I have started the only class in my curriculum that I’ll plainly admit I was not looking forward to.  Baking.

Why?

Because baking is S-L-O-W as shit.

Snails.  Catsup moving to the bottom of the bottle.  Your dog finding the perfect place to crap.  Waiting for a man to ask for directions.  These things are all faster than baking.

In culinary we are constantly going, moving, planning, adjusting- the time clock starts, you’re moving till the bitter end, and that rush becomes quite addictive after a while.  You get good at “eyeballing” what you need, more because saving time is a necessity than anything else.

It’s a total high when the pasta you were making for your practical final seizes up on you with only 45 minutes left, and you need figure out a new starch complimentary to your about-to-be-graded-worth-100-points-plate (yup that’s this girl right here last Thursday, ended up making a saffron and machego risotto, it was quite delightful to be honest, I’d make it again).  Regardless, you get my point.

And then oh wait, here’s a brick wall, slam your face into it a few times and welcome to baking.

Where everything is meticulously measured, and it’s very hard to “fix” something once a single element is out of line.  Ok I’m good at the meticulous measuring part, but that’s not the point.

However.  After three days I’ll say I’m fascinated.  Which is a huge leap from my complete and udder disinterest Monday morning.  Looking back it may also have been caused by a deplorable lack of coffee, but who’s counting.

I’m finding there is a lot more science behind baking (duh), but it allows me to predict the result of what I make by small tweaks in technique.  Now that, is fun.

I know there’s a select crowd that would like this to be a lot more in-depth.  And I will oblige you, from the creaming method to yeast to the secret behind artisan bread.

But not this night precious, not this night.  Frankly, they need their separate posts.

And you’re damn skippy I baked those loafs in the picture.