Emma Cizmazia
Class: 2
Mrs. Hoagland
October 17, 2013
Blog
Yeast Bread Unit
In this unit we studied and made yeast bread. Everything we made contained the leavening agent of yeast. Throughout this unit some of the recipes we made included rolls, grilled pizza, soft pretzels, and cinnamon buns. Throughout this experience, the recipe that produced the least favorable outcome was by far our pizza. I’m choosing to dedicate my blog to this recipe because it was the one that proved most challenging and the one my group and I made the most mistakes on.
To start off, our mise en place was a disgrace. The entire period we were running in and out of the kitchen looking for missing ingredients or materials like chickens with their heads cut off. We began the recipe by using the blooming method to bloom our yeast in warm water for a total of five minutes. This was challenging because if the water was to cold, the yeast would not bloom, and if the water was too hot, then the yeast would die and our dough would not rise. Because you can’t tell if the yeast has properly bloomed, it’s basically a guessing game until you wait the proper amount of time and see that your dough has either risen, or not. It turns out that we were able to successfully bloom our yeast. Crisis one avoided. After that, we mixed our dry ingredients in a metal bowl, added the oil, and the warm yeast water.
The real challenge began after we had our dough the next day. The first problem that we encountered was we put WAY to much oil on the raw dough in preparation for putting it on the grill and this made it hard to transfer onto the waiting grill. Also, we each had giant pieces of raw dough that when picked up with our fingers and later the tongs, ripped very easily. We should not have stretched our dough so thinly. Then, because of the hectic grill scene, the dough burned in some places. Then we added our toppings of choice and into the over it went. Because we underestimated the total cooking time necessary in the over to fully cook the toppings, we took the pizza out to early. All in all my pizza looked pretty unappealing. With the basically raw, uncooked cheese and semi arm sauce, it was a sight for sore eyes. But, fortunately it tasted amazing. You wouldn’t guess that from the look of it, but if you ignore the poor presentation and look past its many imperfections long enough to take a bite, you would be pleasantly surprised.

Our Baking and Pastry class recently completed our yeast unit where we learned how to make King Arthur “No-Knead” bread, pizza dough, soft pretzels, and monkey bread.

            During this unit, we learned about yeast- how it must be given time to “bloom” in certain recipes by putting it in warm water for a few minutes and how if it is added to water that is too hot, you risk killing the yeast.  Yeast is a living organism, so you must be careful with it.  Putting it in water that is too hot will kill it, making it unable to help your bread rise.

When we made the King Arthur bread, we made two batches of the same dough then baked one during that same class and put the other in a covered bowl and stored it in the refrigerator.  After tasting both the rolls made from the dough with the yeast that wasn’t given much time to rise (dough/rolls made during the same class) and the rolls made from the dough that had been given 3 days to rise, we noticed the differences between the two.  I found the second batch of rolls was less dense and had a much different flavor than the first batch.  Personally, I liked the second batch better.

Also, when my group was in the process of making the sweet dough that would later be used for our monkey bread; we learned how to modify a recipe when a mistake is made.  In this case, we added 2 tablespoons and ¼ teaspoon of yeast when just 2 ¼ teaspoons were supposed to be added to the dough.  In other words, we put 2.78 times as much yeast into the mixture than we were supposed to.  In order to fix this problem, we multiplied each of the other ingredients by 2.78 so that the ratios all remained the same.  In the end, our dough rose and tasted exactly like it was supposed to.  It was a success and our monkey bread was delicious!

The process of making the pizza dough and soft pretzels taught us how to knead the dough properly.  We learned that if the dough is really sticky, flour can be added to reduce the stickiness.  We also learned how to fold the dough in order to form the pretzel shape and how to grill the pizza dough with olive oil. (Marissa T)

The unit that we are currently done working on was the cookie unit. During this unit we made a variety of different cookies. One of the cookies we made was a five layer bar. The way we made this was by crumbling graham crackers in a bowl and spreading them evenly into a pan. We sprinkled coconut over top of the crumbled graham crackers. After that was evenly spread out chocolate chips were sprinkled over top. Then we made condensed milk. The way that we made the condensed milk was by putting evaporated milk and sugar into a pot and heating it until the sugar was melted. When everything was melted it was poured evenly over the chocolate chips. Finally peanuts were added to the top and then baked. After they were cooked we used a bench scrapper to cut the bar out of the sheet pan. Once they were cut and they weren’t hard and crunchy like they should have been bars should have been, we realized we didn’t add the right amount of condensed milk. When we were making the condensed milk we had to use a certain amount of sugar and evaporated milk to make it but, when it was done we didn’t measure out the amount that we needed for the recipe which then made then more liquid then a bar. Another cookie recipe we made was a peanut butter cookie. We used the creaming method, we put the butter and the peanut butter in a mixing bowl. Then we added all of the dry ingredients and mixed it. After everything was mixed we used an ice cream scoop and baked them. As soon as they we pulled out of the oven we put Hershey kisses on top.

- Jessica L.


To start with our yeast breads unit, we tested how long to takes for the yeast to rise. So, with our no knead bread, we made two batches - one that had yeast rise for 15 minutes and one that had it rise overnight. When we compared the two breads, I realized that the bread was less dense when it rose overnight. This was because the yeast had time to multiply which helped the bread rise.

The second yeast food that we made was pizza, where we also let the yeast rise overnight. That allowed the pizza to be fluffy and hold up all the ingredients.

However, when we made the sweet dough, the yeast did not rise at all. We had to boil the milk and then put the yeast in the hot milk. We were supposed to make sure that the milk was not too hot to kill the yeast, but we didn't wait long enough and the yeast died in contact with the milk. So, our dough didn't rise at all and we had to use part of another group's dough to make or cinnamon rolls. Next time I make them I'll be sure to wait for the milk to be the right temperature for the yeast to react and rise.

~Maryyam A.

Nicholas Carozza

In this unit we studied and created yeast breads. All of these creations included some amount of yeast. Within this unit, we made rolls, grilled pizza, soft pretzels and cinnamon buns.
The highlight of this unit for me was the grilled pizza. This pizza did create some issues and did not come out to the quality that I had expected. In order to create our grilled pizza we had to first gather our mise en plase. We had to get our bowls, measuring cups and ingredients. Our ingredients consisted of yeast, warm water, flour, sugar, salt and oil. The process for this dough was fairly simple but if you don’t follow the directions precisely, you can mess up. First we had to bloom the yeast. To bloom the yeast we had to get lukewarm water and let the yeast sit in the water for a small period of time. While the yeast was blooming we combined all of our ingredients in the mixing bowl. Once the dough was formed we took it out and kneaded it on the table. We used the kneading method because we had to loosen out the dough and portion it out. Once the dough was portioned we rolled it out flat and put some olive oil on one side. We then went to the grill and grilled it on both sides. This is where a problem occurred because when we went to transfer the dough from the pan to the grill it fell apart basically. The form of the dough was terrible after that. Then after the grill we put some tomato sauce and cheese on the dough and put it in the oven. Once the cheese had dissolved it was ready to come out. The final outcome was alright, it wasn’t a pretty pizza but at least it was good enough to be edible.

In this unit we studied and created various types of yeast breads. Everything we made contained the leavening agent of yeast. Throughout the unit, some of the recipes we made included rolls, grilled pizza, soft pretzels, and cinnamon buns. One skill we had to master during this unit was the blooming method. This is when you put the yeast in warm water and let it bloom before adding it to the dough. The difficult part about the blooming method is making sure the water is the correct temperature. If the water is too cold, the yeast won't bloom, and if the water's too hot, it will kill the yeast. The yeast bread we made this unit that gave our group the most difficulty was the pizza. This posed to be the most challenging because it had so many steps that needed to be done. The first day we had to create the dough. We then had to let it sit overnight, in order for it to rise. The next day we had to roll out the dough, divide it amongst our members, grill it, put on the toppings, and then finally put it in the oven to bake. Something our group learned this unit was that we always need to have our mise en place. This is important because it cuts down the time needed to find tools later, and it also makes it easier because you have everything you need right at the beginning.

-Veronica E.

For the yeast unit we made flatbread pizza, pretzels, monkey bread, and regular bread twice. The reason why we made bread twice was so that we could learn to tell if there was a difference if you left the dough over night vs. cooking it right away. The dough that was left over night was much better because the yeast had time to sit. In this unit we also learned that we have to be careful with yeast, because it is a living organism, so when you put it in warm water to bloom, you have to make sure not to kill the yeast. If you kill the yeast the dough will not rise properly. In our monkey bread recipe, we used too much yeast, and had to end up almost tripling the recipe in order to make up for it.
CW

In the yeast unit we made food such as bread rolls, grilled pizza, pretzels, and Mexican chocolate loafs. We found this unit somewhat difficult because it required us to make sure that we didn’t kill the yeast that we used. If the yeast was to die then our dough would not rise and we would not get the product that we wanted. We ran into some trouble when making the pretzels. When placing the larger ones into the water to fry them they began to almost fall apart making it more difficult for the skimmer to take them out. Also, when making the grilled pizza, the cheese wasn’t quite as melted as it should have been so that made a difference to the final product. Overall, I enjoyed this unit. I learned a lot of new techniques that I will be sure to use in my own kitchen.

Laken H

We made pretzels! First we made the dough by mixing the yeast with warm water to activate it. Then we added all of our other ingredients in and started to shape them into pretzels. My group made more pretzel nuggets than anything, but we did make our own actual pretzels. Then we put them in a mixture of baking soda and water on a boil, so we can get that golden brown color. After we put salt on them, we popped them in the oven and cleaned up, waiting for our lovely pretzels. Once they came out, we all got our own and split the pretzel nuggets up and started eating them. They were so good!! Sarah H.

For the yeast bread unit, we made no knead bread, cappuccino knots, grilled pizza, and soft pretzels.

The first bread was baked right away without letting the yeast rise. This bread barely tasted yeasty, and ours was undercooked.

The second bread we made contained yeast that had risen for two days. This bread had a much stronger flavor, and we kept it in the oven for longer so that the inside was warm and the outside was a crunchy golden brown.

Our grilled pizza also contained yeast that was given a few days to rise. We used too much oil and that made it hard to flip them on the grill, but the overall flavor was good.

Our soft pretzels were made by rolling the dough into knots and nibs and frying them in a mixture of hot water and baking powder. We used a skimmer in order to fish the pretzels out after they fried.

Our cappuccino roll took two days to make. For the first day we made the sweet dough, allowing the yeast to bloom in milk and water.After growing for a day, we cut the dough into rope, rolled it in instant espresso and sugar, baked them, and put a glaze on top. Even though we didn't constantly knead the dough while we made it, the texture was still light and fluffy.

Lilly F

This week in baking and pastry, we made different types of yeast bread. First, we made classic yeast bread by mixing in the yeast with warm water, then adding the dry ingredients and rolling the dough into rolls. The second time we made these we let the yeast rise over night and te bread came out much more fluffier and had better taste.
Next, we created similar dough and let the yeast rise overnight. The next day, we grilled the dough, added sauce and cheese, and put it in the over to make a flatbread.
The last thing we made in the unit was cinnamon rolls. We created a basic sweet dough and budded the yeast in hot water and letting the dough sit overnight. However, we must have killed the yeast because our dough didn't rise, so we had to use another groups extra dough. We then added butter and cinnamon sugar to the dough, and rolled the dough into a spiral shape. We cut the dough into pieces and cooked in the oven. Despite the problems, the cinnamon rolls were delicious and the best thing we made in the yeast unit because they had the most flavor.
-Emily C

First we made rolls. We mixed all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, we then added the wet ingredients. When we measure the water we had to make sure that it wasn’t too hot because it would kill the yeast. The proper way to make bread is to let it sit for a day, to allow the yeast to rise. When we came back the next day we took the risen dough out of the bowl and then laid it down on a floured surface. We then took a bench scrapper and cut the dough into quarters. To roll out the dough we cupped the dough in between our palms and moved in a circular motion. Finally the dough was ready to go into the oven. To test if the bread was done we looked for a golden brown color as well as the bottom sounding hollow when you tapped it.
Next, we made cinnamon rolls. We grabbed a bowl and added all of the dry ingredients in it. Then we melted butter. Next milk and water was brought to a slight boil, we didn’t want it too hot because we would be adding yeast to it. In our group our yeast didn’t look right when it was added to the wet ingredients so we started over. We decided this time to use a thermometer. The thermometer that we used was invalid because when you looked at the temperature it was reading the room temperature but it wasn't accurate. Also, on the thermometer there is a little tick mark which needed be submerged in the liquid in order to get an accurate reading. We made these mistakes and the milk and water was about 20 degrees hotter than we had thought it was originally.

Jessica L.

  

In the quick bread unit we made pancakes, crepes, pumpkin muffins, cinnamon muffins, chocolate chip scones, and biscuits. In our first recipe my table baked, which was the pancakes, we ran into a problem. The problem was that we realized our batter was not the right consistency, it had turned out like dough. Luckily it was a simple problem to fix, we just had to add more milk, but it was a learning process. Also when we made pancakes, we learned when the right time to flip them is- which is when little bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the pancake. All of our baking that used the muffin method went pretty smoothly, which was the pumpkin and cinnamon muffins and the crepes. We also learned the biscuit method. Using that method we baked biscuits and scones. The biscuit method is different from the muffin method because instead of melting the butter and mixing all of the ingredients together, we cut up the butter using the pastry cutter so that before we added the liquid our batter looked like a coarse meal. Clara W.

It is interesting how the same ingredients, mixed in different amounts can make such a range of flavor and style. Pancakes are fluffy, crepes are thin and smooth, and muffins are rich and puffy. In the quick bread unit we learned how to make a variety of flavors using the same general ingredients, however using different methods. We used the “biscuit-method” and the “creaming-method”. We began with what seemed the most simple but turned out to be very tricky: pancakes. After making the batter we poured about a quarter of a cup onto the pan and waited to see the bubbles in order to know that they were ready to flip. It seems like an easy process however, the flipping required quick hands and the perfect amount of Pam, and thickness of the batter. This was a difficult task for my group to do.
The next quick bread we made was crepes. This was an easier task made with similar ingredients. This batter was very thin and soupy. In order to make these, we had to pour the batter onto the pan and spread it out. As the crepe is about ready to flip you will be able to see it dry from the outer rim to the center. Once the crepe is almost dry in the center you can flip it over and leave it on the stove for a minute or two then take it off and add a garnish such as melted chocolate, powdered sugar, etc.
Another quick bread we made was biscuits; in order to make this batter we used the “biscuit-method” by cutting the butter into the dry ingredients. By doing this we created the light and airy feeling of biscuits because the butter melted and created little holes in the dough to make the thin layers of the biscuits. The biscuits turned out deliciously buttery.
The final quick bread we made was muffins. To make this dough, we used the “creaming-method”. This created the thick batter that rose in the oven. The muffins were the easiest to make because they had a simple batter, and all that needed to be done was put them in a greased muffin pan. The final product of the muffin recipe was very tasty.
Some difficulties we had to overcome was mise en place, and following directions. Often times we had to stop what we were doing in order to get more materials to make/cook our recipe. Another difficulty we faced was following specific directions. For example: in our second muffin recipe we needed to mix the oil with the sugar first and then add the dry ingredients, however we mixed the sugar with the dry ingredients. Gratefully, the muffins turned out great and the batter ended out fine. The quick breads unit was a very savory unit!
-Meg M.

Our Baking and Pastry class just concluded our Quick Bread unit where we worked to create pancakes, crepes, muffins, biscuits, and scones.
During the process of making pancakes, crepes, and muffins, we learned how to use the muffin method, where all the dry ingredients are mixed together in one bowl and all the wet ingredients are mixed in another. Then, the two are combined using the creaming method in order to form a batter. In class, we used an electronic Kitchen Aid mixer in order to mix our ingredients all together.
While we made buttermilk pancakes, we learned the right consistency the batter should be (not too thick, not too thin). We also learned how to recognize that the pancakes were ready to be flipped by looking for the bubbles on face-up side, then how to flip the pancakes once they were ready.
While we made crepes, learned how to distribute the crepe batter evenly in the pan we were using: you must hold the handle and swirl the batter inside so that it forms a circle inside of the small pan. You know a crepe is ready to be flipped when the face-up side looks “dry”.
Finally, we learned the biscuit method while we worked to make biscuits and scones. This method involved first combining all dry ingredients using a whisk, then cutting the fat (butter) into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter, a fork, hands, or another tool, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Then, the liquid was added to the dry mixture and everything was stirred until it formed moist dough. This dough was then used to form our biscuits (we used a cookie cutter to create equal portions) and scones (we used a scooper to create equal portions).
I thoroughly enjoyed this unit. I learned many useful things including different methods of mixing. I love muffins, so I am planning on using the new skills I have learned to make some muffins for my family in my own kitchen! Marissa T.

Nicholas Carozza
Baking and Pastry
Coming into this year I knew that baking and pastry would be filled with a lot of good food and a lot of fun. Throughout the unit, we baked pancakes, crapes, scones, bread, and muffins. All of which were very good. The ones that stood out the most were scones and muffins. They were all very good and had their own different processes. To make the scones, we added all of our ingredients into a large mixing bowl and we combined all of the ingredients slowly. Then as the batter got looser we added in a cup of chocolate chips. Then we used a cookie cutter to portion out the scone batter on a half sheet pan. We then put that into the oven for 10-15 minutes and when they came out, this is what our finished product looked like.

Coming into this year I knew that baking and pastry would be filled with a lot of good food and a lot of fun. Throughout the unit, we baked pancakes, crapes, scones, bread, and muffins. All of which were very good. The ones that stood out the most were scones and muffins. They were all very good and had their own different processes. To make the scones, we added all of our ingredients into a large mixing bowl and we combined all of the ingredients slowly. Then as the batter got looser we added in a cup of chocolate chips. Then we used a cookie cutter to portion out the scone batter on a half sheet pan. We then put that into the oven for 10-15 minutes and when they came out they were perfect. Our muffins came out very well, but the process for making them was a painstaking process. We started out by adding all of our dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, then we added all of our wet ingredients into the mixing bowl. While we mixed out ingredients we made our cream cheese filling and our cinnamon sugar topping. Once the ingredients were mixed and our ingredients we got a muffin pan the was filled with tons of little muffin spots. We added a small portion of the pumpkin batter to the muffin tin, then we added a small dab of creamcheese filling and to top it off, we spread some cinnamon sugar topping on top. Once those were out of the oven they were amazing. The process was difficult and annoying but our group came out with a great product. I would add pictures but they are not uploading.
-Nick Carozza

To reflect upon our first unit in Baking and Pastry, I now look back to how much we have done in such a short amount of time. My group made six different quickbread recipes: pancakes, crepes, grandma’s muffins, pumpkin muffins, biscuits, and scones. I learned so much during this unit including the biscuit method, which is cutting the butter into the dry ingredients of biscuits or scones, and the creaming method, which is to cream the butter and sugar together before mixing other ingredients. The thing that I want to work on in the next unit it mis en place. We never had all my ingredients and tools in our work area and that made us waste a lot of time waiting and looking for ingredients or tools. I was constantly going back into the kitchen to get tools like measuring cups, levelers, and scoops. If we did do mis en place, we would have easily cut down five minutes of the time we spent looking for items. Hopefully in the next unit, my group will accurately use mis en place to get our baking done faster so we can have our food by the end of the period.

~Maryyam A