"Edible Crafts"

7/29/2019 "Edible Crafts"

1/5


2/5

at the table

Edible

CraftsMacarons, MinimaSalads and Artisan Bag


3/5

2 SRQ / FEBRUARY 2013

at the table

acacrons are the chink

in my pastry armor. It's

with resolute convic-tion that I've applied

my palette to the vitals of Paris' arrondisse-

ments, and with invariable consistency I'm

nticed by the pastel charm and signature fla-

vor that is the pistache classic.

Le Macaron on St. Armand's Circle concocts

masterful pistachio macaron, the essence of

which is imported from the Lentre pastry

chool in France. "It's the same recipe and

ngredients that we used in Paris," says chef

Didier Saba. "If you go to the Champs Elysees,

you will find the same thing. Its very expen-

ive, but thats why its good. Saba says he

hips everything in to ensure the ingredient's

onsistency with his expectations.

Didier and his wife Audrey demonstrate

how they assemble the dainty treats. One

batch makes 160 macarons, and the process is

plit up by shell and filling, with the latter com-

ng first since it sits overnight before applica-

ion. The filling is made from Sicilian pista-

hios, almond and pistachio paste imported

m

from France, eggs, butter and a dab of kirsch, a

colorless fruit brandy made from cherries.

These are mixed until heated to roughly 65degrees Celsius, then refrigerated overnight.

The shell is where the expert's touch sepa-

rates consistency and quality from humdrum

efforts. At this stage, the alchemy of the mac-

aron hangs in a subtle balance requiring preci-

sion, and every variable plays a factor. It

depends on the weather outside, on the humid-

ity, if a gust of wind comes through the

kitchen," says Didier. If you keep the macarons

out too long before you put it in the oven, its

not good. Every time, the macarons change.

The nuances in the ingredients can have an

altering effect as well; the shell is simply pre-

pared with white eggs, blanched almond butter

and confectioner sugar, but even the butter,

which is shipped from California, can vary by

season and throw of the intended balance. Hes

a perfectionist," says Audrey. "He has to be very

careful of the products he chooses. Theyre so

delicate and difficult to make." Didier reevalu-

ates his recipe every three months.

The batter for the macaron shells is whirled

by hand onto sheets for the rotating oven,

where baked 25 minutes at 150 degrees. Didier

says his secret is applying a swab of water to

the sheet just under each dollop, so when heat-

ed, humidity is applied to the interior of the

shell. Once out of the oven and briefly cooled,

the filling is sandwiched between shells by

hand, and a new batch is born. "It has to be

first crispy but soft on," says Audrey. "When

you have the softness, you have the filling. Its

a different flavor and texture. Then, you have

the creaminess from the paste, and you have

an explosion of flavor from the macaron."

Minimalist Salads

Over a decade ago, Chef Stefano Sasso of

Cafe Epicure ferried the Italian's insalata, orsalad, philosophy to produce a minimalist

alignment of pairings. A sit down with Sasso

illuminates the greens and why, counter to

popular salad belief, less is more.

The ingredients are the first part of every-

thing you do. When you use good quality food,

you dont have to play too much. Others think

by putting more ingredients, the plate

becomes tastier. Its not that way. If you eat a

good piece of beef or fish, you dont need to

CLOCKWISE: CAFE EPICURES WATERCRESS SALAD.

CHEF STEFANO SASSO. LE MACARONS PISTACHIO

MACARONS. PASTRY CHEF DIDIER SABA.


4/5

FEBRUARY 2013 / SRQ

I use the Boston lettuce that goes with

tuna salad; you see the flavor isn't

strong. It doesnt influence the other fla

on the salad. Thats why we use the tun

stronger and brings the flavor out."

In the United States, bread and salad

common meal, often with a substantial d

ing, but in Italy, insalata isn't a stand-a

"We eat salads, but we eat salads much

with pastas. They look for a main course

it, and at lunchtime, they dont eat as h

They will eat the carbs early to work iand theyll eat the protein at night. A c

ry glance through Sasso's menu reveals

two to three salads, depending on se

paired with poultry or seafood and al

exclusively with faint dressing of oliv

white balsamic or some kind of vinaig

When you put some heavy dressing in

salad, youre messing up the flavor of

greens. I look for lighter food. Its bas

how we eat in Italy.

AT Treat yourself to your own favorite flavor

acaron at Le Macaron, 382 Saint Armands Cr.,

rasota, 941-552-8872. Enjoy the philosophy behind

e crafted salads at Cafe Epicure, 1298 N. Palm Ave.,

rasota, 941-366-5648. Remember the process of

king the artisan bagels at Jims Small Batch

kery, 2336 Gulf Gate Dr., Sarasota, 941-922-2253.

put too many

things." Sasso buys

his products by cre-

ating relationships

with local farmers

and fish houses; he

can interact with

them, and they

know what he's

looking for to

achieve the desired

taste. "Im interested in keeping things simple,and I dont mix light ingredients. Thats why peo-

ple come back, because the food is not so heavy.

A challenge in Florida is that we don't have

the full four seasons, and the imminent

effect of the weather on the robustness of

ingredients means Sasso had to alter his

approach. Sasso says he tries to stay in the

same parameter that he learned back in Italy,

however the flavor potency is lighter there.

Every lettuce has a different flavor. Lets say

Try it


5/5

4 SRQ / FEBRUARY 2013

Artisan Bagelames Plocharsky, owner of Jim's Small Batch

akery in Gulf Gate, is an artisan breadmaker,

nd on Saturdays, he rolls out a fresh batch of

ourdough bagels made to order by the dozen.

The way he learned to make bread at

ohnson and Wales in the mid 80s is not the

way bread is being made now, he says. "They

were adding sugar, oil or butter to the dough

o enrich it. Nowadays with the modern arti-

an methods, they evoke much of the flavor so

hat you dont have to add sugar or fat." The

agels begin in a five-gallon bucket with a

ourdough mother starter that has to be fedvery three days. "You either feed it or throw

t away. Thats the minimum time cycle the

east needs to replicate and grow. If it doesn't

et a refreshment of nutrients in the flour, it

ills itself by becoming too acidic." The com-

osite encourages good bacteria, and the yeast

xpels waste that is flavor.

We are preparing a batch and half that

makes 60 bagels, and ironically, the American

locharsky uses a hodgepodge measuring

approach that's majority metric. He's ready-

ing the allotted ingredients, first the wet then

the dry in the industrial mixer: 1.5 kilos of

water, 2 percent of the dough weight in olive

oil, three kilos of flower, instant yeast and a

pour of non-diastatic malted barley syrup for

flavor. He turns on the mixer and explains the

protein levels of flour, and that his mentor

felt unbleached bread flower at 11 percent

gluten made better bread than high-gluten

flower. After the gluten has developed and

the flour is hydrated, he pours 84 grams of

salt because it works against the flourishing

of the protein. The dough is finished mixing

when it passes the "window pane test:" it's

translucent when stretched.

Plocharsky rolls the dough into 60 four-

ounce bulbs and incorporates my help to

round the dough into balls that are smooth.

We first work Mr. Miyagi-style with wax-on

wax-off movements, and he shows me how to

pull the dough for it to stick to the table and

remain tight. As we're stretching the dough

and placing it in pans, I can feel the yeast get-

ting lighter. "This working is activating the

at the table

gluten, making it stretchy. In 20 minutes

relaxes and thats when we put the hole in.

When the doughy bagels float in cold wa

they're ready to sit in the refrigerator overni

where the yeast becomes dormant. Long, c

slow fermentation is one of the secrets to a

san bread. That allows sourdough variation

develop better tasting profile, because the b

teria prefers that environment."

The next day, while the oven is heating to

degrees, a pot of water with food-grade ly

boiled stovetop, and the bagels are poached

45 seconds on each side. "The acid reacts w

the starches in the dough and gelatinizes in

oven to create a shiny surface and crisp

crust." Plocharsky tops his bagels with

desired ingredients before baking them six a

time for 8 to 10 minutes. Being a living th

when the dough is ready to bake, you have

bake it or you lose it." He wants the bread to

75 percent before it hits the oven where he w

account for oven spring and fill out to its fi

form. They're swooped out piping hot when

ished, separated from the baking sheet by ha

and served to customers fresh.

JAMES JIM PLOCHARSKY. SMOKED SALMON AND CREAM CHEESE BAGEL AT JIMS SMALL BATCH BAKERY.

"Edible Crafts"

Documents

Transcript of "Edible Crafts"