My fridge is overflowing with sweets: apple strudel, almond apple tart, vanilla sauce, banana bread, panna cotta. These are a few of my favourite things...left over from a two-night pastry class at The Pastry Training Centre of Vancouver.
Chef Marko Ropke took us through a dizzying number of recipes, all the while supplying us with all kinds of pastry wisdom.
For example, double acting baking powder is not just double strength baking powder - it acts in two ways. It's activated by both moisture and heat.
Baking soda needs an acid to activate it and you'd better get that batter in the oven once you've mixed it up because once it's finished reacting, it won't do any more leavening.
Use pastry flour for extra-light cookies and pastries and use bread dough for breads. That all purpose stuff isn't ideal for either types of baking.
I'm not giving away all the secrets here though.
Chef Marko Ropke took us through a dizzying number of recipes, all the while supplying us with all kinds of pastry wisdom.
For example, double acting baking powder is not just double strength baking powder - it acts in two ways. It's activated by both moisture and heat.
Baking soda needs an acid to activate it and you'd better get that batter in the oven once you've mixed it up because once it's finished reacting, it won't do any more leavening.
Use pastry flour for extra-light cookies and pastries and use bread dough for breads. That all purpose stuff isn't ideal for either types of baking.
I'm not giving away all the secrets here though.
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