The Ultimate Pastry Guide: 10 Tips to Know Before Learning French Pastry
Before you start:
Almost anything can be considered an art form, in my opinion (yes, even something like grating cheese…who knows, maybe there’s some special techniques or super fancy graters out there. Maybe there’s even some secret club for it! Oh no…I think I’ve said too much now…). To me, art is about honing technique and combining that specialized skill with ebullient ingenuity. So really, as long as you’re knowledgeable and creative about a subject, anything can be art (like grating cheese! Okay, I think this whole “cheese grating thing” has gotten out of hand now…).
That brings me to the venerable art form that is French Pastry–if you’ve had any baking experience before (even just making cake mix!), you’re probably aware that baking needs to be precise. Every ingredient has a structural purpose as well as an impact on taste–balancing out textural components with the desired overall flavor can be a difficult process. For French Pastry, this need for accuracy and extensive knowledge is even more important–recipes are generally simple (ingredient-wise, that is…), but the process of making things as simple as a plain baguette can take several days!
I don’t want to scare away those of you who want to learn more about French pastries–it’s an incredibly fulfilling pursuit that has immesurable potential for imagination and innovation (you just need to get some basic ideas down first!). For those of you interested in trying out homemade croissants, or eclairs, or even macarons (my favorite, obviously!), here are ten tips to help you begin this magical journey into delicious French pastries:
1. Remember Mise en place
Mise en place isn’t as fancy as it sounds–it literally just means “things in place.” But its significance to French Pastry is crucial; it frames a positive mindset for the exacting nature of the recipes and makes everything so much easier (trust me…not having mise en place ingrained WILL lead to tears…I don’t care if you’re a 300-pound body builder…you WILL be crying by the end of the process…you’ve been warned now!).
So what does mise en place mean, exactly? Well, firstly, it refers to the more literal definition: having all your ingredients, equipment, and any other necessary components prepared prior to needing them in the recipe. And it’s actually a pretty simple concept that you’re probably already practicing a little if you’ve ever baked or cooked anything before (even boiling pasta or heating up a frozen pizza!): things as easy as preheating the oven before needing it or measuring out the amount of pasta you’ll need for dinner.
In French pastry, ingredients are often weighed (more on this later!) so it’s good to have them all pre-weighed in small bowls before using them, especially since some ingredients may be called for at time-sensitive moments in a recipe. Furthermore, you don’t want to be two hours into a recipe only to find out that you don’t have the right pan or piping tip for the pastry, so getting essential equipment ready beforehand is vital!
Beyond having things prepared earlier, though, mise en place also refers to precise planning–you should read every recipe you plan on making thoroughly before attempting it so that you know not only the ingredients and equipment you’ll need, but also the time you’ll need everything. Certain components to a recipe–like caramel–require ingredients to be added at exact moments; you need to be prepared for those (ruining a caramel can be a painful experience…literally…don’t make yourself be in pain!!!).
2. Have the Correct Equipment Prepared
I’ll be posting a more in-depth post about the most important equipment to have when starting French pastry, so be tuned for that; but just as a general tip, and important addition to mise en place, you need to obtain the necessary equipment (or suitable alternatives) that a recipe requires.
One of the most basic (and most important!) pieces of equipment is a kitchen scale; in French pastry, most ingredients are weighed to ensure accuracy. Beyond that, many French pastries require specialized components--macarons, for instance, will need piping bags, a fine-mesh sifter, and a food processor at the minimum. Not having these materials prepared will likely result in failed batches that can be discouraging to a French pastry beginner–so have the correct equipment ready to ensure more likely success.
3. Know Weight vs. Volume
If you’ve mostly baked American or homestyle recipes before, you’ve probably used volume-based measurements the most (this refers to the ingredient capacity, like cups and tablespoons). Although this method of measurement is probably more familiar (and doesn’t require the purchase of a kitchen scale), it’s too unreliable for the precise methods required in French Pastry (don’t believe me? Just look at this 80-percent hydration baguette recipe!).
If you want to experiment, have two different people measure a cup of flour and then weigh them out–the difference will likely be vast, since just choosing to spoon vs. dip the flour into the cup can create stark discrepancies. Furthermore, it’s more difficult to create universal recipes that work for everyone, since everyone’s “cup” might be slightly different (most of the recipes I get from my Serbian relatives fall prey to this–often, a “cup” is just a very special bowl or mug that a baba, or Serbian grandmother, uses for all their measurements…now that I think about it, maybe that’s why grandma always makes it the best…she’s made it impossible to recreate!).
Weight, however, ensures accurate, compatible measurements for every recipe. Before you start anything in French pastry, definitely make sure to purchase a kitchen scale! As a note for American readers, most pastry recipes are in grams; make sure your scale has that setting available!
4. Oven Temperature is Crucial
This tip is simple, but critical: have an oven thermometer!!! To help explain why this is so important, let’s look at macarons (my favorite!): I would say probably around half the macaron failures I’ve seen or heard about have been due to inaccurate oven temperature! Just having the oven slightly too hot can cause the feet (those ruffled edges around the macaron shell) to expand too much, resulting in a hollow macaron. Conversely, an oven just five degrees too cold can cause the feet to grow too tall (or not at all!). And because every oven is different, you should always monitor your oven temperature in order to sidestep easily avoidable pitfalls.
5. Learn the Terms
Do you know the difference between brisée, sucrée, and sablée tart crusts? Have you heard of “lamination” or “detrempt”? French pastry comes with it’s own language (beyond just knowing French, that is…), that is important to learn not only because it will often appear in traditional (aka the best!) recipes, but also because it pays homage to the art form itself. French pastry is revered in France for it’s difficulty, artistry, and laborious work; to truly understand French pastry (and it’s esteemed history), using the correct terms is vital.
Knowing the terms also helps classify, organize, and learn the techniques quicker–stay tuned for a future post in the series dedicated to the most important terms to know for French Pastry beginners!
6. Learn Techniques, not Recipes
When you’re starting your French Pastry education, it’s important to focus on learning techniques before applying them to recipes–like anything, practice makes perfect! Additionally, knowing basic techniques will let you build your own recipes in the future–the creative potential for french pastry is unfathomable!
I’ll talk about the important techniques to know in future posts; some critical techniques include lamination, tart crusts, pastry creams, and
pâte à choux (cream puffs!). Focus on simple recipes that are based in one technique until you master it–that means starting with a profiterole before embarking on a Religieuse, or learning puff-pastry dough before making a Tarte Tatin!
7. Think Components
Building from the previous tip, as you learn French Pastry, it will help to think componential before seeing the “full-picture.” Many spectacular entremets (those amazing multi-layered, often uniquely shaped pastries you’ll see in esteemed Pastry shops) are actually quite simple to make once you understand the components and techniques behind them.
Components include the type of pastry dough, along with a variety of fillings: ganaches, curds, pastry creams…the list goes on! When building your own pastry creations, just remember what components you want to include, and the textural elements they might provide; again, this all lies on learning the techniques first (what can I say…practice is really important!).
8. Flavor Profile is King!
What do I mean when I say “flavor profile”? It really just refers to thinking about every taste, texture, smell, and visual component in a dessert and how they’re balanced. I think that we often just think of flavors as a singular event–like “strawberry,” or “sweet” or “chocolatey” (LOVE that last one…still, it’s not enough for French pastry!). But to elevate your baking, you need to go beyond these narrow categories; French pastries are made with different components–all with their own flavor profiles–that combine into one “master” flavor profile.
Ideally, you’ll want to create a profile that allows for a variety of tastes and textures. It might help to think about it like wine is described by sommeliers: you know when they go on about the taste of California oak on a Tuesday morning at 6:32 am and the faint aroma of Scandinavian dog treats (or something like that…)? Well, they’re actually providing an extensive flavor profile to the wine–one composed from several different components in the wine-making process.
You’ll need to approach French pastry the same way–as you learn more techniques, this will become much easier! To start, just think about how to incorporate different textures and allow your overall flavor to speak soundly. That might mean adding pistachio praline for an extra crunch (check out this recipe for more!) or learning to mitigate sweetness by adding more intense flavorful components.
9. Don’t Forget to Study!
Eating delectable pastries is wonderful, but if you really want to learn to create them yourself, you’ll have to put in the adequate study time (and that doesn’t always mean just baking!). Beyond practicing new techniques, you’ll want to engage in helpful information anywhere you can get it. Here are a few great ways to learn about French Pastry, and man don’t even require a kitchen (hint…by reading this article, you’re already studying!):
- Read cookbooks: French pastry cookbooks are your best bet, but any cookbook will help you understand new techniques and learn about recipe composition (and maybe even provide creative inspiration!).
- Watch baking videos: In this era of readily-available technology, you should really use it to your studying advantage (just think “college student”….). Watching cooking shows, baking You-Tube videos, or even live food demonstrations can be wonderful for inspiration as well as learning!
- Eat!: This study tip is the best one (and next time you are eating an éclair, you can say it’s for research…it’s a win-win situation!). I encourage you to try new foods everywhere you go (particularly new pastries!). You’ll learn about new flavor combinations, how to compose a successful dessert, and maybe even possible ways to improve on faults (even bad pastries can be learning experiences!). Just keep your stomach hungry for information 🙂
- Practice: This is perhaps self-explanatory, but hands-on practice is a great way to learn. Keep baking, and don’t let mishaps discourage you!
10. Be Enthusiastic and Creative!
Your ultimate goal when learning French Pastry should be to have fun and eat well 🙂 Don’t be afraid to experiment with new flavors or techniques once you’ve learned the basics (I’ve certainly had fun here…sesame soy-sauce macarons are just one of my more unique creations).
Keep positive, and treat every failure as a learning experience. And always remember to have fun 🙂
You’re Now Ready to Start Learning!
I hope some of these tips were helpful to you’re French Pastry journey. If you have any other useful knowledge on the subject, please feel free to share in the comments.
And if you want to practice the “eat” part of your studying tip, go ahead and order some French Macarons from Poeme Macarons (my macaron shop). They’re delicious inspiration, I promise!
Happy baking everyone!
