bake - June 2018 - 35
BROUGHT TO YOU BY "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.