Bake Off Take Off!

Yes, I Do Mean "The Great British Bake Off"
If you recall the 2014 GBBO then you will recall Luis Troyano, our man from Poynton, who got to the semi-finals:

Manchester man

     Well, last week the message went round work, he was going to do a masterclass at Numb<cough cough>re, and people could apply to come and watch.  Also ask questions. Only 25, mind, and you needed to get permission to attend. 
     So I applied - at the very least it was time off the floor and the phones - and - Hay Pesto!  got a place.
     The event was due to take place between 9:30 and 10:30 in the "Taste Centre", new territory to me - think of a great big kitchen sat in the middle of a suite of offices.
     

Luis being casual.
"Any policy on taking photos?" I asked, to an expansive shrug and permissive gesture

     He was going to show how to bake Savoury Filled Rolls, a variation on a bread recipe.  He had a batch that he'd done the day before, which went into the oven to bake in order to be presented during the class.

     Here we have the dough after second proving, being made into a rough rectangle:

It will get bigger

     And here it is, rolled out and being prepped with the filling:

Serrano ham, cheese, pepper and olives.  Are we hungry yet?

     This is the point where he "tacked" the dough to the benchtop, that is he stuck it to the top to ensure it remained static.
     Here is the finished product in tulip cases:

About forty minutes condensed into one picture

     One of the marks of an expert is that they make the difficult look easy, which is exactly what Luis did.  He didn't rush or dither, yet by the end of the class he'd made 12 very tasty rolls.  Not only that, he'd kept up a stream of patter during the whole process, and responded to questions from those of us attending - and he didn't stammer, repeat himself, remain silent or get flustered.  A very good presenter is Conrad's judgement.

Old Dog, New Tricks
Conrad has been baking bread - though not so much recently - for about 18 years, and yet Luis had a few tweaks and tips that were novel to your humble scribe.  He pooh-poohed a lot of mystique around bread and dough - prove it in the fridge over at least 24 hours, he suggested.  No need to rush things!  His secret weapon was rice flour - used to prevent sticking to the bench or rolling pin; it doesn't take up moisture like wheat flour and doesn't have a taste, so you can be liberal in applying it.  Use a thermal probe to test the baked goods - if the interior of your bread/roll/muffin is at N Degrees, then it's baked, regardless what the outside looks like.
     I shall certainly be using some of his tips the next time I bake bready stuff.

"As an old dog, I  cavil at the attitude of this " (Cont. Page 96)

The Aftermath
Oh, we got to have a slice of roll and they were very nice indeed! Since Phil and Anna had given the go-ahead for my attendance, I took them a piece each.  Phil was very appreciative - Anna - Anna rather less so.  In fact she beat me about the head with an envelope as Conrad had forgotten that the rolls had ham in them - and she is a veggie of many decades long standing ...
     Fortunately Rick diverted her attention and I may be okay tomorrow.

Anna, thinking happy thoughts.
Conrad crosses fingers that this carries over into tomorrow.

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