Apologies for the delay in updating folks, but it's been a busy couple of days, & if I'm honest, I think I'm still recovering from Saturdays shift in the Bakehouse!  Plus, we've had a couple of reports to write, so I've spent some time being a 'proper' student & doing some writing!

This week, we've been looking at classic breads, so first up was, of course, the Baguette!

The baguette is unusual as it uses both poolish & levain starters, both of which had been made in advance of Monday's session, as they need a long fermentation time. 

Once the dough was made & rested, we divided it up & moulded them into mini baguettes =)
They were allowed to rest, then rolled out to approx 50cm in length.  Then, the cutting!

It's surprisingly difficult to get the cuts right; they need a particular angle on the blade, & a very slight angle on the cut.  But we all had a go & they weren't too bad in the end.  I was quite pleased with mine...

It was very tasty, especially with brie & a bit of chilli jam! =D

Next up, we tackled a Rye & Roasted Onion & Black Pepper loaf! 

This wasn't quite as wet a dough as the 100% Rye we baked last week, due to the inclusion of some ordinary wheat flour.

We didn't bother shaping the dough, we just divided it straight into the tins!  Then, we sprinkled them with onion seeds & rye flour, then popped them in the prover.  They rose quite well, but again that's down to the wheat flour.

They smelled fantastic when they came out of the oven.  I'm not a massive fan of onion, but the loaf really did smell so inviting!  They were too hot to take home at the end of the day, so we left them at School overnight.  But that's okay,  they'll be better after a day anyway =)

The third dough we made was for a Walnut Levain loaf, but we wouldn't be able to bake them today as they require an overnight prove in the fridge.

 

Today, we finished off the Walnut Levain Loaves, with a final shaping & a lovely cut, as shown below! 

 

The dough was much easier to cut than other doughs, like the Baguette, as it had been in the fridge overnight & was quite firm.

It's a lovely cut, & gives a great appearance to the finished loaf, as demonstrated below!  I was very pleased with mine =D

We had quite a busy day today, with two enriched fruited doughs, & a Pain de Campagne to make.

The first dough we tackled was for Apple, Honey & Sultana Hot Cross Buns; there were so many ingredients!  Eventually we got it all mixed in, & I had the task of extracting it from the spiral mixer; no easy task I can tell you!

The dough was allowed to prove, then divided into small rounds, which were lined up in trays & placed into the prover to really bulk up =)

Then we had to apply the crossing paste, to give the buns that distinctive appearance.

They were baked, then glazed, & were so tasty!  Especially still warm!

We also made Chelsea Buns, but I must confess I don't appear to have taken any photos of them... =(

Tomorrow is our first freestyle day, where we get to choose what we want to bake, as individuals!  I'm going for a couple of varieties of brioche, but I'll say no more for now, just in case it goes horribly wrong!