BRIOCHE

Yet another French classic, for breakfast this time. Patisserie this past week was decicated to the study of Brioche & Croissants (in a separate post) come from very rich dough ie heavy use of butter. The MoC involves yeast & the fermenting process, which I find fascinating . The fat content is so high the dough 'feels' oily in your hands after proving. While it is not our staple at home, my recollection is brioches in Hong Kong are a bit sweet, like so many bakery items. They are not sweet here, at all. According to the recipe eggs & butter are the key ingredients aside from flour, sugar is not. We made the 3 typical brioche presentations : Brioche Parisienne - the individual round ones at the front; Brioche Nanterre - in a loaf tin at the back with pearl sugar garnish; and Brioche Plaits - on the left. Speaking of Plaits, the difficulty ladder starts at 3 then 4, 5 & 6 like braiding. Slow in digital manipulation, I could only manage 3 plaits as shown, and watched with envy as my young friends did 6 plaits leisurely.

Chef Michael is a 'Purist' when it comes to the classics, it is wonderful to witness his total commitment to teach the traditional methods. I am 101% on his wave length as his approach mirrors my own mentoring of young consultants over the years, in exactly the same way as I was taught when I first joined the business as a 'professional greenhorn'. Like consulting, there are tons of reasons why things are done a certain way. This is how knowledge is passed on, and how experience is consolidated into further knowledge, and there really should not be 'ifs & buts' especially from those coming into the field for the first time. I am therefore surprised by how some classmates would 'do their own thing' instead. While creativity should absolultely be encouraged in both Patisserie & Cuisine, but in a Basic Course? The moment we long for in Patisserie mornings is 945am ie 'breakfast' before the class ends at 10am. We get to eat the Chef's demo creations. Brioches taste best as they come out fresh from the oven - as that beautiful bakery scent lingers - and they should be served warm, with jam and for the die hards, more butter. That said, if there is a choice, my vote will go to Croissants.