Bread Stories - Part 2 ( The Evolution)

Since my previous post on bread, I have baked a lot of bread, shared it with my friends & other customers. I have improved and developed the bread so much that I am even surprised myself. I have especially worked on the RUSTIC BREAD. Which is particularly difficult and easy in the same time, to make. 

Oh Happy Day !!

So we've made it to the Restaurant Day Prague, August 18th 2013. Last time this event happened (May 18th 2013) I was in Kiev, waiting to get married and was thinking how cool would have been to be able to do this...well, hehe...getting married was also cool :)

Presenting " Lady's Kisses "

 

Baci di Dama or Lady's kisses, are traditional Italian cookies, originally from the region of Piedmont. Italian hazelnut kisses with a touch of chocolate. 

 

Currant-Kiwi Crumble Tart

It's getting hot these days, isn't it ? All I want to do is lay in shade, drink something icy, and let the day pass by...

 

Petit Tartlets

I love tartlets. And I am very good at making them. The berries love tartlets, the lemons love tartlets, even chocolate and caramel love tartlets. So here they come....The empire of tartlets. 

 

Taste them...Love them. Couquettes

Learn to love Chouqettes. Learn to snack on Chouquettes. 

The art of BREAD making

 Bread making, is an art. Period. And this I tell you from my experience. It doesn't mean is difficult, BUT...you need to understand the ingredients, work with them, care for them, study the chemistry between them...and practice, practice, practice. 

 

Strawberries...the season is ending!

I usually like to make the best out of fresh stuff, and eat as much as fresh fruits, vegetables...until I collapse. And then I get up and eat some more.

Lemon me please !!

 I have been experimenting lately a lot the lemon flavor, and that means I baked a lot of lemon tarts and tartlets. Which can only bring joy to me and my husband, but let's hope no extra kilos :)

One sweet place in Ukraine. L'VIV !

I have decided that I will post here every-time I discover a sweet place around the world, or better said a place for those with a sweet tooth, hence the category here :sweet places around the world. Sharing is caring, and I do care for those who love deserts as much as I do :)

Me and my boyfriend at that time, currently my husband (yes, I got married ;) planned to travel a bit around his home country, that to be Ukraine. The first and most recommended place by people around, was L'viv. A destination which very much resembles places in the Czech Republic, Austria or Poland. So in case you are looking for something very Easter Europe or Ukrainian-ish looking, this is not for you. But still, it is an absolutely beautiful place, a not to miss spot in Ukraine, in case you are here.

Sweet little Madeleines !!!!

How much I am in love with french patisserie, I guess you already assume that. But I will state it again. I am in love with french patisserie. Today, I decide that I can no longer let a day pass and not try to do my first Madeleine.

I loaded myself with with lemons, eggs, BUTTER, patience and some good recipes and voila !!!!  Few hours later, they were all...GONE ! Cos people around me just sniffed them all in few seconds :)) Well, that can only be good, I thought and smiled. And they were. Super yummy gummy delicious :) Seriously !

Finally...some baking!

Oh, it has been a very very long time since I had the chance to bake something, and now that we are kind of back from our travels and visiting relatives in Ukraine I took advantage of kind Natasha's kitchen and baked something.

When the decision moment came on what to choose, well...u can imagine how difficult that was. It took me a few days...

But finally, I decided. It was going to be a savory cake. Goat cheese, prunes and pistachio cake. I took the recipe from Rachel Khoo's cooking show "The Little Paris Kitchen". It looked great on the screen and it also had really interesting ingredients which I was very much keen to try.

So the recipe can be found here, and below are some pictures on how it should look like and how mine looked. The difference was that I did not have a loaf form so I baked it in a rounded shape cake form.

How it tasted ? I really enjoyed it and it seems like the surrounding family did as well. One a side note, it tasted different than I was expecting, as I felt the goat cheese taste wasn't strong enough, and the taste of prunes was on the other hand too strong.

So if I had to make it again, probably I would choose a different goat cheese, and probably would rise a bit the quantity and less prunes. Well, so far so good and happy baking to me :)

Here is my result :

The basics. 1-THE EQUIPMENT !

The baking business will require from my side, some investment in what actually will make the magic and transform my skills into delicious cakes, pastries, chocolate and anything else that my inspiration will bring. THE EQUIPMENT is fundamental in this business and it should most definitely be of good quality.

I have compiled a list of the necessary utensils, and ..well, it is pretty long, and also expensive. But well, I guess compared to many other businesses the investment is way much lower, and in any case even if this will not succeed I will still use all the equipment for my home. So I consider it a lifetime investment for my home.

1. First and the most pricey will be stand mixer. The most famous brand is Kitchen Aid, but also the most expensive, and personally I think that also other brands have great mixers, but are less expensive and the same quality. Kenwood is a great choice.

How my market stall should look like (stealing ideas)

In the past x months I have been searching and researching the internet for ideas, pictures, inspiration on how a cake stall should look like, or how other people are organizing and designing their own cake stall. Sounds probably ridiculous, but that's what I do :) I look for cake stalls around the world.

And, surprisingly I haven't really found many bloggers or websites belonging to cake stall holders, at least not on the European side. But also maybe because I use English for my search. However I have come across a superb blog/diary of a fine lady from London, who is basically doing what I would like to do. She owns a cake and pastries market stall, at the Saturday Broadway market, East London. Her blog has brought me so much peace that there are other people around the world doing what I want to do, and it is very much possible. I have contacted her, and will be very happy to meet her when I will go to London. I would even make a trip just to meet her, and ask kindly for her advice. I have once read a book called "Steal like an artist" which I would very much recommend to anybody who is in the creative field, and I have learnt that if you have an idol, or you found yourself inspired by somebody you shouldn't hide it, or be ashamed that your ideas are not just your ideas, but put it out there with pride and be thankful to those who inspire you.

And so now, I wish to present you Coco&Me which helped me get a better idea about how much work is involved in setting up a once a week market stall, and how I would like my stall to look like, or at least where to start from.

ISTANBUL..a lifetime love affaire!

I have fallen in love with Istanbul long before I have even seen it. The stories, the fame, the mysteries, the mosques, the energy...I have seen it all, before I have even been here. I have seen it in the books I've read, the pictures I've admired, the stories I've read. And it is all true...

BUT, it is more than books can ever describe, or pictures can ever capture. Because Istanbul is about the feeling, the smells, the colors, the vibe, the energy, the movement....which you cannot understand unless you have put your foot on the magic land of Istanbul.

Since my passion for baking has become a main objective of my life, being in Istanbul is like being in the Disneyland of bakeries. I am going mad, delusional, dizzy, with every step around the city, because around every corner there is a small bakery which smells like paradise, and every product looks like has been made by the angels of pastry. I am glad that I will not try my baking business here, because I would not stand a chance, to compete with these generations of masters in baking. However, this does not stop me to steal from them, and indulge myself with their delicious pastries. Gosh, please....every morning I pray to stay longer here, and every evening I decide that I must leave this addictive city.

Les Tartelletes...Bienvenue !

I simply adore the word : Tartelletes. It is such a cute/sophisticated way to express a mini tart :) Therefore I decided that on my stand there will be at least 3 different types of Tartelletes.

I very much like the lime ones, the raspberry ones and chocolate as well. Also I have recently read a recipe with caramelized walnuts which looked indeed very tempting.

The base of mini tarts can be made with different types of dough. The most common one is pate sucree or shortcrust pastry in english (sweet or savory), puff pastry (the dough used for croissant) or phillo pastry (multi-layer dough which is usually used for Turkish baklava).

Making tartelletes is a lot of fun, as once you have the base ready you can create many different fillings. They can be used with non baked fillings but also with fillings which need short time baking and not very high temperatures, as you can re-bake the tarts so that the filling sets.

Long story short, I think I much prefer now tarts and tartelletes, rather than heavy creams cakes. So I am finding different channels in my bakery to discover and explore, something healthier, easier, and let's call it an everyday treat.

Asians love the Cheesecake

Since I am in Asia for the last 5 months, I have been shopping a lot around all the bakeries, mostly in the big cities like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore..and I have noticed a common trend. Cheesecakes :)

I can't say I have ever been a big fan of cheesecake, I always took them as a very simplistic option...and would never choose a cheesecake in a bakery where the choice is soooo much wider and I could never settle on a ...cheesecake. But because here in Asia, it is so much available and promoted in bakeries, I decided to give a try, and have to say that I was quite impressed. It was indeed very tasty, creamy and also refreshing (..maybe that's why is so popular here:).

And now I am quite keen on developing my own recipes, and try all sorts of mixes. There can be strawberries, raspberries, lemon, orange, and many other options.But yes, the combination with berries or fruits it is indeed one of the most favorable. Once I will be back to my lovely Prague, and will have settled somewhere, I will make definitely taste-ing days, where I will bake about 4-5 different types of cheesecakes and will test them on you...yes, it means you will eat A LOT of cheese cake, if you are ready to commit to such a challenge :))

Now, I'm just curious...do you like cheesecake ?

Make each day special - start with the BREAKFAST

Breakfast is and will always be my favorite meal of the day. I absolutely love to wake up early, very early...as maybe 6 or 7 am, and cook a scrumptious breakfast, so that I feel like my day will be great, even amazing, because my happiness level is high from very early moments of the day, and hence will attract only ..positive vibes around, doesn't sound good ?yes it does !!!

The perfect eclair

The eclairs are one of the most classic and representative french desserts. There are so many recipes for, and each of them seems perfect until the next one.

Discovering Frangipane

I have spent one month in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The place has many bakeries and cafes, therefore I used the time I had to explore, test and inspire myself with the baked goods in Asia.

We found one particular bakery, a very simple one, run by a Japanese family and selling only french pastries (called Viennoiseries). I am a huge fan of french pastries, and in this way I have fully enjoyed the existence of this place in Chiang Mai. I invested my money into their products, and it was all worth it. Especially because I discovered the special filling called : Frangipane. I never knew about it, and since the lady from the bakery could not tell me the name, I had to research the internet for many days, looking thru hundreds of pictures and recipes  trying to find something similar. And there it was...I found it in the recipe of Gallete de Rois or King's cake.

Frangipane is an almond based filling, used for different cakes and pastries. It is normally made from sugar, butter, eggs and ground almonds. Of course you can make some varieties and instead of the ground almonds you can use ground hazelnuts or pistachios. You can add vanilla essence to it, or rum or any other essence which you feel like using. Be creative :)

I am truly happy to have discovered the secret to the delicious pastry I was having nearly every morning, and I will create it myself and make it available on the cake market stall. Oh, and I have just received yesterday and email from the big department of food safety with a HUGE list of laws and instructions on how to set up my home based cooking business...yupi !! lucky me :)) Now I have something to read :)

P.S. The picture is courtesy to http://www.jeveuxlarecette.fr

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Well I do. And this is how the story of the Chouquettes starts.

I went once to Paris, during Christmas time. And Paris is cold and humid in winter, and the first morning I arrived to Paris I went with my friend for a small walk around the Notre Dame. The first thing to do before you start your walk, he told me, is to enter a boulangerie and get yourself a bag of chouguettes.It makes you forget about the cold and simply get to understand why Parisians need to have a boulangerie around every corner.

And so I did. I entered the boulangerie and got myself a bag of this fabulous little angels. It was love at first ..bite. They are the perfect treat for a sight seeing day, you munch on them so easily and with every bite you get to see more and more of the beautiful architecture.

They do not exist in Prague, and it is one of those things that I really think people should just be able to get anywhere. A bag of chouquettes on your way to work, while walking in the park, on the train ride to visit your family. It is just the perfect combination of small, sweet and soft.

The chouquettes were one of the first products I have been set of making from the begining of my decision to make my own baking business.  So they will become available in Prague, once I am all set and business has started. I just have to figure out how to produce them in a bigger quantity, because once you have tasted them...you will want more :)