On Originality & Step by Step Sweet Dough Diary

Two summers ago, I was still at my first job, and been cooking egg custard filling or yema almost every day, thus inspired me to create my own Yema Brioche rolls. Well, to be honest, I love giving credits to anyone due. Who has been inspiring me always, for this recipe is the Camiguin favorite, Vjandep's pastel. And no, I didn't achieve the exact recipe nor got closed. It's theirs, not mine to copy, but inspired me to try creating something I can call my own.

If you are a follower of my blog, you knew I'm a fan girl of Chef Francisco Migoya, Chef Johnny Iuzzini, Chef Pierre Herme, Chef Jeni Britton Bauer and Chef Jackie Ang-Po. But in a closer perspective, I have names closed to my heart that has been always inspiring me.

A lot of things and people has been inspiring me; 2 of those are celebrating their birth days today, my Ezra-elle, I want the whole world to know that you are our first real baby doll, God's living miracle and the joy of the house when something’s not working right. You are special, you are beautiful and you are our big baby girl!

Another person who keeps me inspired, as if she was my fairy God mother in my past life, Chef Anne, you are always been my respected teacher, sister and confidante in one. The Ube Leche Flan cake is receiving warm welcomes; it is for sure the next big thing!

Another person is Chef Mhai. The yema is her’s and I’ve been using it in different ways now for my Yema Brioche and Frozen Brazo De Mercedez... She is the girl of R&D's and will always look up to her style.

Lovely Sweet doughs on First Fermentation

Last one, for breads is of course that one teacher who will make you learn the hard way. Sometimes I wonder if I ever made him proud on my own way. Chef Roel ; the man with solar hands. The chef who taught me humility and showed me kindness while I was still a student, remember when you let me take my Midterms even if I'm sick? It's a Cinnamon Rolls day and How can I forget when you let me take my Finals despite the fact that I'm on the No Pay No Exam list. This week's recipes are Yema Brioche Rolls and Yoghurt Cinnamon Swirls with Banana-Pecan Caramel

Inspired with Yoghurt and Pecans in the Pantry

First step: Weigh all ingredients

YOGHURT CINNAMON SWIRLS WITH BANANA-PECAN CARAMEL

34g Water

120g Plain Yoghurt

120g Fresh milk

4g Salt

73g Sugar

480g All Purpose Flour

4g Baking Soda

20g Yeast

120g Butter

Filling:

75g Brown Sugar

10g Cinnamon, ground

Banana-Pecan Caramel:

85g Butter

100g Sugar

120g Corn syrup

40g Pecan, chopped

1 pc Banana, sliced

Second Step: Mixing

Add in Butter at Pick Up Stage

Window Pane Test: Not yet.. give it more spin

Close..

Yes!

Gather into a ball

Transfer to a greased bowl and loosely cover with cling wrap

Third Step: Initial Fermentation. Ferment the dough for 1 hour, once the dough is ready, degas which is the Fourth Step.

Fifth Step: Roll out the dough and fill with Cinnamon Sugar, then shape into a baston, lock the seams and face downwards

Cinnamon Sugar, Pecans and Sliced Bananas

Make the Caramel before shaping your dough

Pour the warm Caramel on the pan lined with foil, arrange the raw sliced bananas and pecans

Next Step: Cut the dough into 2 inches thick allow spaces for final fermentation

Ferment the dough for at least 30 minutes and Bake at 160/160 C until golden brown

YEMA BRIOCHE ROLLS

 Follow the same procedure for the Brioche dough

Mise En Place all the ingredients

Mix the sifted dry ingredients and liquid ingredients

Spin until Pick Up stage

Add in Butter and continue mixing

This dough is a little more sticky

Window Pane test

Gather into a ball

Transfer to a greased bowl and loosely cover with cling wrap

Don't forget to label and time your dough!

250g Fresh milk

4g Salt

7g Sugar

500g Bread Flour

15g Yeast

2 pcs Eggs

113g Butter

Yema:

10g egg yolks

300ml Condensed Milk

100g Butter

For the Yema, simply combine all the ingredients in one sauce pot and cook over low heat until thickened

Once the dough is ready, divide into 30g per piece and fill with 1 Tbsp or more Yema and shape into balls

These ones are difficult to shape by the way, but you can do better I'm sure :) Put the filled dough on a rectangular pan lined with foil and arranged like a Pull Apart. Brush with Egg wash, final proof for 30 mins and bake at 160/160 C until golden brown.

Egg Wash:

1 pc Egg yolk

30 ml Fresh Milk

Once the bread is baked, invert and unmold

Freshly baked Yema Brioche Pull Apart

My curiosity in creating is like a worm, if I don’t execute what's in my mind, it keeps my head itchy. Part of this blog was created because I needed an outlet, I needed a place to publish my developed pastries and I needed to practice writing. I never thought that I ever had an audience aside from my 7 siblings who eats whatever I bake.

I therefore conclude, with my greased hands and floured clogs; I'm inspired by the beautiful people around me. Close friends, family and mentors. Inspiration is like a bar to look up to, not to imitate but to borrow ideas. Everyone is capable of imagining but not all of us can create something with substance and uniqueness. I'm not a pastry chef. My work mates call me that, but at home, I'm just a curious cat. For my nephews and nieces I'm just the aunt who bakes them cakes and cookies, for my friends, I'm just the quiet girl who has another side of the yin *winks* when hyped or when sad. For my parents, I'm just always.. Hungry

On speaking of originality, it’s quite a challenge nowadays to stay original and honest. One of the things I have earned and proud of, as for my entire stay in Cheri are the desserts I have developed and cakes that gave me pecks of challenges. My almost 20 months in South were full of first times.

Yoghurt Cinnamon Swirls with Banana-Pecan Caramel and Yema Brioche Rolls

Something I wanted to share to my dear reader and future students, if ever I'm a person to look up to (just maybe) is to keep challenging yourself; Join competitions, Never say No, Practice And Study.

Competitions are training ground for successful R&D’s, just like how Chef Jackie would always remind me “Keep your brain cells active”. Each time brings you back to your firsts. First burnt recipe, first that just don’t look good, first that just don’t work at all. Repetition and practice is always the key. How do you know if it’s just not really working after several tries? Well, you just have to decide and let go, go back on top.

I like Research & Development. I like creating products for the first time, the challenge always excites me, challenging myself and overcoming "I can't" "I never made something like that" or "What if I fail" are always in my head first before I accept orders, but to become a successful pastry chef, one must step a foot forward towards the arena of doubt, take risks, fail and at the end of the day overcome your doubts.

Reading helps a lot; most of my creations were inspired from books and Internet which is a big open book of ideas and photos. But like writers, chefs has "style" and "signature", you can't just copy someone else’s work.

The Anatomy of Yema Brioche

How can you resist her?

An equally important discipline learned; to borrow ideas. I'm not the type who will copy, but the type who will borrow inspiration, execute on my own strokes, because humility is when you submit to the thought someone somewhere is always better than you are, if that someone better inspires you, it will always feel overwhelming and fulfilling to imitate but Integrity is when you create a borrowed or inspired idea into your own piece, making your own original style and making people determine your own "signature". Most often, smart people of the industry knew just by glancing that you copied your work or not.

You cannot copy entirely, that's not fair. But you can always borrow ideas and create your own. Don’t skip giving credits. I'm looking forward to earning my "style" and "signature". I hope I made an inspiration to you as well and looking forward to inspire more friends on my own way.

Much love and happy baking!