Slamming Dough

Everyone was feeling excited/nervous/edgy for tomorrow, the first day of opening early to serve brunch. That meant there was extra to do this morning, prepping for the additional egg dishes and French toast (using focaccia!), revising the menu up to the last minute, and Chef R working with the backroom kitchen staff to pump out rounds of brunchy salads and French toasts to the staff.

So it was down to C and me to make two huge rounds of dough -- for today and tomorrow, when we will be serving the whole menu, as well as a few brunch pies -- the carbonara has a raw egg dropped on it half way through the cooking.

We banged out a flourless chocolate cake, then Chef R sent me to the supermarket to pick up a cartload of groceries -- usually a list of 6 items would be a small handful, but when it's 10 pounds of potatoes, 4 pounds of brussel sprouts, 4 dozen eggs etc, it adds up.

We scaled and balled dough, which seemed to last forever, but I did notice that I'm getting faster without losing precision. Not a lot faster, but it's the upward trend we're looking for. C was over the moon because we were pretty much done with out prep, and focaccias and slice-pies coming out of the oven before 5, a rare event it seems in the restaurant and even more unusual because of the large amounts a Friday requires. I guess my presence is appreciated.

From service to close, the night flew by. I finished & plated/boxed pies for a while, but spent most of the time slamming dough, enjoying my increasing familiarity with how dough feels and acts, particularly according to temperature -- the warmer the dough is, the gooier and looser it gets, making it much quicker to stretch, but much easier to get too thin and tear.

Chef R pointed out different flaws I was producing in the dough throughout the night, but at the end she complimented me, saying that I was a huge help and felt I was 'clicking' in well. I've had so many horrendously horrible managers in jobs with tons of layers of management -- who would have thought such a good one would appear where there is almost no level of dedicated management?

ADDENDA:
Ate weirdly at the restaurant, but that's because odd food presented itself. Up until now, I was in the non-anchovies camp. I got over any strong negative feelings in c-school, where fish like anchovies and fish paste were discovered to be miraculous flavor enhancers that could make a dish. (Anyone who won't eat anything with anchovies in it, despite them being finely blended or diced, is an IDIOT.) I sampled a pie with the traditional strips of anchovies and it's very strong fishy/salty flavor was....not bad. I had a second little slice and enjoyed the fishy flavor more, the salty blast a little less. Interesting.

BREAKFAST: 8am, whole wheat English muffin with homemade hummus, water, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5

AM SNACK: 11am, banana, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 1:30pm, black cherry soda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2pm, 3 pieces of french toast, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Chef R was experimenting with the new brunch menu, giving it out to the staff.

LUNCH: 5pm, 2 square slices, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
So much better than frozen!

PM WATERING: 7pm, quart

PM SNACK: 9pm. 2 small slices of sardine pie, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Pie sent back from customer, divvied among us workers.

PM WATERING: 9:15pm, quart

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, small square of ricotta cheesecake, ginger ale, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5