I Bought a Tutove – Now What?

[boilsover]

4 hours ago, Smokeydoke said:

And honestly, no discernable difference in the two batches, but I'm looking at it from a computer screen at 9am in the morning. Dough A looks just as flaky and puffy as Dough B. Dough A (regular pin) maybe moreso.

 

Well, that's not the view of those of us who made, saw and tasted them.  Maybe you have a special monitor that allows you to see things people in the kitchen couldn't? 

[Smokeydoke]

1 hour ago, boilsover said:

 

Well, that's not the view of those of us who made, saw and tasted them.  Maybe you have a special monitor that allows you to see things people in the kitchen couldn't? 

 

I'm not ganging up on you, but they look like different sizes, that's why everyone must be asking for side-by-side comparisons. I took a closer look and Tutove ones in the back look a lot like the normal rolling pins ones next to it, but they do look smaller than the Tutove ones in front.

 

But anyways, they look great, isn't that what matters? So the Tutove was a success... there you go. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

[boilsover]

On 3/10/2018 at 3:12 PM, Smokeydoke said:

It's all in the eye of the beholder.

 

Actually, it's in the eye of the people who were there.

[Lisa Shock]

How much did each item weigh prior to baking?

[boilsover]

23 minutes ago, Lisa Shock said:

How much did each item weigh prior to baking?

 

You're kidding, right?  I must've missed that section of the rulebook.  They were cut to 4x4" squares.

 

If you really care, you can tote up the weights from the prep---it can be found at p. 299 of David Liebovitz's most recent book, L'appart.  There were a few errant grains of sugar, so I'm sure my results are untrustworthy...

On 3/8/2018 at 5:54 PM, Barrytm said:

On 3/8/2018 at 5:54 PM, Barrytm said:

Did you use it differently than you would use a regular rolling pin?  I wondered whether you would run it over the dough just once, or if you went back and forth and tried to keep the grooves in the same place or not? 

No, I used it the same way I would have used a smooth pin--if only because that's all I knew to do.  The recipe called for several repetitions of rolling out the dough into a rectangle of specific dimensions, so the rolling was 98% in the direction of the 2 axes.  No, keeping the grooves in the same place isn't humanly possible--the impressions quickly disappear.  I'm speculating, but perhaps the Tutove imparts wavy (i.e., longer) layers than a flat pin does?

[Lisa Shock]

Scaling is an important part of preparing baked goods. A bakery purchases ingredients by weight and can only determine a price to sell them at based upon the confirmed weight prior to baking. A sloppy employee who doesn't use a scale can bankrupt a bakery over time.

 

Weighing prior to baking also ensures that items have the best chance for baking evenly, so that the customers have consistent experiences.

 

In competitions and culinary school exams, finished products are judged on consistency. Finished weight, and sometimes pre-bake weight, are part of the scoring system.

[boilsover]

49 minutes ago, Lisa Shock said:

Scaling is an important part of preparing baked goods. A bakery purchases ingredients by weight and can only determine a price to sell them at based upon the confirmed weight prior to baking. A sloppy employee who doesn't use a scale can bankrupt a bakery over time.

 

Weighing prior to baking also ensures that items have the best chance for baking evenly, so that the customers have consistent experiences.

 

In competitions and culinary school exams, finished products are judged on consistency. Finished weight, and sometimes pre-bake weight, are part of the scoring system.

 

Gosh, I'll remember that if I ever open a commercial bakery or patisserie school.  My 650g of flour, 450g butter and 600g of sugar were completely wasted,  I guess.  And the yeast!  Irreplaceable!  Some may have remained in the bowl.  And the sugary moisture that escaped on the clingform!  How futile this whole exercise was.

 

We actually bought more kouign aman from 4 San Francisco patisseries that our chef friend recommended as knowing what they're about.  Ours were better (and more consistent) than 3 of them.  If these bakeries are weighing every single pastry before baking, I'm a monkey's uncle.  Sorry.

[Kerry Beal]

19 minutes ago, boilsover said:

 

Gosh, I'll remember that if I ever open a commercial bakery or patisserie school.  My 650g of flour, 450g butter and 600g of sugar were completely wasted,  I guess.  And the yeast!  Irreplaceable!  Some may have remained in the bowl.  And the sugary moisture that escaped on the clingform!  How futile this whole exercise was.

 

We actually bought more kouign aman from 4 San Francisco patisseries that our chef friend recommended as knowing what they're about.  Ours were better (and more consistent) than 3 of them.  If these bakeries are weighing every single pastry before baking, I'm a monkey's uncle.  Sorry.

Actually I've watched @Alleguede weigh every koiugn piece before placing them in the rings/pans - different weight for different pans. He also weighs the dough for each loaf of bread, bun and baguette. Only way to get consistency and control costs. 

[boilsover]

2 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Actually I've watched @Alleguede weigh every koiugn piece before placing them in the rings/pans - different weight for different pans. He also weighs the dough for each loaf of bread, bun and baguette. Only way to get consistency and control costs. 

 

All I can say is Chef Patrick has too much time on his hands if he weighs every piece.  I can see dialing in thickness and size for different form sizes (Our 4x4" were too small for the rings), but if you're a gram off?  Waste it?  Trim it?  Scab some more on?  This dough can be very weepy anyway--another step can't be helpful.

 

Nevermind the authenticity aspect of it--waiting for your bascule to come to perfect balance?  Non.

 

This way lies madness.

Edited March 13, 2018 by boilsover (log)

[Kerry Beal]

2 minutes ago, boilsover said:

 

All I can say is Chef Patrick has too much time on his hands if he weighs every piece.  I can see dialing in thickness and size for different form sizes (Our 4x4" were too small for the rings), but if you're a gram off?  Waste it?  Trim it?  Scab some more on?  This dough can be very weepy anyway--another step can't be helpful.

 

Nevermind the authenticity aspect of it--waiting for your bascule to come to perfect balance?  Non.

 

This way lies madness.

 

Who's Patrick and WTF is a bascule?

[FauxPas]

@boilsover, I think people may be asking you to be more precise and I think they are being fair. It's no more than what you have demanded of others in various discussions here.

 

Also, I don't think it would be a good idea for me to say that I baked something my way and it seemed better to me and therefore it must be better than what others are doing. You would (and do) ask for objectivity and precision. An independent third party doing taste-testing, a cross-section photo, some more info or details is what I think people are asking for before they agree that one tool will completely change the way that people make a certain item. 

 

But feel free to ignore me, I am a nothing when it comes to some baking. 

 

 

[boilsover]

43 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Also, I don't think it would be a good idea for me to say that I baked something my way and it seemed better to me and therefore it must be better than what others are doing.

 

Here's the thing:  I'm not saying that.  I'm saying I did it two ways, and tried hard to keep only one variable.  The result was better one way than the other.  Full stop.

Edited March 13, 2018 by boilsover (log)

[chromedome]

At the end of the day you're the one who popped for the Tutove, and you're happy with the result. All is well. 

 

 

[boilsover]

Just now, chromedome said:

At the end of the day you're the one who popped for the Tutove, and you're happy with the result. All is well. 

 

 

Thanks, you're right.  I was just hoping there might be some sincere curiosity about whether there is something to it.  It must be too obscure to matter to anyone.

Thanks again.

[demiglace]

 Relax, enjoy your tutove.

Edited March 13, 2018 by demiglace (log)

[thurbers]

it got me interested. Mind you, as croissants or Kouign aman are not regularly made in my kitchen I am unlikely to purchase one at this time.

 

(And for what it is worth, the tutove pastries did look larger and fuller to me.) Thank you for having brought it up.