Danielle Forestier, Maitre Boulanger,

Bakery Production

Areas of problem solving and analysis;

• fermentation technology and specification
  


• ingredient control and specification
  


• rheology


• ingredient functionality


• formulation


• training 

Problem: Creation and development of products for new bread and pastry manufacturer line for firm serving seven million people annually.
Solution: Developed and test marketed formulae, trained core staff, completed 15% under budget.

Problem: Lack of consistency in finished product for established bread producer.
Solution: Reformulation and specification of ingredients, followed by baker training to understand effects of ingredient fluctuations on final product.

Problem: Crippling labor costs on automated hearth bread line.
Solution: Designed and implemented effective dough processing procedures, reducing the cost of labor from 56% to 21% of total cost.

Problem: Showcase ingredient for targeted marketing effort.
Solution: Developed products sensitive to cultural preferences of Japanese and Israeli markets.

Problem: Excess spread on high-speed cookie line.
Solution: Defined ingrerdient specifications to contain spread within acceptable limits.

Problem: Installation of tunnel oven for fresh and par baked breads.
Solution: Developed formulae for a capacity of 10,000 pounds flour per day. Trained bakers effecting 800% production level increase.

Training

The wide variety of flours available provides a broad spectrum of choice for the baker. Each flour has its own inherent characteristics, predisposing it to produce certain attributes in the loaf after baking. Flavor, aroma, color, volume, crust and crumb texture are all largely affected by the baker's choice of flour.

Many bakers are interested in creative baking but are confused: which flours may I interchange and what adjustments must then be made. Sorting the misconceptions from the technology can be discouraging as trial efforts fail or fall short of expectations. This article will define parameters for substituting specialty flours in formulae and recipes already in use.

Flour, the main ingredient in bread, is most often milled from wheat, but many other grains and vegetables can be made into flours that can be used in bread and other baked products. Rye is second in popularity as a grain for bread flour. Other grains used for flour include soy, corn, barley and oats. Flours are also made from buckwheat, which is a cousin of rhubarb, and from starchy vegetables, such as potatoes. Each of these specialty flours has its own requirements as to the proportions of other ingredients used in the bread, kneading, rising and baking times and temperatures. Understanding the basic properties of these flours will enable the baker to achieve good results as well as to troubleshoot problems.

Youngsters learn more than baking while baking bread.

Ms. Jue-Leong’s first grade class, Oakland, CA, learned about good bread first hand. First they visited Acme Bakery to see how bread is made. They were shown the process from flour silos depositing flour into the mixers to the crusty baked loaves coming out of the steam oven.

Each child was given a loaf to take home and a mini loaf to eat on the spot, which all did. The following week, at the beginning of the day, Master Baker, Danielle Forestier, in chefs' uniform, came to their classroom and led them in making their own loaves.

Episode #204

Master baker Danielle Forestier shows Julia how to make the classic French baguette. Using the traditional, yet simple, recipe of flour, water, salt and yeast and terra cotta baking tiles, Danielle demonstrates how this traditional French bread can be made at home. To see the Video Click Here.

Professor Calvel, the impetus and inspiration for artisan bakers worldwide passed away on 30 August, 2005.

"It is with immense sadness that we let you know of the death of Professor Calvel on the 30^th of August, 2005, states the Bulletin of the Society of Friends and Former Students of Prof. Calvel (‘Amicale’).

The ‘Amicale’ further states that Raymond Calvel was an apprentice boulanger in the 30’s in a boulangerie in Tam. From 1936 to 1978 he was professor of baking at The National Superior School of Milling and Cereal Industries (ENSMIC). Calvel was the author of numerous books on the technology of baking (La Boulangerie Moderne/The Modern Bakery, Le Gout de Pain/The Taste of Bread, Les secrets de la baguette parisienne et du pain français/The Secrets of the Parisian Baguette and French Bread), some of which were translated into various languages, including English. He also published a great number of articles in the bulletin of the Ecole Française de Meunerie (French School of Milling), which is now the magazine: Industries des Céréales (Cereal Industries).

Loaves containing walnuts are chosen for their robust rich, flavor, as well as by the consumer who is making healthier choices.  The debate over whether to pre-roast walnuts before adding them to the dough continues...

An informal panel of experienced tasters compared the differences between loaves prepared under the same parameters, except one dough had raw walnuts and one had roasted walnuts.

The French baguette, made from only flour, water, yeast and salt, has nothing added to the dough to give added flavor.  A baker who can create a rich, complex flavor from only those four ingredients can make any loaf.

The Ultimate Loaf

Partners Danielle Forestier and Rick Kellner have opened the small bakery in a corner of the Alameda Marketplace, where on this particular morning a breeze carried the sour smell of yeast out the shopping center's big glass doors.

The Oakland Tribune (CA)

August 29, 2004