Le Pain Francais Test 1 - Julia Child (French Bread)

This is my photo journal of the quest for the better home baked French Bread, baguettes, and the rest of the wonderful products that we can produce from the basic ingredients of flour, yeast, salt, and water.  Since I tested baking baguettes nine times in my kitchen, and only two are satisfactory.  It's time to start all over and find the right technique fit for my kitchen environment.  Again, just like Canneles de Bordeaux - simple ingredients, but the result of the product depends on the execution of all the steps involved in preparations and various techniques to produce the desire baked goods - the one I can really sink my teeth in and smile and say "that's Good."  There is only one thing that keeps me from baking in the summer is the baking temp -  450'F.  It's kind of crazy to turn the oven on to 450'F when it's still hitting 95' F outside.  But my gas bill is quite interestingly low in the summer and kitchen temperature is perfect for proofing the bread dough.  Got to do it.  I've tested several bread formula, but I decided on Julia Child's. Her TV show inspired me.  I have been watching Julia Child and Master Chef program on KVIE-2 channel and saw how effortlessly she prepared food in her home kitchen.  I found her French Bread - Pain Fraincais posted by ... my goodness, I don't have it saved..  I will properly give a proper credit later once I locate the blogsite, but the formula given according to this blogger is from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume Two by Julia Child and Simone Beck".  The procedures is very long... 3 - 4 pages long, but that's okay.  The more info the better.  So, this is Test 1 result.  Baked on Wednesday, 9/29/10.  The Test #2 I completed tonight 9/30/10 came out even better.  (Double click on the image to enlarge details.)

Fresh Sugar Covered French Toast - Baguettes #5

Baked Baguettes #5 and made French toast the next morning.  Flour, Yeast, Water, Salt - a wonder ingredients.

Ingredients:
Fresh baked baguettes in slices - 12 slices
1 Egg, beaten  (remove chalazae)
1 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tb sugar
1/4 C Sugar
Butter for cooking
Procedures:
Mix all ingredients with well beaten egg. 
Heat fry pan.  Add butter.
Dip and cover both sides of the bread 'lightly' with egg mixture.
Brown both sides.  Sprinkle with Sugar to serve.

My co-workers at the office loved it.

Fondant Birthday Cake - Lego Pharaoh

This is my very first special order Fondant cake.  My grandson chose one of his favorite Lego character from the lego.com and said, "I want this for my birthday cake."  So, he got it.  It's Lego Pharaoh.  Luckily on his 4th Birthday, he visited Lego Land, San Diego, California and gave me a Lego cake mold as a gift.  To plan and design the how to of the details was challenging since I have not yet had a chance to work with Fondant directly.  But I trusted my sight memory of how Fondant was handled and processed in the class, I set to work.
Ingredients and Tools:
Prepare 1 recipe cake batter for Persian Love Cake
Spray Lego cake mold with Vegalene to aid in browning
Fondant - 1 to 1-1/2 lb
1 Cup - Buttercream Frosting: Butter + powder sugar + vanilla - used to hold Fondant on cake
Food colors:  yellow; Blue; Blue+Green+Red

Cake pearl dust Gold color
Dedicated paint brush for food use
Fondant rolling pin
Fondant rolling mat
Fondant/Candy Tool Set
Powder sugar + mini sieve

Lego Pharaoh Body & Cobra Staff - White fondant + yellow food color

Procedures:
1.  Baked one test cake in the lego cake mold.  Cake batter for Persian Love Cake was used.  Result:  Cake got stuck to the mold and texture is dense.  But perfect to use it as a model.
2.  Pharaoh's Staff and Head Gear - Prepared one recipe for the  Rice Crispies squares.  Instead of pressing it  into a pan, I started to shape it into Lego Pharaoh's Cobra staff.  Squeezed it as tight as possible and inserted three cookie/candy sticks as enforcement.
* Working with marshmallow rice crispies while "hot" (150'F) is essential for the formed object to hold its shape.  When the marshmallow rice crispies has turned warm to the touch, they might look still pliable, but the elasticity/stickiness seem to have lost it's power.  By the time I was done with the Cobra staff (passed 20 minutes) and ready to make the head gear, the marshmallow crispies had cooled.  The head gear did not want to hold its shape.  I was going to give up, but bet on the Fondant.

3.  Find a couple of bowls that can be used to form the head gear.  Set aside.
3a.  Cover the cooled cake with Buttercream frosting.
4.  Knead fondant to soft taffy texture.
5.  Sprinkle powder sugar on top of fondant mat
6.  Roll the fondant large enough to cover the Lego pharaoh cake

7.  Carefully using the plastic tools and hands, pull gently and tuck and shape fondant into the outline of the Lego cake pharaoh.  Cut the excess off with 2 mm excess - to tuck/curve under the cake.

8.  Using the plastic tools, define the eyes and mouth, arm, etc.
9.  Sprinkle the fondant mat with the powder sugar again.  Roll out the colored fondant to cover the Cobra staff.  Seal with a smear of water.  Not a drop of water, but bare smear of moisture on finger tip.
10.  Sprinkle powder sugar on top of fondant mat.  Roll out the rest to form into head gear using the bowl as guide.    *Basically the head gear is made free form.  Using the print out as a guide.  Have fun with it!
11.  Place the head gear on the fondant covered Lego pharaoh.  Form the side flaps and attach to the head gear.  Using the plastic molding tool with a smear of water moisture, stick the flap to the head gear.  And roll it along the body shape near shoulders.  Smear a bit of water moisture in underside of the flaps to the shoulders.
11a.  Yet, roll and cut out some rectangular pieces to make Pharaoh's lapa skirt.  Set aside to dry.

12.  After 30 minutes.  Start painting the details with the food color.
13.  Store in air tight cake container.
My grandson was delighted to see his Lego Pharaoh Birthday Cake.
And, I had fun making it.
If you like this, you might also like my Fondant - Lego Punk Rocker Birthday Cake I made for my grandson's sixth birthday. http://rockdavinci.blogspot.com/2011/10/fondant-lego-punk-rocker-birthday-cake.html