‘Bouchon Bakery’, Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel (2012)
This weighty tome (it really is a heavy book!), is a final offering in this whistle stop tour of our most recent charity shop cookbook classic finds.
The book is everything you might expect from a work associated with Thomas Keller – it’s precise – to the point of sieving and weighing your eggs by yolk or white and to the gram – it’s also working uphill, of course, against the US tendency to measure by volume rather than weight, leading to some awkwardly precise conversions from so many cups and tablespoons to oddly numbered grams (see below the lemon curd instruction).
All this apart, it’s full of some beautiful pictures and many generous top tips on how to improve your baking. And the recipes, while time-consuming – are, seemingly, foolproof for achieving as close to absolute perfection in domestic circumstances as is possible.
We chose to try Lemon Meringue Tarts – giving us a chance to up our lemon curd game using our favourite steam-oven method, and an obligation to visit no less than four other pages in the book in order to create the necessary component parts of the tart: ie pâte sucrée (high end sweet pastry), lemon curd, madeleine cake, Swiss meringue, and while making a pit stop by the ‘easier with the freezer’ page of advice.
The tarts in the book are created using individual sized pastry rings (cute if a little fiddly), they are filled with a layer of perfectly smooth and softly set lemon curd, then topped with a fine layer of precisely calibrated madeleine cake cut to fit and, finally, topped with an anxiety inducing swirl of Swiss meringue – the kind that requires you to screw up your courage and, counterintuitively, add all the sugar to the egg whites before whipping them to a semi-stable froth of deliciousness over a pan of simmering water.
The whole affair is a high-wire act, but somehow, if you don’t look down while completing each of the steps, you get to the other side and the result is a moment of heartwarming pride in what you have managed to achieve.
We can’t give you all the recipes here (they are too many and they are too long!), but the book is still in print should you wish to have a copy on your shelf – or you can always visit the showroom and take a peek at ours (check first it’s not out on loan!). What we can do is to talk you through some of the handy hints and tips gained, and give you the recipe for lemon curd as adapted for our steam oven methodology.
Top Tips for a Pastry Chef’s Freezer
“There are only two categories of items in the pastry kitchen that you cannot freeze: uncooked dairy products and something with a lot of gelatin[e] in it … otherwise, everything freezes very well.”
The freezer is, according to the authors of this book, the second most important appliance for a pastry chef (the first being an oven). Freezing gives control over both the food and the schedule of production.
It reminds that raw dough – for cookies, pastry, scones, choux – can be frozen, ready to be baked when needed – we regularly do this in the showroom and can normally serve you cookies or choux puffs (sweet or savoury) for our meetings.
Also, that baked goods (croissants, muffins, cakes) freeze well (good wrapping is key!), and that there are a host of elements that are better with the freezer – including egg whites (for meringues), and prepared metal baking pans brushed with butter prepped ready for baking.
Lemon (or Lime) Curd – a small batch (400g)
Ingredients:
- 1.8g leaf gelatine (approx. 1 sheet)
- 108g eggs (we used egg yolk only – saving the whites for the meringue) approx 6 egg yolks = 108g
- 108g granulated sugar
- 108g strained fresh lemon (or lime) juice
- 140g unsalted butter, cut into 1.2cm pieces
- Grated zest of lemon (optional)
The method in the book requires whisking the sugar and eggs in a saucepan, whisking in the lemon juice, then simmering until thick, cooling, adding the (soaked) gelatine and then straining and blending while adding the butter. We took some of the jeopardy out of this process as follows:
- Soak gelatine in a small bowl of ice water
- If using the zest, rub it into the sugar, so that it releases some of its oils and perfumes
- gently whisk the egg (yolks) with the sugar until just combined (you don’t want too much air in the mix),
- gradually whisk in the lemon juice, transfer the mixture to a clean glass jar with a lid
- Cook in the steam oven at 82ºC steam for 45 minutes
- Remove the jar from the oven, allow the jar to cool slightly so that it is comfortable to handle, then transfer the contents of the jar into a bowl
- Remove the gelatine from the water, squeeze out excess water, then whisk into the lemon curd until entirely dissolved and evenly distributed.
- While the curd is still warm, add in the butter, a few pieces at a time, stirring or whisking each addition until it is incorporated.
- The curd is now ready for use, or can be covered and refrigerated for up to 4 days. Blend again with an electric beater, or in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, if the cold curd has stiffened.
“Sebastien Rouxel, executive pastry chef for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, has spent years refining techniques through trial and error, and every page offers a new lesson: a trick that assures uniformity, a subtlety that makes for a professional finish, a flash of brilliance that heightens flavor and enhances texture. The deft twists, perfectly written recipes, and dazzling photographs make perfection inevitable.” ~ Hachette UK
If you have a kitchen, bathroom or other home related project in mind, contact us for a free design appointment, or come in and visit our Wimbledon Village showroom – and we do keep some baked goods ready to go in our freezer, just in case …
