Pepperoni Bread

One of my baking jobs is to make pepperoni bread for Erin’s Deli. The job isn’t difficult but it does take a while to get the breads made.

*First, remove the frozen dough and leave it in the refrigerator to thaw out.

*Next, when the dough is thawed, I take it out of the refrigerator.

* Take out the dough from each bag, cut it in half and roll the dough flat on a floured surface.

*After I get a few flat pieces of dough, I brush on an oil mixture with herbs, then place pepperoni on the top, and sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella cheese.

*I pull the sides of the dough together and roll it up with the seam placed down on a sprayed parchment paper, on a sheet tray.

*When I get at least 9 pepperoni breads, I put two slits in the top of the roll, brush on more oil mixture and place three cut pieces of pepperoni on the top.

After I complete all the breads, I bake them and when they are a golden brown, I take them out of the oven and leave them on cooling racks. After the breads are cooled, I place them in a plastic bag in the freezer to be taken down to the Deli.

The delicious breads can be purchased at Erin’s Deli, downtown. The hardest part of this job is not to take one of those delicious breads for myself!

I Love Scones

Scones are considered a quick bread or cake. They are made with all-purpose flour or other types of flour. A variety of different ingredients are added and to sweeten the scone, sugar is added. Scones can be made in all different flavors, like Blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, Peach, Pumpkin, Lemon, Chocolate Chips and more. The Scone can be glazed or un-glazed. It can be served warm or eaten cold. They usually are shaped in triangles or in circles.

I personally love Scones because they are not too sweet. The Scones that are make for Erin’s Deli (in downtown Pittsburgh) are the usual ones. These are on the menu and are popular with the customers - the Blueberry Scones and the Chocolate Chip Scones.  The other popular scone, that can be called Erin’s signature one… is a Savory Scone of Bacon, Cheddar, and Jalapeño. At first when I heard about this scone, I made a face. Then I followed the recipe and made them. I tasted one after it was baked. OMG! Yes, it was that good. After one taste, I definitely understood why the customers like this Savory Scone!

I’ve made other scones: Strawberry and White Chips, Peaches and Cream, Lemon, and an Oatmeal with Cranberry and Nuts.

The scones have their own icing. Butter and brown sugar tops the Savory Scone and the Oatmeal Scone. Lemon icing is used for the Lemon Scone. Vanilla Icing is drizzled on the Blueberry and Chocolate Chip Scone.

Now that fall is underway, look for some new fall scones!

Before and After

I had a productive baking day at the kitchen. I put my cinnamon rolls in the Proofer to rise. After a few hours, I would bake them, let them cool a bit, and then ice them with the frosting that I made.

While the rolls were in the Proofer, I pulled out the two plastic bags filled with my dry ingredients for the Chocolate Chunk Scones and the Blueberry Scones. I made both and set them aside in bowls. Then I shaped them into triangle scones and put them in the Walk-In to harden.

I made the recipe for the Funfetti cookies. I scooped them out on long sheet trays, and put them in the Walk-In to chill. Then I baked the scones, and eventually baked all the cookies and let them cool on the kitchen rack.

While everything was cooling down, I made banana bars and frosting for the bars and for the scones and rolls.

When everything was done, I wrapped the cookies, put the banana bars in the Walk-In and the scones and rolls in the freezer, on sheet trays. I cleaned up the kitchen, felt a sense of accomplishment as I turned off the light and locked the door, knowing that there would be a lot of tasty pastries that would be going down to Erin’s Deli tomorrow!

Pastry Chef in Training

I used to help out in my daughter’s catering kitchen. At first I helped to decorate the two front rooms. Then I helped in the kitchen area to clean it up and learned how to run the dishwasher. Little by little, I learned how to cut the fruit and display it on platters, along with cutting cheese for platters and vegetables. The platters were artistically arranged. I learned how to do different types of appetizers. After those jobs, I helped out with salads, and sometimes I made meat loafs and lasagnas and quiches. A few times, I made homemade pierogis, and a few other food items. I even worked at a few of her weddings, setting up the rooms, arranging the cookies on the cookie table, and serving the food.

Once my daughter started her downtown deli, she hired two full time bakers and I would be around to help them or to do my assigned jobs. I watched both bakers leave and a third person who did almost everything at the kitchen, also left.

My job after that was to learn how to make the pastries that are needed at the Deli, along with a few other items that are on the menu. Cookies, Scones, and soufflés were the three things that I started out doing. I added cinnamon rolls, spinach feta pin wheels, and pepperoni breads. 

 

  

It took a while to get things together. I needed to get a good routine and eliminate the screw ups. As time has gone on, things are running a bit more smoothly in the kitchen.