 Today I’m getting technical with pastry. As part of my program at Ferrandi we have technology class every day where we discuss the scientific side of pastry and desserts. We deconstruct our recipes, learn why each ingredient is important and what they contribute to the final dessert, the processes and techniques used in recipes, and ask probably a million questions to our expert chefs. Sometimes we spend an entire two-hour class just talking about one ingredient! So, let’s talk about salt! Did you ever notice that almost all desserts have salt in them? Recipes and packages don’t really explain the purpose of salt in dessert but it is one of the most important ingredients in baking because of the following reasons: Salt contributes to developing the flavor You’ve probably heard this or something similar before. Salt helps to offset the sweetness of sugar (one of the main ingredients in dessert). Just a small quantity of salt can help enhance the flavor of other ingredients to help make their flavors more pronounced. Have you ever seen someone eat feta cheese and watermelon? My grandma does and I always thought it was gross. But the saltiness from the feta cheese helps enhance the natural flavor of the sweet watermelon giving it a more complex taste.  Salt improves textural qualities, increases the elasticity of gluten and the firmness of dough. The first thing I think of when someone says dessert is cake, then chocolate, then sweet fruit. But dough? What does dough have to do with dessert?! A lot actually! Dough is most commonly referred to when talking about bread but in fact it also refers to pie doughs, sweet bread doughs, etc. Salt is especially important in doughs because it improves the textural qualities, increases the elasticity of gluten and firmness of the dough. One of my favorite rainy day treats is a fresh hot cinnamon roll! The beautifully soft texture and ability for the dough to be rolled wouldn’t be the same without salt! Salt regulates the activity of yeast cells to help stabilize fermentation Since we’re talking about cinnamon rolls, a yeast raised dough, it’s perfect to talk about how salt regulates the fermentation process. Yeast is what makes most doughs rise and it is quite a tricky ingredient to work with if you’re inexperienced. I won’t go into too much detail because this is about salt, not yeast, but put simply salt hinders the ability for yeast to grow while sugar feeds it. In the cinnamon roll dough you mix yeast with sugar to help in grow (that’s why they get nice and fluffy)! You add salt in the dough to keep the yeast from growing way too much and developing a weird taste in your dough. I hope that makes sense! (Let me know if it doesn’t; I’d be happy to explain more.)  Salt plays a role in the coloration of baked goods Do you ever wonder how an almost white pie dough can color to such a beautiful brown crust of an apple pie? Because ovens don’t bake items with direct heat, salt is important to help color your baked goods. Salt is hygroscopic (it attracts water) Salt is also hygroscopic meaning simply that it attracts water from the air. This is especially important in contributing to the softness of doughs and crusts in humid conditions. In dry conditions salt helps set water. Salt helps preserve your delicious treats The fact that salt is used as a natural preservative is probably the most widely known. As our ancestors discovered, salt helps preserve things so that we can enjoy them for longer periods of time. However, compared to our ancestors, we don’t use nearly as much salt as they did because we have cool and new innovative technology developed in the mid 1700’s called refrigeration. Now, a little bit of salt is added to preserve the textural quality of baked goods over time.  So there you have it, six scientific reasons that salt is in your dessert! I hope now you have a better understanding of why salt is so essential in desserts and pastry to help develop the taste, texture and preserve your sweets naturally! Next time you make a dessert don’t forget to add the salt!
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*Originally published 3/11/18 Pi day (March 14) is coming up, which gives you an excuse to indulge in a delicious pie even though it’s not Thanksgiving! In baking and pastry school we recently focused on tarts, the French cousin of good old American pie, and I couldn’t be more ecstatic to share these classic French tarts with you! If you are looking for inspiration for your next pie or tart to celebrate Pi day search no more! Here’s five classical French tarts that are sure to make you drool.  1. Chocolate Tart (Tarte Chocolat) I mean you doesn’t love chocolate? And when you create a tart with chocolate as the star you are sure to attract a horde of chocolate lovers. I certainly did fall in love with this rich indulgent tart. It starts with a perfectly buttery and crisp crust filled with rich 60% dark chocolate, coated with a glossy dark chocolate glaze, and topped with whipped chocolate ganache. Want to be extra fancy? Add some gold leaf to accent all the dark tones from the chocolate.  2. Pistachio Almond Vanilla Bean Fruit Tart (Tarte Aux Fruits) This tart is what dreams are made of. Seriously. I love chocolate so of course I loved the chocolate tart but this not so simple fruit tart literally made me want to cry; it was so delicious. After I took photos, you bet I cut myself a little piece to try, which ended up being about a third of the entire tart… It has fruit so I justified it as part of my fruit serving for the day. :P So what exactly is underneath all that fruit that makes this tart amazing? Three delicious components. That perfectly buttery and crisp tart shell, filled with pistachio almond cream, topped with a generous layer or pistachio vanilla bean pastry cream (a.k.a. pudding), piled with fresh naturally sweet berries and accented with gorgeously green watercress. You’ll bet I ate that entire tart by myself. I have no regrets! It was amazing!  3. Apple Tart (Tarte Aux Pommes) I think one of the most iconic pies in history is good old American apple pie. The French have a similar, more sophisticated and technical tart version that is no easy feat to master. A buttery and crisp tart shell holds apple compote and a bed of sliced apples to make the classic Tarte Aux Pommes (Apple Tart). Sounds easy right? HA! No. The challenge lies in the precise slicing and arranging of the apples in perfect uniformity. Put simply, each apple has to be exactly the same size, thickness, length, shape, and spaced exactly the same distant apart from each other during arranging. I think my best advice for anyone trying to master this tart is to spend plenty of time doing every step perfectly. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.  4. Lemon Tart (Tarte Citron) Ah, the lemon tart. The first time I tried lemon cream in France was at the Eiffel Tower restaurant. It was to die for! I had to learn how to make it and was insanely excited to do so in school. This tart is actually fairly simple but still amazing none the less. Lemon curd (lemon pudding) fills a buttery crisp tart shell and is decorated with meringue and watercressIt’s the French equivalent of the classical Lemon Meringue Pie. I decided to go a little outside the box for my decorating and made a meringue shaped heart.  5. Pear Almond Tart (Tarte Bourdaloue)
Ironically, even though this is last on the list, this one was the first tart I made at school! It was absolutely delicious. I discovered how amazing simple flavors can be when you focus and emphasize them so they can shine on a dessert. The pears on this tart are poached making them melt in your mouth as you enjoy the difference in textures between the crisp and buttery tart shell, soft almond cream and pear which a slight crunch from almond slices. This tart is perfect with some tea or coffee for an afternoon snack! I’m so glad I was able to learn about these five classic French tarts in my baking and pastry program at Ferrandi. So far, I’ve been in school for almost a month and I gained a TON of experience and knowledge. I can’t wait to see my progress from the beginning of the program to the end. I’m really excited to recreate these to feature them on my menu when I get back to Chicago! Which tart would you try first? There is a lot of terminology in pastry that can become really overwhelming. I wanted to have a dedicated space where people can learn about the "fancy" pastry names without being judged. So I guess you can call this an encyclopedia of sorts. These blog posts will help break down those fancy pastry terms and exotic ingredients. DessertsingredientsKnow about a really cool dessert or ingredient I haven't mentioned above? I know, there's probably a lot. I'd love to learn about more ingredients from around the world so send me a message and fill me in!
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AuthorPastry Chef from Chicago, IL. Trained in Paris, France. follow meStay updatedSign up for email notifications when new posts are published.
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