Sweet Time News
Volume 3, Issue 1, June 2008
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Home Baker's Pastry Tip
by Flora Lazar
Chicago Baker Places at Top of Coupe du Monde
Chicago’s pastry community again saw some familiar faces at the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, the world’s most prestigious team bread-baking competition, recently concluded outside Paris. For the second consecutive competition, the three-person American team has included a breakfast pastry specialist from Chicago.
Following on the heels of Evanston’s Jorie Downer, member of the defending gold-medal American team, North Side baker Peter Yuen kept Chicago’s pastry community in the international baking spotlight. Although Yuen’s team missed medaling by a small margin, his pastries scored among the top four in the breakfast pastry category of this tri-annual event, thus earning him a berth at the individual competition in 2010. The Hong Kong native, a veteran of several high-end Chicago hotels, opened his own French-Asian fusion bakery, La Patisserie P, in 2004.
Chicago’s bread bakers form part of a strong U.S. presence on the international bread baking scene. After upsetting the 1996 French team in the baguette category – one of the three categories in the overall competition and the one most associated with the French – the American team went on to win the overall gold for the first time in 1999, stunning the international baking world. With Evanston’s Downer, part of a family of bakers, the Americans took the gold again in 2005.
Even if Chicago had to relinquish its claim to an international bread-baking medal in 2008, all was not entirely lost in the medal department for oven-proud Chicagoans. One of the pastry community’s adoptive son’s, Pierre Zimmerman, whose annual bread class at The French Pastry School has become something of a Chicago institution, helped coach the French team to its first victory in over a decade. It was the first French victory since the Alsatian boulanger, himself, wore the blue, white, and red for his country in the 1996 competition.
The Coupe du Monde was established in 1992 to reawaken interest in artisan baking and share knowledge with other artisan bakers.
This year’s spectators got plenty of new ideas. Yuen, himself, created a spectacular raspberry brioche with pistachio marzipan and marscapone cream that drew plenty of attention. Designed to impress the world’s leading bakers, who judged the competition, the recipe can actually be broken down into some simple steps for the home cook. Most can be done ahead of time and kept on hand for last-minute assembly.
Only the brioche demands special attention. With its high butter content – almost equal to the amount of flour – the brioche can appear menacing at first, but an overnight rest in the refrigerator not only develops the flavor of the brioche but works wonders for handling.
As with all breads, mixing times are approximate and will vary depending on the speed of your mixer. But in general, brioche mixes longer than most bread. For this reason, it is important to start with cold ingredients as the heat of the mixer is not lost on the dough. To test whether the dough has absorbed the butter properly and has fully developed its gluten structure, break off a small piece of dough and stretch it gently with both hands. If you can stretch the dough into an almost translucent sheet, this will be your signal that the dough is ready for its first rise.
Take note of (and don’t munch on) the pistachio marzipan, which Yuen rolls into the dough through a version of the folding technique used in so-called “laminated” doughs, such as croissants and puff pastry. This marzipan is just a variation on the classic almond marzipan and the same recipe can also be used to create a fresher and less expensive almond marzipan than is commonly available commercially.
To make the marzipan, Yuen uses a product called Trimoline, which, like honey and corn syrup, is an “invert sugar.” These sweeteners, widely used in confections, help retain moisture and retard the formation of sugar crystals, thus prolonging the life of a product. Trimonline is useful for a variety of candies and can be purchased in small quantities from Lepicerie.com. Honey or corn syrup can also be substituted.
Your imagination is the only limit in forming the brioche. Yuen formed his Coupe du Monde brioche into triangles and then cut incisions in each corner to make three tiny strips that he braided. If you have a dozen or so single-serving dessert forms in virtually any shape, let the pastries, once rolled and cut, remain in the molds to rise and bake. Molds in various shapes can be ordered from PastryChef.com However, the brioche can easily rise and bake without a mold. They will have a rougher, more rustic feel.
Flora Lazar is a graduate of The French Pastry School and is currently producing a documentary film about the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (Best Pastry Chefs in France) competition.