Let the Bread Rise

In addition to the lessons I learned in handling the gluten this morning at the bakery, I was able to practice those lessons when we made pan au levain.  This is a very French type of sourdough bread that is leavened completely with sourdough starter and no added yeast.  It has no fat in it, but is delicious and it turned out great today.  It takes a long time and a lot of patience to make sure that this bread is doing well and it rises well.   Factors are involved like barometric pressure, humidity, activity of the starter on that particular day.  It can be capricious.  I have been dreaming of making this type of bread for many years.  This is why I have a sourdough starter in the first place and sparked  the first interest I had in baking bread.  My teacher was pleased with the loaves and I was excited with the results.  It has a chewy crisp crust and a great interior with nice bubbles and delicious flavor.

Pan au levain

We also made semolina bread from durum flour and it is an Italian bread covered with sesame seeds.  It was cooling as I left, and I have not tasted it yet.  Will do that tomorrow.

Today, for lunch we got to try the Pierogis and Sausage Rolls, which were delicious and the pastry that we had made had turned out well and baked up nicely.

The raspberry gelee was finally ready to package and took longer to set up than the lemon..will need to work on that next time, but the flavor is pure raspberry.

We worked on Gingerbread Houses including candy windows and trees...still in progress, but there are a few photos.

Bottles holding the walls up until the icing dries and sets.
We just got the roof on before the end of the day today,

And lastly, I put away all the frozen savory pastries in the freezer, the star of which is likely the Chinese barbecue pork bun, or Char-siu-bau.  Delicious and worth every moment of preparation.  These are usually steamed and sometimes baked. 

Today is also my mother's and my daughters birthday, and so happy B-day to them.  I have one more fun-filled day at the bakery and then I pack up and leave.  It has been a great experience, and I will be a better baker as a result.