Bee Sting Cake (w/ J.N.) // Nick Malgieri, Perfect Cakes

A brioche-cake base with cream filling and a candied almond topping. J.N.'s been wanting to make this for a while, but the brioche, as a yeasted product, made him nervous (past yeasts have failed him). We collaborated and produced a rich dessert.

Ingredients:
Sage blossom honey
T.J.'s AP Flour
Superfine sugar

Preparation: We started by making the sweet brioche, which is pressed into the bottom of the springform and pricked with a fork. Then we made the almond candy topping, which cools briefly before being added to the risen cake and baked, and the cream filling, which must chill in the fridge. Each step is relatively simple, but as there are three components, it is a time-consuming process.

We found that the candy layer had become quite stiff by the time we needed to spread it on the cake -- it was almost stiff enough to roll out, but we coaxed and poked it. Probably the candy wasn't supposed to be this hard; we heated it at such a low temperature that it didn't want to boil for a long time. When the cake came out of the oven, the denser sections of candy had sunk quite deeply into the cake (more of a cosmetic issue than anything).

Assembly: J.N. cut the cooled cake with a serrated knife, spread on the chilled cream, and added the top layer, which had been sliced into eight wedges.

Results: The source of the "bee sting" label is obvious, as the almond candy layer has a pronounced and very delicious honey flavor.This is quite a rich coffee cake and makes a great breakfast treat.

Acme's Rustic Baguettes // Maggie Glezer, Artisan Baking

First recipe from a new baking book seems like a good occasion to start taking serious notes. Unfortunately, between mixing the poolish and scrap dough and checking on available blog names, some mismeasurement occurred, and instead of firm French bread dough I have glop. So whatever I produce today will not be a faithful interpretation of Acme's Rustic Baguettes from Artisan Baking -- but will be exciting (to the baker) nonetheless.

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Ingredients:
Flour: Trader Joe's AP Flour (note: TJ no longer sells KAF)
Yeast: SAF Gourmet (packet)
Water: Tap!



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Mixing: This is the first recipe I've tried that has poolish AND pate fermentee elements that are prepared at the same time. The "scrap dough" ferments on the counter for three hours, and then is refrigerated; the poolish ferments for twelve. On the day of baking, the poolish is mixed with additional water, flour, and a small amount of yeast, allowed to stand, and then the salt and scrap dough are kneaded in.

First hurdle: after completing these steps, the dough is far too wet. Did I leave out a cup of flour? Overmeasure the water? Should I have kneaded the scrap dough more when preparing it the night before?

Attempt to save: adding additional flour and repeating the mixing steps, including a period of rest (autolyse).

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Shaping and Baking: As sometimes happens, the dough firmed up a bit in the "turning" stage, which involves flattening the dough on a floured board and folding the dough into a neat package. (Stretch and fold, more or less.) It was no longer sagging apart at the shaping stage. As directed, I made two demi-baguettes and a boule.

I wet the bread slightly before baking but didn't steam the oven. One of the demi-baguettes took an artistic twisting dive onto the stone, but the other remained more or less straight. The cuts opened up and healed till barely visible.

Results: 
Color: Slightly yellowish on the inside, dark brown on the outside.
Flavor: Standard French. I'm not tasting any particular nuances yet, so my favorite French bread remains the much easier version that Peter Reinhart is developing for his forthcoming book. But I'll try this one again.