The History and Art of French Patisserie and Bread Baking

  Dough before first round of proofing Dough Shaped and ready to bake Fully baked brioche

  Finished Meringue Fresh baked shells Final Product!

Today I was ready to take on a challenge. I was prepared to create something that is all about visuals, and of course some taste too. I decided to bake, arguably, the pinnacle of French pastry: The Macaron.  Quick Clarification:  A macaron is pastry with a base of almond flour (I told you it was a popular ingredient), and egg whites, sandwiched with a jam, chocolate or other type of filling. A macaroon also has a base of egg whites, but is a coconut flavored cookie, often dipped in chocolate, and popular during holidays.  Although they are very different, the names often get mixed up, with many Americans calling macarons macaroons and vice versa.  Macarons are beautiful. They are elegant and dainty and shiny and basically perfect. They have a glossy smooth shell, with delicately developed feet (the little rough part on the bottom), and a rich filling to tie it all together.  There is some debate about the origin of the macaron, but most people would agree it ac...

  Today I decided to take it back to a classic French pastry. But before I get into that, let’s talk about shoes. Actually that may be a little misleading. I’m going to talk about choux (which I’m pretty sure is pronounced the same). This extremely popular dough is used in a multitude of French pastries. It can be used for sweets such as profiteroles, eclairs, croquembouche, or beignets as well as savory hors d'oeuvres. It’s unique because it is baked, but before that also cooked on the stove.  The origin of Choux pastry, Pâte à choux in French, is believed to have come from a chef by the name of Pantenelli. He had been the head chef for Catherine de Medicci of Florence, but after moving to France in 1540 he created this thick, paste-like dough. It was called Choux (the french word for cabbage) because it spread quickly across France and took on the look of cabbage after baking.  Although it is used diversely, it is not necessarily what you would expect from a pastry. Ins...

Piping the Choux Pastry Choux pastry out of the oven Filling the Pastry Fully assembled Paris-Brest

  Completed Tart!  Tart Assembly

     With all of the preparation work I did yesterday, creating the shell, cream, and jam for the tart, I decided it was probably best to learn about the history of this classy dessert and also the many variations.  First, what makes a tart a tart, and not a pie, for example? Well it turns out the difference between a pie and a tart is somewhat muddled, and depending on where you are in the world you will get a different answer. Tarts are generally shallow and open faced pastries. They only have the shell on the bottom or the sides, and the fillings are baked only lightly, if at all. Modern tarts are generally sweet with fillings of fruit or custard. When you get a savory tart, it would probably be classified as a quiche, which are almost always savory and tend to have an egg and milk based filling. Pies can have crusts on the top and bottom, just a lattice crust on top, or just a bottom crust and can be sweet or savory, ranging from an American classic like apple pi...