I want to be a baker

The garden is almost finished blooming for the year.

I have this wonderful new KitchenAid mixer.

I think for a fall and winter project I will try to teach myself how to bake.

The following poem is from Gunilla Norris' book, "Becoming Bread".

The Kitchen

Familiar and strange,

the kitchen is a holy place---

alive with possibility.

A place for the elements.

Water in the tap,

fire in the stove,

earth in the food,

air---between, around, above, and below.

Behind the cupboard doors

are the pots and the pans,

the bowls and the dishes,

the measuring cups

and the measuring spoons---

holy things

that lie ready for use,

much like our dreams

that lie waiting

behind our eyelids.

The kitchen is alchemical,

a place where we cook---actually

and spiritually. We come to it

for nourishment and ease.

We come to it as to a center---

the heart of the house,

the heart of dwelling.

In the kitchen we are one,

linked by hunger---

actual hunger and spiritual hunger.

We go to the kitchen to be

nourished and revealed.

It is a holy place.

My first self-taught lesson will be about making a rustic free-form apple tart.

I start by making a Pate Brisee for the crust.

To make the flakiest crust it is important to use cold ingredients.

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and 2 sticks of unsalted butter have been chilled in the refrigerator.

The butter has been cut into small pieces.




The flour and 1 teaspoon of salt has been pulsed in a food processor just enough to combine.





The butter has been added and pulsed until the mixture resembles course crumbs, about 10 seconds.







1/4 cup of ice water

is poured through the feed tube in a steady stream, with the processor running, just until the dough holds together, about 30 seconds.

My mother was able to accomplish this without the fancy machines and gadgets!

The dough is then divided in two parts and formed into flattened disks.

The disks are wrapped in plastic; one disk is put into the freezer for another day, the other is refrigerated for 2 hours.

Next I prepare 6 Granny Smith apples for the filling.

I core, peel, and thinly slice the apples.

The apples are place in a large bowl and combined with the juice of a lemon and 1/4 cup granulated sugar.

I retrieve the pate brisee from the refrigerator.

I roll out the crust into an approximate 14 inch circle.

This will be a rustic tart so I don't trim the edges.

In my new mixer I add 1/3 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 stick of softened butter.

I turn to speed 2 and mix until crumbly.

(Not much of a workout for my powerful new mixer)

I gently mound the apples in the center of the pastry and sprinkle it with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

I fold the pastry up over the filling making pleats so the dough fits snugly around the apples.

I brush the pastry with cream and sprinkle sugar over it.

Uh ooh!

Transferring it onto the baking mat, the tart fell apart.

Into a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

It doesn't look too bad.

Onto a cake stand.

I think this could use a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I give this effort a C-.

The crust wasn't large enough.

I didn't like the topping.

It lacked something in flavor.

After reviewing this I see several Improvements:

Use all of the pate brisee.

Eliminate the half stick of butter from the sugar mixture and add a pinch of salt. Do not use it as a topping. Combine the mixture with the apples. Reduce a cup of apple cider over heat to a 1/4 cup, drizzle over the apples, and gently combine.

Place the rolled out pate brisee on the baking mat in a cookie sheet BEFORE mounding the apples on it. Any real baker would have known to do that.