Culinary School: Frying hamburgers, Baking Pizzas and Baking Tarts
Awesome junk food week in culinary school: we baked over 30 pizzas, made hamburgers from scratch and baked off 10 tarts. That was a lot of food and it was all so amazingly good.
Pizzas
Chef Mark Waltz came in and did a pizza workshop with us. We fermented the dough for two days, prepped garnishes, cut & shaped pizzas and then baked those off.
#1 Fermenting Dough: We made pizzadough by combining 50lbs bag of flour, 16qt temped water, 7oz active dry yeast, 1lb salt and 28oz of yesterday’s dough. We then let it ferment covered for 2–3 days.
#2 Dividing the Dough: We cut off 9.5oz pieces of dough and shaped them into balls. We then let them rise covered on an oiled surface for 1–2h. This should be done refrigerated overnight.
#3 Prepping additions and garnishes: we were making traiditional Rome & Naples pizzas and that determined our garnishes. Some highlights:
- Sausage: 2lbs of pork shoulder ground with salt, ground fennel seeds, garlic, black peppers, chili flakes and a splash of white wine.
- Tomato sauce: We combined 2x 12qt canned tomatoes, half bunch of basil, 1.5tsp dried oregano and 4oz olive oil. We then used an immersion blunder until chunky consistency. Each pizza got ~3Oz of sauce and it was so good.
- Chanterelle mushrooms: We trimmed off dark bits and tore vertically by hand. We then S&P sauteed those until cooked.
#4 Shaping a pizza: Taking the fermented dough balls we tapped in a spiral from the center->out making sure to move all air bubbles to the rim without actually touching the rim. Using our knuckles we then spun the pizza around stretching it.
#5 The zen of Pizza garnishes: Pizza is all about balancing moisture. Too little moisture and the bottom burns before you get beautiful browning on on top. Too much moisture and the pizza is soggy.
#6 Garnish, bake and finish: we garnished the pizzas and then baked them off until golden brown and the cheese was a bit browned. It took us 5–8m in 600°F deck ovens including spinning half-way. After the pizza came out of the oven we added finishes (minced herbs, gremolata, etc) and sliced.
Puff Pastry and Tarts
Chef Nicole Plue came in and did a puff pastry workshop with us. We made quick/rough/blitz puff pastry with butter mixed in directly with the dough and then turned. We also made full puff pastry with the butter block wrapped in dough and then turned.
This was my first time making full puff pastry and here’s how we did it:
- Make dough and let rest. Also called “Detrempe” or “dough packet”. We added a bit (8g) of lemon juice to the dough to make sure it doesn’t oxidize and turn greyish.
- Make butter block. Also called “Beurrage”. Prepare transparent painter’s paper or a double folded saran wrap. Cut butter in equal height pieces and form a square withthe various pieces on the saran wrap. With a rolling pin hit the butter block until pieces of butter combine. Roll out butter while maintaining a square.
- Roll out the dough. We’re trying to make an elongated rectangle that could completely cover the butter block. So the dough should have the same length as the butter block (we leave the butter exposed on one side). The width of the dough rectnagle should be twice the width of the butter block + the height of the butter block so it perfectly wraps around it.
- Place butter block inside dough: seal and start rolling out. Get a point where you can do an envelope or book turn and roll out as usual. Let rest every 2 turns.
Burgers, Fries and Onion Rings
We made Burger Patties by grinding up two kinds of beef (1:1 chuck:brisket) and combining with 1.5tsp salt : 1lb meat. Without working the ground beef we divided it into 5oz patties, made an indent in the center, S&P and fried on both sides until ready.
Why mix two cuts of beef? By using two kinds of beef we ended up with better texture then any single cut yields.
We double fried French Fries.
Double Frying French Fries? We first blanched the french fries in 300°F oil until they were just cooked (i.e. not raw). We then drained the oil and put the fries in the freezer to set the starches and draw out moisture. Finally we deep fried them in 375°F oil until deep golden brown.
We deep fried our own Onion Rings.
How to make onion rings? Dunk in seasoned buttermilk and then dredge in 4:1:1 mixture of AP flour : rice flour : potato starch. Season both the buttermilk and dredge with salt, garlic powder and paprika. Deep fry at 350°F.
We made our own Burger Buns. They were as fluffy as a kitten. Since beef burgers are pretty fatty (20%) we kept the buns pretty light on fat (butter and eggs).
How to make Burger Buns? combine 1cup 110°F water, 1tbsp instant yeast, 3.5cups ap flour, 2tbsp butter, 1 egg and 1/4 cup sugar until dough is shiny. Let rise covered in oiled bowl until doubled in size. Divide to 8oz pieces and let rise covered until doubled in size. Brush with melted butter and bake on 375°F for 15–18m until internal temp 190°F. Once out brush with butter again and cut 1cm above bottom almost all the way to the back.
Read more about my experiences in culinary school by reading about last week’s classes:
