Rebuild update, notes pastry lamination
Bracing removed, framing is complete
Dear friends,
We’re approaching the holidays. As can sometimes be the case this time of year, I recently found myself logging some time with an old friend - the Rondo sheeter. In the early years, we did all of our pastry lamination by hand using nothing more than a rolling pin and a slab of butcher-block countertop. But at some point late in the 1980s, we acquired this remarkable piece of equipment that does much of the heavy lifting when it comes to rolling out croissant dough.
It works like an old-timey wringer washing machine. OK, shoot. That reference is going to be lost on any of the younger generation accidentally find themselves reading this note. So - wringer washing machines squeezed your clothes through a “wringer” consisting of two metal cylinders mounted in parallel that turned in tandem with a hand crank. This allowed you to “wring” much of the water from your clothing, thereby shortening the time required to dry on the “clothesline” that every family would have strung across their backyard. Boy. Pretty sure I just aged myself again. In truth, I only saw pictures of those old wringer machines. By the time I was growing up in the 1960s, they were already obsolete.
But back to my story. The action of the Rondo sheeter is similar to the wringer machine. In this case a sheet of pastry dough (rather than clothing) is rolled out into a rectangular shape and then wrapped to encapsulate a large flattened pad of butter. The encapsulated packet of dough is then run back and forth between the “wringer” - i.e. the twin cylinders of the sheeter - as the distance between those cylinders is progressively reduced. With each trip back and forth the packet of dough and the encapsulated butter are compressed and stretched.
You have to go slowly, gradually reducing the distance between the cylinders so as not to tear the dough. One key variable is to keep both your dough and butter in a narrow temperature range - generally around 50-60F. This way your butter remains supple and spreadable and does not simply melt - which will result in a tasty piece of bread, but not the delicate flaky pastry you’re striving for.
For most laminated pastries - croissant and danish - you will typically fold the dough in thirds, with each fold constituting a “turn”. The dough will need to rest between turns allowing the gluten protein structure to relax to maintain the integrity of your layers and to avoid ripping the dough. Most preparations call for three completed turns as you develop the layers of the dough.
In truth, I have always enjoyed this craft of baking. In recent years my time is far more often used for things like management and strategy. I meet with our team leaders, and I spend seemingly endless hours reviewing data, hunched in front of a computer screen. I draft plans. I send emails to folks - often about money. I describe how their money and our plans might do a perfectly executed tango if allowed to dance together. I follow up on old plans that we’ve already put into action to see how they are performing and how they compare to expectations set months or years prior. These days I also meet with designers and contractors and civil engineers and painters and masons. You get the idea - there’s not always as much actual baking and cooking as I might like.
But every so often - as happened this week - I am pleased to tie on an apron and get my hands covered in dough and flour. This is time during which there is only space in my brain for the task at hand - a cherished, single-pointed focus. There is a piece of dough on the table in front of me. How does it feel? Is the temperature right? Does the hydration feel just appropriate or is the dough too wet or too dry? Can it take another turn now, or does it need to rest first? If it needs to rest - we’re back to temperature question. Does it need to be returned to the walk-in, or can it sit at room temperature? Too warm and the dough will start to rise as the yeast activates. Too cold and the butter will begin to solidify, breaking into brittle pieces on my next turn.
With any luck, I’ll get to spend more time in the bakery over the next few weeks.
In other news, much is happening on our corner at 29th and Rio Grande.
Recently, the bracing holding up the salvaged brick walls was removed, allowing the window and door frames to release the light again. It is glorious to see that light coming through into the space again. By the end of the year we should be at what is called “dry in” - meaning we’ll have the structure in place with a roof, doors, windows, etc.
This should keep us on track to complete construction around March of next year. We are cautiously optimistic that we will be inviting everyone back inside not too long after that. And after all this time with the reconstruction of the building hovering out there like an apparition - a holy grail, a spiritual abstraction - let’s just say that March is starting to feel like next week.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday - when we collectively plan to gather together around food and drink. If you haven’t yet set up your TFB preorder, a reminder that our cut off is this weekend. We have an assortment of delightful pies, rustic galettes, and a variety of perfect collections of your favorite TFB goodies. Place your order online for pick up in the TFB Garden (open daily 7am - 3pm).
Place a preorder for pick up at TFB Garden
bon appétit,
murph
Enjoy your updates. All the best.