Christina’s Orange & Thyme infused Croissant
Jacob’s Very Round Pistachio Nougat
These photos were taken between the hours of 4pm, Saturday March 30th and 2am, Easter Sunday, the 31st – during holiday pastry and bread production. Alen and I are extremely lucky to have a very talented, skillful and eager team of cooks and bakers that perform at a very high level, because it seems that everywhere I look, I find beautiful and interesting things to photograph. With such a proficient team, we can truly produce a wide variety of products including plated dessert components, pastry, confections, bread, viennoiserie and chocolate.
On this day, our production kitchen was in operation for 24 hours, when normally there are a couple of hours in between shifts. However, when we were leaving at 2:15am, our early morning Bakery Finishing team was arriving to prepare for Easter – and we returned at 10am as they were finishing their shifts.
10pm-Icing-Cookies
Between 4pm and 8pm:
Between 8pm and 10:30pm:
Between 10:30 and 2am:
We are celebrating Valrhona’s newest addition to their line of “blonde” chocolates, Dulcey! We left Valrhona’s two day New Americana class completely inspired and ready to try out the new caramelized white chocolate in ways that were thoughtful and most of all, delicious – and we hope that we have inspired some of our readers to try out Valrhona Dulcey, as well!
Dulcey Viennoise
First, we folded the Dulcey into a sweet and soft viennoise bread – the extra-caramelized chocolate chunks on the outside were fantastic- and the interior pockets of sweet caramel were out of control! Here’s the process!
To compliment our viennoise, we prepared a traditional dulce de leche, and emulsified Valrhona Dulcey chocolate into it to create a super caramelized milk jam, that we called “Dulcey de Leche.” The concentrated caramelized milk flavors were sublime, and the shine and texture of the spread were exactly what we had hoped for. You can find the recipe here!
“Dulcey” de Leche
All in all, we can say that our “Project Dulcey” was a success, and we are so happy to have shared it here. Next, Project Opalys!
Dulcey Dégustation
Alen and I left the Valrhona New Americana class completely inspired and ready to put Dulcey chocolate to the test. On the ride home to Los Angeles, we were brainstorming, and came up with a great collaborative idea, which we dubbed our “Dulcey Project.”
The first part of the collaboration was to create a beautiful soft breakfast bread incorporating Valrhona’s newest chocolate addition, Dulcey. This “blonde” chocolate is sweet and milky with soft and creamy caramel notes that just don’t quit. We figured that tucking into a fresh warm viennoise with chunks of caramelized chocolate wouldn’t be a bad start to our morning, even if it wasn’t a total success.
Unfortunately, none of the Dulcey Viennoise even made it long enough to last for breakfast. The toasted and roasted flavor of the chocolate intensified the sweet richness of the bread, and some chocolate pieces became even more caramelized as it baked. The viennoise and Dulcey complimented each other perfectly.
Alen began by roughly chopping the Dulcey in the robot-coupe to create chocolate chunks to incorporate into the dough. After that, gathering mise en place and getting ready to mix. Our viennoise is a simple rich dough with plenty of milk, eggs and butter, along with flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
Shaping 300g loaves
Next, after about an hour proofing, we egg wash, score and top with pearl sugar, which provides a great contrasting crrrrunch to the soft bread.
Finally, we bake at 325F, high fan for around 14 minutes. The finished product is golden with extra caramelized pieces of Dulcey chooclate peeping through the crust.
Finished Dulcey Boule
After the tortuous wait for the bread to cool, we sliced one of the boules to find our treasure – the Dulcey had melted slightly to create caramelized chocolate pockets throughout the crumb. Now, onto the second leg of our Dulcey journey – creating the ultimate “Dulcey de Leche” spread for our amazing viennoise! Stay tuned for the Valrhona Dulcey Project, Part Deux!
The rich, light and fruity bread that the Milanese call pan del ton, which translates to “bread of luxury” is what we, here in the US, commonly refer to as panettone. I like to think of it as my little holiday bonus – a true luxury and Christmas tradition for Alen and I. Every year, as Christmas approaches, I begin to dream of thick slices of panettone, my all time favorite bread.
Alen begins to macerate fruit for our panettone a couple of weeks before we mix. Candied orange and lemon peel, golden and dark sultanas and when we feel like it, candied chestnuts, all get to know each other in a sweet syrup, spiked with orange blossom water and dark rum. Just like at the holiday office party, a little booze goes a long way, and before you know it, everybody’s best friends. We also add chunks of dark chocolate to our panettone, but not until the mixing begins.
Panettone Dough
Once we’ve mixed the dough, the fermentation process takes the most time – 15-20 hours, depending on the temperature of the room and of the dough. The benefit to such a long fermentation is a beautiful marriage of flavors as well as a light, airy and moist crumb.
When we are ready to bake, the risen dough gets topped with a soft croustillant, which will bake into a crusty, crunchy crust – and will serve as a barrier to keep the moisture inside of the bread, once it is baked, in order to prolong the shelf life of the panettone. We garnish with whole almonds and pearl sugar and we are ready to bake!
Ready to Bake
When the panettone comes out of the oven, it is important to preserve the integrity of that light airy structure that we worked so hard to develop. Large breads like this will quickly deflate and sink, which will lead to a dense final product. The solution is to hang the fresh from the oven panettones upside down until they are completely cool – and have no chance of collapsing. The hanging loaves are giant Christmas ornaments, ready to be unwrapped and treasured.
Hang Time
Waiting for them to cool is a painstaking practice of patience – but so worth it in the end. The scent of citrus and orange blossom with roasted almonds, dark chocolate and rum raisins mingling with freshly baked sweet, buttery bread is absolutely divine – and the taste is well worth the wait. And speaking of waiting - only 9 months to go until it’s time once again to begin the beautiful process of our panettone. Already dreaming of this year’s holiday bonus!!!
The freshly baked peanut butter brioche is golden brown and has a rich scent redolent of roasted peanuts. The sugar and Maldon sea salt create a crunchy exterior and a beautifully textured crust.
The very first thing I noticed was how delicate the finished product was – the boulettes felt weightless when I removed them from their baking tray. I made the assumption that the peanut butter would ultimately create a more dense, flavorful product, but the texture of the crumb was incredibly soft and airy.
The peanut flavor of the brioche is even better than I had hoped for – unmistakably nutty with a salty and sweet crunch. And finally, the moment I had been waiting for – slathering my peanut butter brioche with thick, fruity, berry jam to create a sophisticated PB&J, which was just the best ever.
After letting the dough rest in the cooler overnight, we are ready to shape.
The dough feels firm and smooth, but gets soft quickly. Its golden color is darker than a traditional brioche with beautiful speckles of peanut throughout. We scaled several different sizes and shapes – from 30g boulettes to 300g loaves and even mini brioche à tête.
The fragrance of roasted peanuts is quite strong, which gave me the idea to garnish the dough with granulated sugar and Maldon sea salt to give the finished product a sweet & savory flavor.
