please everyone all the time!

It's possible it's something else, but it looks SO much more liquid than couverture.

With all the tools and tricks we try, it's sort of refreshing to see this low-tech technique: but damn, that uses a lot of CB! I can't help but wonder if that layer of black CB is all that delicious in the mouth.

my sister just sent me this article about butteries - roadkill croissants 😂😂 https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/jul/05/buttery-rowies-traditional-scottish-pastry-scotland-aberdeen-aberdeenshire

Just trying to help Anna out

@Kerry Beal remember that you're cleaning out the condo after this trip and don't have room in the van.

I mostly follow chocolatiers and cake artists from around the world, not so much local restaurants unless I know the chef personally. Which now that I think about it seems odd to not keep up with my local restaurant scene, hmm. And Nacho Flay, because he's beautiful.

I'll start the wild guesses - it could be a sort of cute way to for a coffee bar to hold sugar packets (though not very many, they'd have to be the long skinny euro style) in the extension, and stir sticks in the main vessel. Or if there was an insert, toothpicks. Or you put a sugar cube or rock candy in the basket and pour hot tea out over it.

It's going to be hard work drinking everything in the liquor cabinet so you don't have to pack it up 😉

What is the pink color, heavy luster dust? Amazing work, as usual!

Are you working alone or under a pastry chef? Is this your first pastry job or have you worked in a few places already? It does take a couple of weeks to learn your way around any new kitchen. I've been in pastry for 20 years but still feel slow and incompetent in an unfamiliar kitchen, so some of the issues should work themselves out once you know where everything is and build muscle memory for that space. For efficiency, focus on mise en place and planning the day's production. Think about what takes longest to bake or what needs to cool/set before another step can be done and do those first. Consider the oven and group things with the same baking temp. Multi-tasking can be over-rated. It's better to do one thing right than two things with mistakes. That said, you don't need to be standing around watching chocolate melt or continuously stirring lemon curd. While one thing is hanging out over a bain marie and another is in the oven, move on to scaling another recipe or icing the cupcakes, etc. And clean in between. Try not to make a mess and you won't have to clean it up. Don't put a batter-y spatula down on a clean table, balance it on the bowl or lay down parchment. I don't think memorizing recipes is a high priority. I'd rather you look at the recipe no matter how many times you've made it, especially if you're just starting out and still a bit overwhelmed. Do your best, show up on time, accept criticism, and taste everything.

I'm aware of it, and indeed may have played them all near to my ear. But since I use podcasts as a sleep aid, I've really only listened to the first several minutes of each episode before falling asleep, and retained nothing 😊

Buy ice cream and work on the perfect hot fudge sauce or chocolate cookies for ice cream sandwiches.

I don't think so. It doesn't have that lemony taste, tastes like pea vines or how fresh cut grass smells, and sorrel looks like it grows more like lettuce with individual leaves rather than many leaves on a stem. Maybe some kind of watercress? I'm sure I can just saute it up with some garlic, but I'm curious.

I didn’t forage these, I bought them at a farmers market, sold as “wild spinach”. But all the pics that come up when I search that term show lambs quarters or pigweed with serrated leaves, while these have smooth edges. So what do I have and can you suggest a recipe? Backs of leaves have a slight purple tinge, if that helps. Thanks!

I'd keep it, or save it separately. Depends on your commitment and budget

add a can or two of unsalted white beans, some water, and some greens, and turn it into soup

grits?

Thanks, Jeanne, I just needed someone to agree with me I'm not usually so all up in other people's business, but I have time on my hands and this isn't far from my new commissary, so I walked by and yes, the cakes are just out in the open being breathed on by customers. I'm also curious and envious as a business owner because she seemed to open so fast. Other businesses always seem to be waiting on inspections and pushing back their openings, but she paints, buys an oven, has her dad build a counter and boom! I admire the DIY but am skeptical of how easy it looks. But if there was no major renovation then no building permits were needed, and social media makes everything look easy ... I looked at the health dept inspection records and here is how I think she's getting away with this- it was an old corner grocery that closed last fall. The baker does have it listed with the health dept, but still as a grocery store, risk category 1. Bakeries are risk 2 - once you crack an egg or open that carton of cream, you're higher risk (meat handling is level 3). There's no inspection report for that location, and I do know the health dept is overwhelmed with the vast # of new restaurants and limited inspectors, so it hasn't been inspected as a bakery & is not going to be a priority. I checked, and lack of "protection from contamination" is only a 5 point, non-critical violation. It's a little bit gross, but there are much grosser things. If a kid grabs a fistful of icing, they can jut cut that slice off. Full disclosure, I haven't been inspected at my new kitchen either, and I'm hoping they forget about me for another year so I can avoid extra fees as long as possible! So in that way I can appreciate trying to fly under the radar, and I've made my own mistakes in labeling and packaging and being new to business. But as a chef, it would still be a higher priority to cover that stuff up.

My thoughts ... why are you so against cocoa? Cocoa is simply chocolate with most of the cocoa butter removed and without added sugar. I think in a cake where you're already adding fats and sugars, cocoa powder makes sense. Maybe explore cocoa powders? They are not all created equal, I prefer Valrhona. I think if you want to showcase the flavor of a particular chocolate bar, that may be better done in a ganache filling or icing where you don't have all those other ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, eggs, etc) masking it.

@ElsieD, I've only seen roads like that in Costa Rica and Bhutan - though in Costa Rica it was pouring rain and in Bhutan there was usually a sheer drop-off on one side. So Canadian single-tracks are still a step above! I hope you have a safe journey

I don't believe in magic pills and I appreciate the skepticism in @paulraphael's post, but I'm still interested in trying keto for a bit. I don't have any sweets orders for a few weeks so mini cupcakes won't be jumping into my mouth and the idea of cheese at every meal is very attractive 😂 Anyway, if anyone is still following this diet, what macro breakdown do you use? What I found online was 5% carbs, 20%-35% protein, and 60-75% fat. Is the higher protein only for body builders, or does it not matter as long as the carbs are low? I work out with a personal trainer once a week and am trying to go for extra walks & cardio, but not trying to build muscle per se, just work on whittling my muffin top. And do you allow yourself a higher carb day once or twice a week, or stay strict 24/7?

So apparently she's working on it and will build a case out of tempered glass. I still don't understand how the health department allowed her to open like this. Huh. 🤔

.... I definitely appreciate your desire to keep food waste out of the landfill. Despite my skepticism, it seems like a great idea to be able to process your own scraps. If you can afford it and it makes you feel good, than why not? But on the other hand, if your garden consists of a handful of potted plants on the patio, will you end up with far more of this compost/soil amendment than you can use? Say you have a gallon of food scraps per week, and it shreds/dries them down to a quart. After 3 months those pots are going to be heaping. What are you going to do with the other 40 quarts generated the rest of the year? Will you still be stuck with extra food scraps (though "composted") that need disposal?

@Lisa Shock the weird photos are screenshots of Instagram, cropped by me to protect the innocent. They may well be worried about cross-contamination and allergy sufferers, they just don't seem to be worried about insects or the unwashed public.