Our first morning in the bakery the three of us spent time talking with Deb the head baker and cake connoisseur. We learned how students are hired and what kind of skills she looks for in the people she hires. All of the students were not necessarily going to a culinary school or pursuing a career in the baking business but they were all very enthusiastic and loved their job. Some of the students we met like Christine was going to pursue a career in the field after graduating which was really cool to see. It made me think about whether I could try something like that. The first day on the job we helped make cookies and boy did they smell good! I left earlier than the rest of the gang this day since I had scheduled myself to go in at midnight. The only problem was getting myself to go to sleep when I wasn't at all tired. Eventually I got some sleep (emphasis on some.)
Up at midnight and ready to go! I worked with Kory, an aspiring pastry chef, and Leo, who were both very welcoming me and had me helping right away. We got started on making foccacia bread which is a very long process. Kory showed me around, and pointed out the ovens, and proofer. Everything had a specific process and it was very important that you follow instructions. We started prepping things that were needed for later that day, such as glazing the pastries and putting their toppings on. Kory was very allergen conscious which I greatly appreciated since I work with a lot of allergen problems in my student interest group back at school. Taking the time to change your gloves, and washing your hands goes a long way. This morning went pretty slow, but that's because it is slow in the summer generally. It was hard not to look at the clock every ten minutes (when it turned out to actually be five :P.) I left around 6 am instead of 8 due to my inability to keep moving. It was nice going back and getting some sleep but it was awful trying to get up with only 3 hours of sleep.
Big Bertha
It was nice to be back with girls on Wednesday during "normal" work hours. We spent a lot of time making some yummy Marion berry cream cheese muffins, cookies, and other delicious items. It was a good busy work day for us. The other two interns Emily, and Katlyn left early to get a head start on their sleep for their midnight shift. Deb had the rest of us drawing out small designs with melted white chocolate that would harden and we could use to decorate the lemon cheesecake. It was really hard to do with such small designs but it was fun to try. It was a good way to spend the rest of the afternoon.
White chocolate decor!
The lemon, cheesecake, whipped topping and white chocolate tasted great together!
Muffins!
Thursday I came in the morning to find Emily and Katlyn finishing up their shift in the bakery. We had the opportunity this week to help with the "cronut" concept. If you haven't heard already, Dominique Ansel, a chef in New York City was the genius man who created the croissant-donut. It is a croissant dough used to make the donut with scrumptious fillings. And as a dietetics major I have to say it is very unhealthy, but SO GOOD. Everything in moderation right? If you have a chance to try one, do it. Your sugar cravings will be filled for weeks. As I was saying, Kory has been working on this concept to bring to UWYO's campus. We were to come up with some filling ideas, and glazes. He has also been trying to perfect the art of making the best "cronut". A new name is also needed since Dominique Ansel is copyrighting the signature name. Please excuse my use of the word since I don't have another way of describing it! Thursday for me though was devoted to learn how to cake decorate. I spent the morning test tasting some croissant donuts/ watching a cake decorating video. It made me want to go out and purchase cake decorating tools! After lunch Deb helped me frost and decorate cakes. Then she left me to decorate the rest! It was pretty nerve racking for me but after a few tries I got the hang of it and had some fun with the other bakery girls. I learned how to make some flowers and the key basics of decorating. A new hobby? I think so. A new career? I think not :P.
The original Croissant-donut.
http://dominiqueansel.com/cronut-101/ 
Katlyn and Emily's creation!
Decorating cake!
Some of the creations!
Friday I was up at midnight again! We had quite the crew this morning since we had all the interns and three bakers, and one dish washer. We had a ton of fun this morning, partially due to some slap happy emotions, and the idea we would start our weekend at 8 am. We worked this morning on getting all of the items going out that day finished and started on making some french breads and dinner rolls. We got started on making the donut mix for some cake donuts and got frost the finished products. Katlyn and I worked on creating the croissant dough for the donuts. They came out a little crispier than the day before but still tasted good none the less. We had fun filling and decorating them, and oh yeah tasting them too. We had a batch of "failed" donuts, the croissant dough split apart in the fryer leaving small rings of dough. We took those and glazed them anyway and created donut chips! The rest of the morning we were running on a sugar rush. We enjoyed the rest of the morning and went back to bed.
The donut maker!
A great way to end the morning!
This weekend the three of us spent some time enjoying the Jubilee days by going downtown activities and the farmer's market on Friday night. Unfortunately the rain had started to take over. I got to see the Food Co-Op and I purchased a few fun things from their. I will have to go back again. It was a successful week and we learned a lot. I loved getting use my creative side at work. It was very therapeutic but I don't see myself working in the profession. I'll stick to enjoying the delicious foods.
Until next time! Two weeks left!
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