C) Explain in detail the preparation of Choux Pastry and write briefly on the history of

 Gateaux St. Honore

 Paris Brest
 Éclairs

Éclairs and cream puff are made from the dough called éclair paste or choux paste. The
French name pâté à choux mean cabbage paste. The general method consists of these few
steps:

1. Bring the liquid, fat, salt, and sugar (if used) to a boil. The liquid must be boiling
rapidly so the fat is dispersed in the liquid, not just floating on top. If this not done,
the fat will not be as well incorporated into the paste and some of it may run out
during baking.
2. Add the flour all at once and stir until the paste forms a ball and pulls away from the
sides of the pan.
3. Remove the paste from the heat and let it cool to 60°C. If the paste not cooled
slightly, it will cook the eggs when added.
4. Beat in the eggs a little at a time. Completely mix in each addition of eggs before
adding more. If the eggs are added too quickly, it will be difficult to get smooth a
batter.
5. The paste is now ready to use.

INGREDIENTS Metric (%)

Water, milk, or half water + half milk 500g 133
Butter or regular shortening 250g 67
Salt 5g 1.5
Bread flour 375g 100
Eggs 625g 167
Total weight 1755g 468%
PROCEDURE
1. Combine the liquid, butter and salt in a heavy saucepan or kettle. Bring the
mixture to a full, rolling boil.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour all at once. Stir quickly.
3. Return the pan to moderate heat and stir vigorously until the dough forms a
ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
4. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a mixer. If using hand leave it in the
 saucepan.
5. With the paddle attachment, mix at low speed until the dough has cooled
slightly. It should be about 60°C, which is still very warm, but not too hot to
touch.
6. At medium speed, beat in the eggs a little at a time. Add no more than a
quarter of the egg at once, and wait until they are completely absorbed before
adding more. When all the eggs are absorbed, the paste is ready to use.

Gateaux St. Honoré

Food historians generally agree Gateau Saint Honoré belongs to Paris because St.
Honore is the patron Saint of patisserie and has a street name in Paris after him), but are
collectively vague regarding the period. Neither do they attibute the creation of this
confection to a specific chef nor agree on the history behind the name. Chiboust (for whom
the crème used in this recipe was named) was a mid-19th century patisserie. The ingredients
and method of Gateau Saint Honore date the possibility of this recipe to the 17th century.

Primary evidence confirms master Parisian patisseries often employed choux and
cream to effect grand dessert presentations. Croquant was invented at this time. Chantilly
crème sometimes referred to as Chiboust was also invented in the 17th century. We find
nothing close to Saint Honore in La Varenne in1651, but Ude's French Cook in1828 contains
several recipes which might been precursors. These are generally composed of choux artfully
arranged and filled with Chantilly cream. Unlike Gateau Saint Honore, however, do not
employ short crust. Escoffier in1903 contains a recipe for Crème a Saint-Honore, but not
however at least that we can find Gateau Saint Honore. Neither does it show up in Richardin
in1913.

Éclairs
 The food history encyclopedias (including the Larousse Gastronomique) and
reference books all describe éclairs but provide little if any details regarding their origin. This
probably means the éclair is a product of food evolution. There is some conjecture that
perhaps Antonin Careme (1784-1833), a famous pastry chef for French royalty might have
created something akin to éclairs. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the term "éclair" in
the English language to 1861 "Vanity Fair [magazine] 2 Feb 50/1 A Waiter, whereon, stood a
plate of macaroons, éclairs and sponge cake." In French, the word éclair means a flash of
light.

Paris Brest

This cake's history is linked to a 1200-kilometer bicycling event "Paris-Brest-Paris",

also called PBP, organized every four years since 1891. Beginning on the southern side of the
French capital, it travels west 600 kilometers to the port city of Brest on the Atlantic Ocean
and returns along the same route. A very clever pastry chef with his pastry, shop along the
route of this race, had the idea to create an over dimensioned éclair in the shape of a bicycle
wheel to honor the cyclists and obviously also to gain some awareness for his pastry shop.

In 1891, Pierre Giffard sensed that something had to be done to boost the sagging
French moral. Unlike some more conservative journalists of the day who thought the bicycle
was an oddity quickly to be disposed of, Giffard was a dyed-in-the-wool cyclist. This was
easy in Giffard's day since Lycra hadn't been invented yet. What had been invented in 1885
was the "safety bicycle," the basic form of the bicycle we know today. At daybreak on
Sunday, September 6, 1891, 206 riders left a cheering crowd in front of the Le Petit Journal.
After three flats within the first mile, the French professional, Jules Dubois realized his pate
de frois gras was cooked. The race was now between Charles Terront and Jacques Jiel-Laval.

One of the hotly debated items prior to the race was which tires were better? Just two
years earlier in 1889, the Michelin brothers had introduced their clincher tire and rims. The
connoisseurs of the time gravitated to solid rubber tires. Terront was backed by the Michelin
Company. Jiel-Laval, being a connoisseur, rode solid rubber tires. Terront's air filled victory
sounded the death knell of solid rubber tires and put us on the road to pneumatic riding.

D) With the aid of a diagram explain in detail the preparation of Puff Pastry (laminated
dough)
Puff pastry is one of the most remarkable products of the bakeshop. Although it includes no
added leavening agent, it can rise to eight times it original thickness when baked. Puff pastry
is one of the most difficult bakery products to make because it consists of over 1000 layers.

INGREDIENTS Metric (%)

Bread flour 500g 100
Salt 10g 2
Butter, melted 75g 15
Water 250g 50
Butter for rolling in 300g 60
Total weight 1135g 227%
PROCEDURE
(MIXING PROCEDURE)
1. Mix the flour and the salt. Place the flour in the mound on a work surface and make a
well in the centre.
2. Pour the melted butter and water into the center of the well. Gradually stir from the
inside outward to incorporate the flour into the liquids, making dough

APPENDIX
Figure 1: Gateau St. Honore

Figure 2: Paris Brest

Figure 3: Éclairs
REREFENCES

1. An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2003 (p. 117)