Saturday 16 April 2016

Nothing smells better than a kitchen where baked goods are made

Pleasant Work Environment. Nothing smells better than a kitchen where baked goods are made. One of the benefits of working as a professional pastry chef is definitely the work site smells. Predictable yield—The planned number of servings will be produced by using standardized recipes. This can help to reduce the amount of leftover food if there has been overproduction, and also will help to prevent shortages of servings on the line. A predictable yield is especially important when food is transported from a production kitchen to other serving sites.

Customer satisfaction—Well-developed recipes that appeal to students are an important factor in maintaining and increasing student participation levels. Schools may take a lesson from national restaurant chains that have developed popular menu items consistent in every detail of ingredient, quantity, preparation, and presentation. Standardized recipes provide this consistency and can result in increased customer satisfaction.

Yeast-raised doughs rely heavily on gluten for structure, so lots of it is welcome. That’s why, for example, in his pizza dough recipe, author Peter Reinhart takes a few steps to encourage gluten development. He uses unbleached bread flour, which is higher in gluten-forming proteins than all-purpose flour. He adds salt and plenty of water. And he mixes the dough for several minutes. Pastry and cake flours contain less protein and form weaker gluten. With their low levels of weak gluten, these “soft flours” produce a more tender product, so they’re usually preferable for cakes, cookies, biscuits, and many pastries.

However, encouraging gluten to form is the last thing you want to do when making chemically leavened baked goods such as cakes, cookies, and scones, as well as flaky or tender pastries. (And if you’re like me, you bake these kinds of things far more often than you do yeast breads.) Excess gluten makes biscuits leaden, pancakes rubbery, and piecrusts tough.

Flexibility. Pastry chefs benefit from international demand—can you think of a country

Buy filo pastry fresh and use at room temperature. While it is possible to freeze leftover sheets, freezing tends to dry filo sheets out making them prone to crumbling once defrosted. If you do freeze filo, limit freezer time and defrost at room temperature as microwaving to defrost does not work. Since filo dries out quickly it is important to minimise its contact with air. So it is advisable to get organised with equipment and ingredients before unrolling the filo. Cover the pile of sheets with plastic film or a damp tea towel in between taking individual sheets off when assembling your stack.

Be creative thinking about ways to use leftover filo. Double up; make another filo-based product at the same time and freeze it uncooked. Wrap this well and use within a couple of weeks or it will dry out and lose quality. Alternatively, roll up leftover sheets, wrap tightly in several layers of plastic film and refrigerate or freeze. However you store it, make a plan for when you will use it otherwise it will go the way of a lot of leftover filo and be thrown out! Old, crumbly or dry sheets of filo can be crumbled on top of stewed fruit, sprayed lightly with oil and then baked for an interesting crunchy pie topping.

Flexibility. Pastry chefs benefit from international demand—can you think of a country that doesn’t serve pastries? Decide which city or country you ideally want to work in, and then find a pastry chef there willing to take you on as an apprentice.No Degree Required. There is no doubt that you will have to work hard to become a pastry chef, but you do not have to obtain a fancy or expensive degree. You can learn by apprenticing with professional pastry chefs, and by logging hours in restaurant and bakery kitchens.

Access to Great Food. Not only will your life be filled with sweets and fresh baked breads, one of the many benefits of becoming a pastry chef is that you will spend time at restaurants and around a lot of other types of chefs. This job could mean eating at five star restaurants on a daily basis.Happy Customers. Unlike, say, tax accountants, pastry chefs get to deal with the public when they are typically in good spirits. People like buying dessert, and you are the vehicle to the sweets they crave.

As far as healthy food is concerned, baked food comes first in this category

As far as healthy food is concerned, baked food comes first in this category because baked food items are low in fat. How they are low fat? Just think about the baking environment and you can easily understand why it has low fat content. Baking is done in area which is fully covered and no heat is passed outside until you open its door. So this stored heat helps in releasing natural energy/fat from the food (like meat) and in this way very little amount of oiling is done in the start which is just for triggering the process of baking.

Baked food items become more healthy and tasty when baking is done underground. For example baking a mutton leg or chicken. In this process a hole is made around the item which is to be baked and then red hot pieces of coal are placed in it and then the meal is covered for particular time. In this way all the aroma and flavor remains well absorbed and preserved. Keep in mind that any food will remain tasty unless its flavor is not removed.

As with other types of baked goods, puff pastry is high in carbohydrates. Each 1-oz. serving contains 13 g of carbohydrates, which are your body's primary source of energy. Unfortunately, none of the carbohydrates in puff pastry contain fiber, which helps promote satiety, regulate blood sugar levels and protect digestive health. As with other types of baked goods, puff pastry is high in carbohydrates. Each 1-oz. serving contains 13 g of carbohydrates, which are your body's primary source of energy.

Filo pastry has a huge health advantage because there is no fat in the mix. It is made solely from flour and water. Fat – in the form of melted butter, spread or oil – is brushed on the layers as they are assembled for recipes so the quantity of fat used is therefore up to the cook. While most recipes using filo are liberal in the amount of butter or oil they suggest, large quantities are rarely necessary. A standard strudel can be made to perfection with as little as one or two tablespoons of melted spread or oil. The end product still presses all the pie buttons while being much better for our health and waistlines.