Best of 2013: Best Cooking Class: Pizza and Foccaccia

The best, and most useful, cooking class we took in 2013 (well, it was the end of 2012, but we didn't post about it until January, so it counts, right?) was Chris French's "Pizza and Foccaccia" class at Manchester Community College. With so many helpful tips and recipes, we no longer look at these two delicious foods the same way.

Chef French runs 1-2 credit-free classes each semester - just check the online catalog under "Continuing Education." We'll probably see you there!

Meyer Lemon Curd

Amy writes:

So a couple of weeks ago we took a baking class called Baking for English Tea, and one of the recipes we learned to make was lemon curd. Then Chris went away for the weekend, off to a theoretical physics conference in Santa Barbara, California. Yeah, I don't really know what that is, either. 

Anyway... I was feeling a little bored, and I knew that if I made something yummy, I could bring it to the last winter farmers' market and enter it into the swap for something else. I had a bunch of Meyer lemons at home, so I decided to make a batch of Meyer lemon curd. The recipe made enough for 2 decent-sized jars, so I kept one for myself (well, I may share it with Mr. Science) and brought one to the swap where I swapped it for a pretty little dragonfly made from recycled silverware (Thanks, Ed)! Love it!

So, as hinted at in an earlier post, here's the recipe for Meyer lemon curd. The recipe is from Chef Chris French, who makes his with "normal" lemons, but there is something I just love about the hint of sweetness the Meyer lemon offers. If you like things a little more tart, use regular lemons but add another 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Meyer Lemon Curd

recipe courtesy of Chef Chris French

Ingredients:

5 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced

8 egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pats

Whisk the lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolks and sugar together in a stainless steel bowl. Create a double-boiler by placing the bowl over a sauce pan with simmering water. Gently heat the contents of the bowl on low to medium heat, stirring frequently. Continue to heat until the mixture is very thick and reaches 180-185 degrees. Immediately remove the bowl from the pan and pour the contents through a fine mesh sieve to remove the zest and any egg solids (discard those). Immediately put 2 pats of butter into the lemon curd and whisk in until incorporated. Continue by adding 1 pat at a time, whisking until incorporated before adding the next. Cover with plastic wrap in contact with the lemon curd and refrigerate until set, 4 hours or longer. Serve with scones as a spread or to fill mini tarts, or as a topping on shortbread. 

Cooking Class: Baking for English Tea

A couple of weekends ago, we took another baking class at Manchester Community College (our local community college, well-known for its culinary program). This one was with the same instructor (Chris French) as the pizza and focaccia class. Obviously we were so pleased with the first class, we had to sign up for another, and obviously, our baking skills could use some work.

Chef Chris French at his demo station

This class was called, "Baking for English Tea," and it started off with some clarification about English tea, mainly that what people often refer to as "high tea" is actually a less formal, dinner-type setting whereas a tea at which there might be sweets and pastries is traditionally the more formal "afternoon tea." Who knew? The class would focus on the latter, with the goals being to learn and participate in making scones, shortbread, and cream puffs, and to learn via demonstration how to make lemon curd, Devonshire cream, pastry cream and an English trifle. Quite ambitious, but we had five hours together, so we forged ahead.

Amy tried "rub method mixing"

Scone dough

Amy's partner forms our scones

Chris tops his scones with some sanding sugar

First we watched as Chef Chris demonstrated and explained how to make scones, and then we paired up and made our own scones with cranberries and walnuts. The most important thing with this recipe was that we hand mixed the scones, learning how to rub the butter in by hand, which is not as easy as it sounds, but definitely leads to better results. We could choose whether to bake our scones during class or take home the dough to freeze, but since we are "A Couple in the Kitchen," we were able to do both. The scones were fluffier and lighter than we've had in the past, thanks to the hand-mixing method we guess, and we would certainly try the recipe again. When we do, we'll share it with you.

Amy slices her golden-brown shortbread

Next thing we did was make shortbread. Now we have tried shortbread in the past, with relative success, but ours simply does not compare to the buttery crisp amazing cookie we learned in this class. We look forward to topping a sheet of these with some homemade jam or lemon curd and making delicious bars to share with the neighborhood!!!

Making pate a choux

Everyone got a chance to try to pipe the pate a choux dough

Delicious cream puff!

Pate a choux (cream puff dough) we are well familiar with, thanks to Dorie Greenspan and her gorgeous gougere recipe. But we learned a few tips on how to improve our technique, such as using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour, getting a good sheen on the dough by adding in an extra egg, and piping the dough when it's warm and fresh. 

Chocolate Croissants

The scones had been set aside to eat later along with the various curds and creams, and everything else was in the oven. Luckily, Chef Chris was thoughtful enough to bring in some of his homemade chocolate croissants for us to nibble on in the meantime. Just look at these beauties!

Lemon curd, mock Devon cream, whipped cream

The reward for a hard day's work

When the hands-on part of the class was done, we fixed tea and sipped while Chef demonstrated his recipes for pastry cream, lemon curd, and "mock" Devon cream (aka clotted cream). The real Devonshire cream runs for about $7 for a small 4-ounce jar, if you can even find it. Chef's mock version can be made in about 10 minutes and costs a fraction of real Devonshire cream. Here's what you do:

Mock Devon Cream 

recipe courtesy of Chef Chris French

Ingredients:

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cream cheese, cold

1 cup heavy cream, cold

Using a stand mixer with the whip attachment, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth and lump-free. Add the cream and beat until stiff. Chill before serving. 

A beautiful English trifle

Finally, we tried all of these goodies while watching Chef assemble a beautiful English trifle. We met some great people, had a fun day, and learned plenty of new tricks and tips to help up become better bakers. These recipes would be perfect for Easter, Mother's Day, or just for hosting your own English tea! Once we try any of these things at home, we will be sure to let you know. 

If you are interested in taking a credit-free culinary class at MCC, here is a link to the credit-free catalog. 

Cooking Class: Pizza and Focaccia (with recipes for pizza dough and sauce)

Mid-December, the two of us took a one-day cooking class at our local community college. The class was titled "Pizza and Focaccia" and it was taught by the adjunct instructor of baking and pasty at the college, Chris French. Of course, the two of us have made pizza before, but we are ashamed to say that we usually buy the dough from our grocery store or local market and then simply grill or bake it with our toppings. No more! In this class, we learned the ins and outs of making deliciously fresh pizza dough and focaccia, and enjoyed it so much Chris bought Amy a pizza peel for Christmas! So of course, we are excited to share what we've learned, with permission from the instructor.

Speaking of instructors, Chef Chris was an amazing one in that he was well-prepared with a packet that included all the information we would need, including several recipes and resources for ingredients. He walked us through each and every step of pizza and focaccia making, including the dough, the sauce, the cheese, the toppings and the various ways to cook it all. He explained the "what are the different kinds" and "why you'd use one or the other" of each ingredient, demonstrated to us exactly how to make and shape the dough and then paired us up and allowed us to make it ourselves under his guidance. Amy made a plain cheese pizza and Chris made pizza margherita. Best of all, we went home with enough dough for 4-6 pizzas (depending on the size of the pizza) as well as more focaccia than we knew what to do with!

Here's what we learned about pizza making: First of all, the type of flour does matter. Chef Chris suggested using either King Arthur Bread Flour, or Caputo "00" flour, and had us make a batch of dough with each. We found both resulted in a flavorful dough that was crisp and blistery on the outside, and perfectly chewy on the inside. Since we can readily find King Arthur at the grocery store, that has become our go-to flour. Secondly, San Marzano tomatoes, even in a can, make a fantastic no-cook pizza sauce. Just a few additional ingredients from the spice rack is all you need to transform a can of tomatoes into an easy, zesty sauce. Thirdly, brown rice flour is an excellent choice for dusting your surface/pizza peel as it doesn't burn. And finally, a really hot pizza stone inside a really hot oven will give you the best results. Heat the stone at 500 degrees for about 45 minutes before putting your pizza on it, then bake your pizza on it, also at 500 degrees.

Something we already knew, but it was nice to be reminded about: Creativity is key to pizza topping. Savory? Sure - cheese, meats, spices, vegetables, herbs - anything can top a pizza! A touch of fennel powder recreated the flavor of sausage without the meat. We even made a peach pizza with a marscapone cheese that would make for a crowd-pleasing dessert.

Admittedly, the pizza making took up most of the time allotted to the course, but Chris had made the focaccia dough ahead of time (giving us the recipe in our packets) and we simply spread the dough on large baking sheets and allowed it to rise before we topped it with truffle oil, chopped rosemary, caramelized onions, grated parmesan cheese, and a little salt and pepper. Watching sheet upon sheet of golden brown tastiness cook in the industrial oven was almost as fun as using the pizza peel!

Chris French's Pizza Dough

(cold fermented means it must be made at least one day ahead; makes 3 pizzas)

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups (462 grams) King Arthur Bread Flour or Caputo "00"
1 1/4 cups (296 grams) water at room temp
1 teaspoon (3 grams) instant or active yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon (10 grams) salt
olive oil

Place the following ingredients in the order listed to the bowl of a Kitchenaid-type mixer: water, yeast, flour and salt. Install the bowl into the machine and mix using a dough hook (the spiral hook works better than the "C"-type hook) on speed 1 or 2. Mix until all ingredients are "picked up" and the bowl is nearly clean. Shut off and unplug the machine; scrape down the bowl if necessary. Plug the machine back in and resume mixing for another 2-3 minutes. Stop the machine and rest the dough for 10-20 minutes. Mix the dough again on speed 2 for another minute. Remove the dough from the bowl and round into a ball. Place the dough ball into a lightly oiled bowl large enough to hold 3 times its size. Roll the dough ball so it's coated with a light film of oil. cover the bowl tightly with clear wrap and place on counter for 1 hour. After the dough has rested on the counter for 1 hour, remove from bowl and divide into 3 equal sized pieces. Roll the individual small dough pieces into rounds. Place the rounds in a shallow, lightly oiled tray and cover tightly with clear wrap or a lid. Place the tray immediately in the refrigerator for 24-96 hours until ready to use. Remove the tray from the refrigerator 1-2 hours before baking pizza (it's recommended to preheat pizza stone/oven around the same time).

Chris French's Pizza Sauce

(using dry herbs avoids the extra water in fresh herbs which may make the sauce watery)

Ingredients:

1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes (Chef prefers Cento brand)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons either red wine vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Lightly blend or process the tomatoes into a coarse texture. Remove the tomatoes from the blender and combine with all of the remaining ingredients, adjusting the salt to taste. Allow the sauce to stand overnight in the refrigerator so that it can tighten up slightly. If sauce is too watery it can be strained and dried out by using a doubled cheese cloth and colander. 

Special thanks to Chef Chris French for the amazing class and permission to use his recipes here.