The last few days got away from me! Now here it is Thanksgiving, and I haven’t said Happy Thanksgiving to you, I haven’t posted any Thanksgiving recipes, or recipe round-ups. Oh well. This Thanksgiving is different, of course. I’ve been busy with pastry school (and staging at a company I want to work for!) And I’m not spending Thanksgiving with my family this year, so there’s no need to come up with four different pie recipes.
So, Happy Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for all of you out there. Thank you for reading and making me smile! I hope you all have a great day with your loved ones! Eat lots of turkey and torfurkey for me.
I’m going to quickly recap what happened over the past few days. On Monday at school, I only took ONE picture (above – French bread and marble pound cake). I was out of it. I’ve had bad jaw/ear pain on the right side of my face for the past five days. I don’t know what it is. I think it might be a tooth, but I’m not sure because my teeth don’t hurt at all. I can’t chew my food. So bread is especially difficult to eat.
Anyway, on Tuesday we made challah bread out of brioche dough. The French call is Tresse….
Covered in sucre grain.
We also made pain au chocolate using croissant dough. So much fun! Eeee. I love pain au chocolate; it reminds me of my days in France.
This is a French country bread we made.
On Wednesday we started the day off right with some cinnamon buns! I think these are the prettiest cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made. Even Chef came by and complimented them.
They’re filled with a sweet almond pastry cream, cinnamon, and toasted pecans.
One more picture. I can’t get enough.
We made croissant again. I think these look better than the first batch.
We made more Danish, too. I filled mine with pastry cream but left the pear off this time.
Covered in glaze and sucre grain. That was my idea.
And here we have a beautiful loaf of sourdough, using our starter we made in class.
I haven’t tasted this one yet. Maybe we’ll have it for Thanksgiving dinner.
Last, we have a multi-grain seed bread.
Can you believe we made all of that yesterday? Geez…
Now we’re off two days, then start a new subject for two weeks, Then it’s test time, then graduation week!
Have a good day! Be safe!
Re the jaw pain: Do you have TMJ? (Google it if you haven't heard of it). Despite the pain you were in,the photographs are extraordinary. Sigh..now I see the difference in technique between 'professionals' and 'non-professionals.'
ReplyDeleteI think my dad has TMJ, so it's possible. Would it be on both sides though? I'll have to do some research. Thanks for the tip!
DeleteYour croissants looks perfect. I'm wondering how big your triangles have to be to make so many turns.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a mellow Thanksgiving :)
Hey Julie! They were pretty big. I really stretched them too. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.
DeleteStretching them is fine, even encouraged! You did a good job :)
DeleteEmily your bread is beautiful and you have truly found your calling! I love that you are so passionate about school (and bread!). Ive recently gotten into bread-making, clearly NOTHING like what you're doing, but it's fun. Yeast, dough, it's so fun creating. I love all your pics from your bread days in school!
ReplyDeleteHi Averie! Thanks for the sweet comment! Bread baking is so much fun. The school has a bread baking program if you're interested.
DeleteI was thinking TMJ too. With all that bread you've been eating, you might have just stressed out the muscles in your jaw. The breads, and the cinnamon rolls, look great. Yum, yum.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, you could be right! I've been eating chewy bread for two week straight! I stopped about four days ago, but my jaw still hurts. Thank you!
DeleteAbout that pain - you need to get yourself to a dentist, girl!! Don't do it for yourself, do it for us! We can't have your amazing graduation pictures ruined by a chipmunk face!!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, you should go get it looked at in case it is something that needs to be taken care of. What if it's a wisdom tooth that's decided to come in wrong? The fact that you can't eat means it's not something to mess with. So get to the dentist fast! It would be terrible to have to go through any more pain and you don't want to ruin your last course OR your exams.
(Or those gorgeous grad pictures that we are all waiting anxiously to cheer wildly about!!)
Haha Linda, you're so funny. I'm not sure it's a tooth problem, so I hate to go to the dentist. It seems like it's more of a jaw or ear problem. Maybe I should go to a doctor? I don't have insurance so it's going to be expensive. But yes, you're right. I can rule out the wisdom teeth thing tho - had mine taken out already!
DeleteCan't wait for graduation! WHOO hoo!
This part of the course would be my favourite part - I love breads.
ReplyDeleteEmily, it really does sound like TMJ. Trouble chewing with no tooth pain is a clear symptom. (I work for an ear doctor and lots of folks come in convinced that they've got a raging ear infection and it turns out to be TMJ.) I've gotten it from time to time myself, mostly from gritting my teeth. It can be on one or both sides.
ReplyDeleteTry to eat a softer diet for a few days, no gum chewing, and try ibuprofen and warm compresses. As a last resort before you check with your dentist, if you're trying to put that off, a sports bite plate may help. If it doesn't start feeling better in a few days, however, you should see your dentist. You may need to see a dentist who specializes in TMJ, but your regular dentist would be your first stop.
Your photos are making me drool!
I will echo everyone's comments that you should see someone. If you don't see a dentist, than see an ENT doctor.
ReplyDeleteNot much to add about the bread. I think it all looks beautiful. I especially want your pain au chocolat.