bake - June 2018 - 35

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"I think simple is good," she says. "Once in a while, I'll go all out
and do something gorgeous, but I mostly like to stick with the
well-executed simple items that comfort people and entice them
to come back for more."
Spoon and Stable is a restaurant located in what was once a
horse stable, dating back to 1906, in the heart of the North Loop
Neighborhood. It is the dream of chef/owner Gavin Kaysen, a
James Beard Award-winning chef to bring his talents back home
to Minneapolis, where he grew up.
At Spoon and Stable, Yang matches the award-winning chef's
enthusiasm for comfort food from the Heartland, as well as his

Techniques for
PHO-Free Cookies
Mitch Riavez, national accounts manager for Stratas Foods and
a fourth-generation baker, ﬁelds a lot of questions about cookies on the topic of converting to PHO-free shortenings.
Bakers often ask, "Should I mix my cookie dough the same
way with PHO-free shortenings? Will they come out the same
way?" The good news is that the transition is not difficult.

persistence for wowing guests from ﬁrst bite to last.
Yang previously worked with Executive Pastry Chef Michelle
Gayer at Solera and La Belle Vie, and she had the opportunity
to make the role her own in 2008, putting her distinctive stamp
on La Belle Vie's whimsical and delicate desserts. In 2013, Yang
received a coveted Charlie Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef in
the Twin Cities.
Before joining Gavin at Spoon and Stable and Bellecour, Yang also
consulted with several of the Twin Cities' other top chefs and restaurants, developing dessert menus for 112 Eatery and Bar La Grass.
The history of kouign amann
Kouign amann is a speciality of the town of Douarnenez in Finistère, Brittany, where it originated around 1860. The invention is
attributed to Yves-René Scordia. The strict recipe of Douarnenez
requires a ratio of 40 percent dough, 30 percent butter, and 30
percent sugar. It contains layers of butter and sugar folded into a
yeast dough.
In France kouign amann is often served with ﬁllings of fresh fruit,
chocolate, or even coconut. The ﬁlling is nestled within the layers
of ﬂaky dough. The quality of the butter is extremely important
when making kouign amann because the butter will impart a
great deal of ﬂavor into the pastry.
Kouign amann is made using a similar method to its more widely
known French croissant. Salted butter is used instead of unsalted,
an added layer of sugar is folded in with each layer of butter, and
the whole creation is baked on a pan that's brushed with butter

TRANSITIONING TO A PHO-FREE SHORTENING FOR A COOKIE
APPLICATION IS FAIRLY EASY.
Riavez uses a variety of shortenings to explain why. With a
commercial soy shortening or a high stability soy, the shortening produces a cookie dough that is very ﬂexible and pliable
- easy to roll.
"The mixing method would be the same," Riavez says. "Don't
change the order of ingredients. Don't change the mixing
method. It will work in any type of application - cutting them
on the bench or a wire-cut machine."
COOKIE DOUGH FOR HAND-CUT COOKIES MADE WITH PALM
SHORTENING CAN BE ROLLED OUT ON THE BENCH, BUT CAN BE
DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH IN WIRE-CUT APPLICATIONS.
Riavez explains that when using a palm shortening, "we know
that palm can be very stiff when it is cold. So, it is okay to
roll out on the bench for hand cut. But for wire-cut machines,
sometimes it is very difficult."
BRING COOKIE DOUGH FOR ICE BOX COOKIES MADE WITH PALM
SHORTENING TO ROOM TEMPERATURE PRIOR TO USING.
A lot of retail bakers like to make ice box cookies. Ice box
cookies are a cookie dough that is a little bit leaner.
"They store this dough in the refrigerator and actually roll the
dough and then cut that and make cookies from it," Riavez explains. "With regular soy or high stability soy, that method can
still be used. The dough can still be manipulated right when it
comes out of the refrigerator."
The exception comes with palm. "Because palm can be very
stiff when it's cold, if we try to manipulate that when it comes
out of the refrigerator, it will crumble on you. If you try and
push it, it will crumble more."
The answer? When making ice box cookies, bring the cookie
dough to room temperature prior to using.

and sugar. The 3-inch dough piece will rise to a full inch and a half
height during baking.
For additional information, please contact your
Stratas sales representative, or review our product
lines at www.stratasfoods.com.

http://www.stratasfoods.com

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