So we're half way through week one of the placement, & I'm shattered!

It's been great through, the guys I'm working with are lovely, all very friendly & great to work with.  I've been starting at 3.30am, which is a nicer time to start then at my last placement; I'm not having to go to sleep quite as early in the day, but it's still been a little tough to get into.

So far I've mostly been helping to shape the doughs as they're ready, some into tins, others as bloomers, as well as rolls.  I've also been helping out with croissants, which has been a lot of fun!

Richard, who owns the bakery along with Kate, showed me how to use the sheeter to laminate the croissant dough,  It's a slightly tricky task, requiring quite a bit of hand-eye co-ordination to stop the pastry flying off the end!

Look! Here I am!  =)

Once the pastry had been laminated, it was popped back into the chiller until later in the day, when Richard rolled it out very thinly.  We used 6 blocks of pastry to make croissants, danishes & pain au chocolates, which was great.  We haven't done much in the way of croissants etc at School yet, so it was great to have that experience.

I've also been helping out with weighing out ingredients at the end of the shift, ready for use tomorrow.  Whilst I'm starting at 3.30am, the first baker, Ian, gets in around 12-12.30am, followed by George at 1.30am, so there's already quite a bit done by the time I get in.

Holtwhites is quite a lot bigger than Shrewsbury Bakehouse, but whenever I say that everyone is really surprised, so I think I'm starting to understand just how small Shrewsbury Bakehouse really are!  It's quite nice to have the experience of working with several bakers in a larger environment, but it does mean that I might have less involvement with the oven & mixing side of things, but that's alright  =)

I think I really was spoilt with my first placement; being so close to home then has meant that this feels like a totally different experience, in fact I've been rather homesick.  It's quite a daunting thing, to know that you're going to be away from friends & family for four weeks; it feels like an awful long time...

I'm actually staying with Richard & Kate, & their two small boys, as they live just a couple of minutes up the road from the bakery, & they've been really lovely.  They've done a lot to make me feel welcome, so that's helped to take the edge off, but still, it can be a little lonely, especially as I don't know anyone down this neck of the woods, & I don't want to intrude too much on Richard & Kate's lives...

This weekend though I think I might head into London, as I'm not all that far away from there, & see the sights  =)  And next weekend I think I'm going to head home, just for a few days, so that will break the placement up nicely.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue to relax & gather my strength, ready for a busy couple of days  =)