George Brown - The Art of Breads & Cookies..

Yes, I am starting the new year with 2 more George Brown courses that I'll be taking at the same time. As if life wasn't as busy and crazy as it is, now I'll have 2 more commitments per week. My weekends will be quite busy for the next 3 months. With late class on Fridays and afternoon class on Sundays, I'll try to become a better baker and improve in 2 areas: Breads and Cookies!..

I really really really LOVE baking bread! It is one of my favourite things to bake, it is just soooooo pretty and puffed that you cannot even believe you could have done such a gorgeous thing by yourself!.. And cookies .. ohhh cookies.... they can be tricky; a couple of mins more on the oven and they'll be hard, or an over greased pan and they will expand so much they'll loose their shape. You need to put so much care into baking those little guys that I am glad I am actually taking this course!

A couple of Notes from my class that I'll hope it will be of good use to you!...

When a recipe asks for fresh yeast and you cannot find that thing anywhere... remember that you can actually use traditional yeast or instant yeast, just know that the ratio is to use only 1/3 of the amount stated for fresh yeast.

Most of the recipes for bread ask for water and try not to replace with milk because your dough will not rise properly.

When you want to accelerate your recipe remember to dissolve your yeast in lukewarm water (40 to 45 C) and never go above 50 C.

If you want to get a crustier CRUST! remember this... the wetter the dough the better, it will stop sticking to the surface if you knead the dough right and for a long time, there is no need to add more flour.

Ohh and the most important thing of all... BE PATIENT let your dough rise properly and give it the time it needs to relax so you can bake amazing bread.

Rosca de Reyes

I know this post comes in a little late, but I wanted to share with you the Mexican tradition of Rosca de Reyes which takes place on January 6th. The Rosca de Reyes is a very elaborated bread that takes a lot of time and effort to prepare, it usually takes a couple of hours to knead the dough and a couple of days to put it all together. This bread is usually decorated with candied winter fruits such as figs and a delicious sugar paste. The traditional shape of this bread was round but over the years people have been making it oval as well, both shapes are accepted. This ring shape bread symbolizes the sky. People used to put inside the bread little porcelaine figurines which represented baby Jesus, in some cases people inserted beans as a way to keep costs down, but as everyone ended up eating the little beans, now we use little plastic figurines which are more practical and cheap.

This tradition is about celebrating the arrival of the 3 wise men and is meant to end up all the Christmas Celebrations (from the born of Jesus on Dec 25th until the arrival of the 3 wise men on Jan 6). Long story short to me this is just another excuse to continue celebrating, eating delicious traditional food and spending more time with your family. The fun part of these tradition other than eating the delicious bread, is actually cutting your slice. Everyone sits around the table and tries to slice that piece that will be free of baby Jesus figurines as those lucky enough to get them, will need to come together and organize a feast for everyone else on February 2nd which is Candlemas Day or "Dia de la Candelaria". Of course, this feast will consist of Tamales and Chocolate Caliente or Atole. Getting the little baby Jesus figurines is meant to bring you luck for the rest of the year, although I know some people who aren't really looking to be that lucky. Believe me, making this feast and pay for the tamales is not an easy job to get done. In the past and still nowadays the tradition states that before having the big dinner, those who got these figurines are supposed to take baby Jesus and present him to both, the Church and their community.

Mexico is one of the few countries where this Rosca de Reyes bread is prepared. This tradition was passed to us from the Spaniards during the time of the mixing races.
Some say that the tradition of eating this type of bread comes from the Romans who prepared it to their God "Saturn" who was meant to eat this bread to prepare himself for the harsh winter. They welcomed their God with this ring like shape bread that was filled with all sorts of winter fruits to give him energy. Later on, this tradition was passed to the Spaniards who then made it relevant to fit their catholic beliefs and on the same token passed it on to the Mexican people.
Other countries celebrate this tradition also on January 6th; the french for example, prepare the Gallette de Rois which was traditionally filled with goodies such as silver, gold, diamonds or porcelain.

 

Mexican Cuisine is now Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Mexican Hot Chocolate "Chocolate Caliente"

We have to thank Mexico for giving the world lots of things used nowadays, but one of the best jewels Mexico gave to the world was Cacao, which later on was processed and turned into chocolate. During the pre-Hispanic period, chocolate was a drink reserved for nobles who only drank it on very special occasions. The plebeians were not allowed to have the drink of the Gods and they only drank atole and water, they were only allowed to drink chocolate if ordered by the nobles on particular feast days. After the Spanish conquest, chocolate became a more popular drink but it was very expensive. Cacao was one of the most demanded products by the Spaniards who accepted it as currency. Oaxaca was and still continues to be one of the principal markets for the commerce of Cacao, the Dominican friars desacralized the use of cacao and accepted it as a source of energy and a remedy for sunstroke, sores, kidney and stomach problems.

Although chocolate became very popular among the clergy, there were those who criticized the use of it outside a medicinal context. Some friars believed that the devil perverted this "medicine" by the sinful addition of sugar and by drinking it at all hours of day saying it will be one of the causes of an epidemic that decimated the population. Other Dominicans defended chocolate as it provided a source of energy and a consolation to the heart. Nevertheless, this succulent drink was never absent during the religious fiestas. In life outside the convent, chocolate was used until the seventeenth century when it was dissolved in hot water or milk and sweetened with raw sugar, vanilla or cinnamon.

The Spaniards introduced chocolate to the rest of Europe making it one of the most desired products amongst different cultures. Hot chocolate was born to satisfy Spaniards palates as an adaptation of the indigenous Oaxacan drink that was drunk cold. The cacao was mixed with ground corn, diluted with water and sweetened with honey, it was also flavoured with chiles or herbs. Even though around the world chocolate has been modified from the ancient ways it was drunk, many people in Oaxaca still continue to prepare it in their unique ways. Even now, some Oaxacan communities still believe drinking chocolate signifies honoring life, being at one with family and friends, God and the dead. This is probably why chocolate never misses an important celebration in Mexico. The thick and delicious foam on the chocolate means happiness, brotherhood and hope. There is No fiesta without Chocolate.

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Ingredients and Directions:

It really depends on where you buy your chocolate to really know the quantity and measures. You will need to play with quantities to get the flavour that is right for you.
I bought artesanal Mexican chocolate from Puebla grounded to perfection with sugar and cinnamon made by the indigenous people. The result was a smooth, NOT GRAINY AT ALL, so full of flavour, HOT chocolate!!
Ingredients for this one was only 1 tablet per 2 cups of whole milk and it was simply perfect!!

But as I won't have Puebla so close to me now that I am back in Toronto, I bought fair trade chocolate from Chocosol which in fact comes from Oaxaca. From Chocosol's Chocolate I used 40g of Chocolate per 800ml of whole milk, then I added sugar to taste, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 whole clove and a bit of vanilla. It was perfect, just the way I like it!!!...

Remember to use your molinillo in the end, to make that fantastic foam which is the main characteristic of Mexican Hot Chocolate!

Feliz Navidad

Feliz Navidad!

I hope you have a great time with your family and friends on these holidays!
May all your wishes come true!

George Brown is over!..

So.... my first course of Baking Arts certificate is over, and the last couple of weeks pass by so quickly I didn't even have time to post all the incredible recipes I've learned. I really enjoyed it and can't wait for my next classes to begin in January!! I'll be taking "The Art of Breads" and "The Art of Cookies". It will be a tough 3 months as on top of everything I am starting my new job and I am sure I'll be pretty busy trying to bake delicious breads while at the same time learning lots of new things!.. I guess it will be pretty challenging, but life is full of that; once you find yourself too comfortable, Change has to happened and move your comfort zone just a little, to make it interesting again!..

Anyways, all of you who are really thinking of taking a good cooking course I would really tell you to go for it, I believe the cooking course I took at George Brown was really good, lots of great practice and also eye opening as you keep learning and learning. There were a couple of basic recipes but nevertheless the teacher always had tips for us that I didn't really know about. Anyways .. I am getting ready for the holidays and will be traveling to Mexico for a couple of days. I'll promise to take tons of pictures so you can really get to see the amazing food as well as all the interesting places you can find there!.