Marscafe Home     CHEF MARS' KITCHEN TRAINING MANUAL
  THE PASTRY SHOP - PART I

QUICK FINDER

| Flour Usage | The Shop Itself | Equipment| Small Equipment | Utensils | Ingredients |
| Leaveners | Shortners & Fats | Sweetners| Cooking Sugar| Flavorings | Glazes |
| Nuts & Nut Pastes | Dried & Preserved Fruits | Fondant | Gelatin |

MISSION STATEMENT

The Pastry Shop is where we produce the wide variety of different sweet doughs, confections, desserts and pastries consumed in the hotel. This varried production is accomplished by the manipulation and combinations of the basic ingredients utilized here such as flour, sugar, butter, fat, eggs and flavorings. Note that as flour, sugar and fats come in a variety of classifications, mastering their characteristics is a "must" part of pastry shop training.l.
    PASTRY SHOP
    This area will also supply non-sweet items, which are referred to as "savory" doughs. These are salt dough products, and usually used for appetizers or "Hors-d'Oeuvres" examples are.....
    ............
    • Pâte â choux (choux paste)
    • Pâte brisée (shortcrust)
    • Pâte dough
    • and more

    A major difference between the Pastry Shop and the Bakery is how the flour is handled and the subsequent dough is worked. In the bakery we want to develop the gluten present in the wheat flour but in the pastry shop our goal is "normally" just the opposite. Here gluten development will produce tough doughs and cakes, not tender and soft like we want. Below are some other differences between the Bakery and Pastry Shop.........
    .................
    • Generally more shortening is incorporated into the doughs and mixes to produce more tender and mosit products.
    • To leaven the products we rely more on the technique of "creaming" of sugar with eggs, using more eggs than in the bakery and combing with another technique called "folding" which helps maintain the air that has been incorporated into via the creaming process.
    • Here we also will use more types of sugar and sweeteners and in greater quantities.
    • Very little use of the high gluten bread flour.
    • Much more use of cake and pastry flour with more reliance on industrial mixes.

    FLOUR USEAGE TABLE
    PRODUCTCORRECT FLOUR TO USE
    BreadHigh Protein = Bread Flour
    CakesLow Protein = Cake Flour
    PastriesMedium Protein = Pastry Flour
    MuffinsLow Protein = Cake Flour
    Danish PastriesMedium Protein = Pastry Flour
    Eclair Paster (choux)High Protein = Bread Flour
    Puff PastryHigh Protein = Bread Flour
    BiscuitsMedium Protein = Pastry Flour


    IMPORTANT GENERAL INFORMATION
    Remember what you have learned and have been instructed about the need to be very Exact when working in the Bake Shop areas. Accurate measurements and correct handling of the ingredients and equipment and the goals in this section and a necessary to succeed here. On top of this, the pastry shop is more demanding in regards to cleanliness and organization. You must work clean here and in a peaceful manner. Befor you begin a preparation get all your ingredients ready........
    .......
    • weighed
    • measure

    and all the equipment needed to complete the recipe, including any preheating of ovens.


THE SHOP ITSELF
    GENERAL INFORMATIO N
    The Pastry Shop in the hotel is a special section of the BAKE SHOP department. Equipment of course is shared with the bakery. However the pastry cooks and chefs require a few more specialized materials, and most important a cool, dry room. One that is air conditioned is the best. This is needed for chocolate, delicate and intricate decorating, and sugar work. Like the bakery, a peaceful environment is very conducive to high quality work.
    EQUIPMENT
    • Large Equipment
      • 60-80 quart floor mixer
        for large scale mixing, whipping and blending
      • 20 quart mixer / bench model
        for all types of whipping and mixing work
      • 5 quart mixer / bench model
        for small quantities of specialize work
      • Proofing cabinet or box
        Moist proof or "ferment or rise" the dough
      • floor sheeter and / or bench sheeter
        for rolling various doughs (puff, danish, cookie) / is more crucial in pastry work than bakery work.
      • Rotary oven with roll in racks and steam
        the principal baking oven in the bake shop; gas fired, electronically controlled
      • convection ovens
        for all forms of baking cakes and pastries
      • 5 gallon steam kettle
        for making milk and cream based sauces and heating or cooking almost anything with a steam jacket. Multi purpose and extremely useful. for all forms of baking cakes and pastries rapidly
      • candy stove
        melting sugar and controling the temperature
      • ice cream / sorbet machine
        to make those fresh hard to get flavors


    • Small Equipment
      • Baker's scale
        for "scaling" or weighing ingredients. Beam scale is preferred.
      • Measuring cups and spoons
        for volumetric measuring, which also is important
      • Strainers
        for removing foreign particles and lumps from liquids and purees
      • Chinois Strainer
        for making very fine sauces and purees
      • Rolling baker's racks
        make sure you have plenty to go along with the sheet pans
      • sheet pans
        full and half sizes; needed in great quantities, both for actual baking and preparation also
      • Stainless Steel bowls
        non reactive and many sizes to suit the need
      • Assorted Forms and Molds
        pie, cake, rings, spring form pans, tart molds (loose bottomed), torten rings, etc.
      • Rolling pins
        2 or 3 sizes
      • dredges
        for sprinkling powder sugar and cocoa powder
      • Odds & Ends

        cake dividersrevolving cake decorating standchocolat-fondant funnelheat lamp for sugar work
        copper sugar potflour sieves
        fine and medium mesh
        candy tdermometer        		chocolate-fondant funnelmarble slab for sugar work
        mandolineassorted siftershydrometercoating racks

    • Utensils
      • Knives
        • pairing knife
        • palette knife (offset handle type)
        • bread knife
        • carvi ng knife
        • large chopping knife
        • filleting knife
      • Brushes
        Get best quality paint brush style.
        • round
        • various widths rectangular
          4 inch, 3 inch, 2 inch, 1 inch
      • Pastry bags and Tubes
        best are the plastic lined and well stitched. For fine work purchase a complete cake decorating set of tubes and bags with nylon quick change tip. Get stainless steel tubes in various sizes and styles like;

        OPEN STAR TIPS CLOSED STAR TIPS FLUTED TIPS PLAIN TIPS

      • stainless steel whip or whisk
        to make egg washes and other liquid preparations
      • 6 wheel adjustable dough divider
        for cutting 5 equal sized strips of dough at the same time
      • Roller Docker
        for perforating doughs
      • Pastry wheel
        a pizza cutter for trimming dough items
      • Chocolate forks
        necessary for dipping chocolates
      • Wooden Spoons
        various sizes for mixing without discoloring milk based sauces
      • Plastic Spatulas / scrappers
        for hygienically cleaning out bowls and mixes
      • Cutters
        fluted set and plain set


    INGREDIENTS
    As mentioned before, one of the primary goals of the pastry shop training course is to understand the proper handling and use of the ingredients. This is one of the main objectives of this section on ingredients.

    • FLOUR
    • General Information
      To repeat because of it's importance, the main thrust here is that unlke the bakery shop here we use a lot of cake and pastry flours, low and medium gluten content flours respectively. Gluten developlment is NOT the goal here, but light and tender products.

    • LEAVENERS
      • General Information
        Here we depend a lot on the physical leaveners mentioned previously in the bakery. Utilizing the creaming technique and the folding method to incroporate the "capture" air, many of the light cakes and doughs are produced. Also there is a utiliztion of the chemical agents in some recipes such as cake mixes.


  • SHORTENERS and FATS
    • General Information
      Here once again we will be using more quantities than in the bakery, and greater varieties. Shorteneing is crucial in helping the flour in the mixes to slide or expand easily. Once again these fats serve as lubricants, but since we usually do not have the luxury of yeast to insure the expanding, the function of shorteners is much more crucial here.


  • SWEETENERS { BACK TO COLD KITCHEN }

    • General Information
      More important than in the bakery, sugars of all types and sweeteners play a major role, and why shouldn't they. Remember that this is the department that produces the sweet desserts for the hotel. The art of sugar molding and the criticial importance of using a thermometer when heating sugar (and chocolate) to the recipes specified point is a criticial point that you must understand and execute.

    • Cooking Sugar
      The cooking of sugar requires a lot of attention and quick reactions. You must begin with as clean and pure a sugar as is possible and use a very heavy bottomed sauce pan, copper is the best. What happens is that as the temperature of the cooking sugar rises there occur different degrees of crystallization. The terminology is based on this. What happens does so quickly as the various stages are close together in the temperature range.

      { more infromation}
      • The Sequence of sugar Boiling........
        ..........
        1. A sugar syrup( 3 parts sugar to 1 part water)of water and sugar must be prepared. Make sure the sugar is completely dissovled.
        2. Place apn over heat and bring to a boil, skimming off the impurities which rise to the surface.
        3. Clean sides of pan less frequently. Use a damp, clean pastry brush for this scum removal which has collected on the sides.
        4. DO NOT stir while boiling sugar or you will cause crystals to form and will lower hte quality of the end product and make it grainy.
        5. When you start see small bubbles close together you have reached the "beware" stage. The sugar is now "cooking".
        6. From here on out you must pay a lot of attention and be ready to act quickly to stop the sugar at the "stage" or temerature and hardness you require.
        7. NOTE; it is prudent to have a bowl of Ice Water near-by when handling cooking sugar. This will allow you to cool the hot syrup at once for whatever reason


      {return to fondant}
      SUGAR COOKING STAGES
      STAGEDEGREETEMP. RANGE F.TEMP. RANGE C.DESCRIPTION
      ThreadFirst230-234110-115The sugar syrup dropped into ice water forms a coarse thread.
      Soft ballSecond234-240115-116The sugar syrup dropped into ice water forms a ball but falttens out when picked up with fingers.
      Firm ballthird242-248116-120The sugar syrup dropped into ice water forms a ball that holds it's shape unless presed.
      Hard ballfourth250-268121-131The sugar syrup dropped into ice water forms a holds shape well but is still malleable.
      Soft crackfifth270-290132-143The sugar syrup dropped into ice water will divide into still malleable hard threads.
      Hard cracksixth300-310149-154The sugar syrup dropped into ice water will divide into hard, brittle threads. Once the sugar has reached this stage it needs to be watched very closely because it passes rapidly into the caramel stage.
      Caramelized sugarnone310-338155 The sugar syrup acheives it's golden brown color in just a few seconds more. When cooled is brittle and breaks easily. Once past this temperature it will begin to burn, blacken and stink up the pastrty shop.


      Notes
      The professional pastry chef or cook will use instruments to help control the sugar cooking process. They will help identify the different degrees, densities, Baumé Scales or stages.To be sucessful you must.....
      ..............
      1. Use high quality sugar only.
      2. Follow the instructions for boiling the sugar carefully
      3. Be alert and ready to act quickly to stop thwe cooking as the interval between stages are short.


      • Sugar Cooking Instruments........
        ..........
        1. Saccharometer or Baumé
          cannot read beyond the "ball" stages.
        2. Candy Thermometer
          212-347 degrees F. (100-17 5 C.)
  • FLAVORINGS
    • General Information
      As stated previously, flavorings are used more in the pastry shop than the bakery.
  • GLAZES
    • General Information
      These gelatinized sweet jelly-like products function to seal in freshness , maintain mositure in the glazed products and improve eye appeal and presentation. They also contribute flavor depending on their origin (see below) so make the selection thoughtfully. Very important in pastry "finishing" especially in open faced fruit tarts, pies, various cakes and danish. They need to be ungelatinized by gentle warming, then they are usually appled with clean pastry brushes and light strokes This product is almost always purchased and comes in bulk tubs. Can be easily made in pastry shop if required. The three types we will deal with are ....
      ....
      Fruit glazes - Check to make sure that there are no seeds. Raspberry glaze often comes with seeds. to remove seeds, hwat gently till glaze is liquid and strain. Brush on with clean pastry brush and allow to cool.....
      ....
      Clear glazes - These have no color nor flavor and serve seal and maintain freshness....
      ....
      Apricot glazes - The most commonluyused glaze. The color ranges from light amber to clear, with a distinct apricto flavor.

  • NUTS & NUT PASTES
    • General Information
      These are used with some frequency in pastry work, more so in ice cream confection. Pistachio is one of the most common ones. Also quite famous is the almond paste preparation called........
      .......
      "Marzipan". which is simply sliced blanched almonds which have been smashed into a paste with the aid of sugar and sometimes eggwhites to take up the almond oil released on pounding. The normal ratio is about 2 parts almonds to 1 part sugar. The sugar percentage varries depending on the usage, with "Molding" marzipan having a lower sugar content than "eating" marzipan.. Marzipan is most frequently used for decoration and for the production of miniature fruits and animals. It is easily colored, flavored, shaped and hand molded.

  • DRIED & PRESERVED FRUITS
    • General Information
      Utilized with frequency; candied fruits being most used. Other examples are dried apricots, dried apples, dried cherries, raisins and prunes.


  • FONDANT
    • General Information
      This is a type of sugar product with many, many used in the pastry shop. For glazing purposes it should be heated to 98 degrees F, no more or no less. It is basically a syrup of sugar and water, cooked to the soft ball stage and then while cooling, poured out onto a marble or slate slab and vigorously worked with a spatula until it turns opaque white in color and smooth in texture. Fondant can be colored very easily and flavored also. Flavorings such as chocolate, liquers, coffee, and other essences and concentrates can be used. Left over and dried out fondant can be added to cocolate fondant. Fondant left in the sauce pan from one day to the next should be mositened with hot water (do not disturb while softening) for a few minutes before warming. Now fondant is almost always purchased commercially and like marzipan comes in varying qualities. A sample recipe would be

      "fondant recipe"
      • 910 grams of granulated or cube sugar
      • 110 grams of water
      • as an option, a pich of cream of tartar.
      • heat until the sugar reaches the soft ball stage as described above.


      Fondant Icing can also produced using glucose with a typical recipe being

      Glucose fondant recipe
      • 5.5 lbs of granulated or cube sugar
      • 2.25 pints of water
      • 100 grams glucose.
      • heat until the sugar reaches the soft ball stage as described above.

  • GELATIN
    • General Information
      There are two types of this thickening agent with used in the pastry shop. On contact with cold water it expands and swells and on contact with hot water forms a viscous liquid that jellies upon cooling if it has been handled properly.
      Caution, do not boil for long periods as it will lose it's ability to jell.

      powdered gelatin
      This needs to be softened in a little bit cold water first, and then warmed to dissolve the gelatin and then it can be added to the warm product you wish to "'gel" or thicken upon cooling. One American envelope contains 8 grams.

      sheet gelatin
      The preferred and easier to use of the two. The sheets are placed in a bowl of cold water for a few minutes, then the excess water is gently squeezed out of the sheets and the sheets can be directly stirred into the warm liquid. Stir until completly dissolved. A sheet weighs 2 grams.

[Go to the top of this page]