Viennoiserie Is Pure Awesomeness

Hey everyone,
So, it's been a while since I last posted. I've been really busy with the holidays and all, baking and traveling to see family and whatnot, but I wanted to give you a quick update on all the awesome stuff we've been making in class. First off, I have to say that as expected, I'm really loving the Viennoiserie unit. I'm totally enjoying making all the sweet breads and working with yeast doughs. I won't go into too much detail about it, but I did want to give you some pictures to drool over.

First we have cinnamon swirl bread. It has some orange zest in it, which I wasn't so sure about, but it really added to the overall flavor. I wish I had taken a picture of it sliced open, so you could see the delicious swirl, but you'll just have to imagine it!

 Next up, we have pecan sticky buns. Yes, they were drool-worthy and delicious! These were actually made with the same dough as the cinnamon swirl bread, but this has a whiskey pecan sticky topping. Yes, you read that right!

 These are some Sally Lunn rolls. Basically, they're dinner rolls, and no one was really able to tell us why they're called Sally Lunns. They were pretty good. Basic, but good.

Ok, this was one of my favorites so far and one that I know I need to perfect, for the sake of staying in my parents' wills...challah. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of it baked, but I was so excited to learn how to make challah. And my family loved it at our belated Chanukah dinner. It was perfect!

Ok, so these are mini fruitcakes. Now, I had never had a fruitcake in my life, but I certainly knew of their bad reputation, but I have to say, I really enjoyed these. They were brushed with brandy, and while they were dense, they weren't THAT dense, and they were filled with lots of dry fruit. Really tasty.

Next up, we bade some brioche. These brioche are in a loaf. They were pretty good, although I honestly think they could have used a little bit more butter, if you can imagine that! We also made the individual brioches, the brioches a tete, but again, I dropped the ball and didn't take any pictures. It's ok, though, because I'm not so proud of how they looked. I'll get a lot more practice on them, though, so I have no worries.

KUGELHOPF!!! Yes, it's a very fun word to say, and it's also a really nice bread that goes great with a cup of coffee!

And now the main event: CROISSANTS! I was so excited to get to make croissants and pains au chocolat. It really is such a basic French pastry. I don't think you can call yourself a pastry chef, if you don't know how to make these. I know I need practice on shaping them, but for my first time, I think I did pretty well.

Lastly, we made scones. These were actually my favorite. I even liked them better than the croissants, if you can believe it.

Well, that's it. Sorry it took so long to get these up, but it's the holidays, so cut me some slack. Next up, panetonne, pullman loaf, and beehive cake!