Wednesday, November 14, 2007

L'Ecole des Pains

Bread school! It is constant scaling, mixing, proofing, pre-shaping, shaping, scoring, loading, unloading, and then start all over again. Hours on the feet, which is not what I'm best at. Is anyone good at standing? Walking, sure, no problem, but standing wrecks me.My six classmates are varied and sundry and from all over, from the Orthodox Jew who is interested in opening a new business but has no baking experience to the burned-out former sous chef who worked for a time in the Arctic Circle. It's a good bunch, and we are divided into three teams that change weekly and each have different production responsibilities in addition to the new doughs we learn each day. I've been on Team 3 this week, responsible for PM baguettes, which are for dinner service at L'Ecole. Other teams do AM baguettes for L'Ecole's lunch service, Pain Bordelais, and refill our stock of liquid levain (sourdough starter) daily.