I'll start with the "burn outs" part as a courtesy. I define "burn-out" as someone whose nerves are shot, for whatever reason. Thus, you can be a burn out without being a washed-up pothead. (Really, though, how much weed counts as "too much" is totally subjective.) I consider myself a burn-out because the only thing I can do quickly and effectively under time constraints is formulate coherent and researched arguments on the dynamics of Beetle's relationship with Miss Buxley in the comic strip Beetle Bailey* to post on the internet.
Bakers have a unique place in the kitchen, because we don't have to hop-to and hustle on the line when orders start coming in. Most of the work is done in advance, so all that's left is filling the bread baskets and plating dessert. Watching Kitchen Nightmares** makes me dizzy sometimes, with chefs calling out orders to line cooks over rows of searing hot pans, plates for Table 3 getting confused with plates for Table 8, and the pressure on getting the food out NOW--it's too much. I'd much rather worry about being efficient with my time and work at a steady pace, than subject myself (and everyone working with me) to that kind of chaos. Because chaos is exactly what you would get from me.
Fortunately for us burn outs, you don't have to turn out a fully-prepared baked good on demand. You get the menu in advance, and plan accordingly. Doing a banquet for 135 people in three days from now, and the dessert is an iced triple-layer cake with two fillings? That's cool--bake the cakes and make the fillings and icings on Day 1. Slice the cakes, assemble them, and ice them on Day 2. Put any final touches on the icing and slice them on Day 3. Even better is when you have icing and fillings already made and labeled in the freezer. That's not always feasible, depending on how much freezer space you have, and whether or not you've had the chance to stock up before the order came in. But it's very satisfying when your boss hands you an order and you know you're already a couple steps ahead.
You don't even have to make everything from scratch, especially for home baking. Angel food cake is a bit tricky, and it's very time-consuming if you make it from scratch--you whip egg whites into a meringue, which requires at least ten minutes, and a practiced eye. There's no shame in buying a boxed mix, especially if you decide to make the icing yourself instead of buying it. Or you can make the cake, whatever kind it is, completely from scratch, and frost it with something from a can. Or use canned pumpkin filling for your pie--I've made pie filling from a couple of pumpkins I got from a co-worker, and it's a fun project, but god it takes forever. The point is, you can decide which parts you want to do entirely yourself, as well as how fancy you want to get with assembly and decoration.
The best part of baking at home, though, is that you set the pace. If you're not confident about writing script on a birthday cake, you can set out a piece of wax paper and just practice writing in icing with a pastry bag to your heart's content. Want to make a rainbow swirl cake with every color of the rainbow? Your only limit is how many bowls you have--one per color--and your own imagination. Make it with three colors, or ten different shades of green; be as meticulous or free as you like. Granted, there are some limits, thanks to chemistry and physics: whipped egg whites will deflate after a certain point, chocolate has to be heated gently because it burns easily, and so on. Like any art or craft, there are some limits and rules, but there is an amazing array of what you can do within those limits.
This blog is intended to be a sort of guide for aspiring home bakers. You don't have to be a professional baker to turn out professional results. Even if you don't aspire to land a spot in the World Pastry Team Championship, you can make a delicious, quality baked good with good texture and simple appeal. To me, it doesn't matter if something is over-wrought with fancy icing and sculpted, hand-painted fondant in the shape of the Arc de Triomphe, if it tastes like crap--give me a fresh baguette made by someone who knows their way around a loaf of bread. I'll be providing recipes, of course, as well as in-depth looks at ingredients, techniques, equipment, and various baked goods and sweets you can make easily at home. Even if you don't want to work your way up to pastry swans and gold-patterned chocolate truffles, you can certainly make something that people will enjoy. Most importantly, you can make something that you will enjoy both making and eating, and you can take pride in having made it yourself.
*He's totally a beard she uses to make sure the other soldiers keep their paws off her, while "dating" Miss Buxley hides Beetle's asexuality and lends him credibility with the other soldiers. See "Not This Wednesday: The Unconsummated Tryst of Beetle Bailey." Thinking for Funnies. Ed. Josh Fruhlinger. Dec. 2010.
**Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is infinitely superior to the Fox version, and certainly has less artificial panic, but I'd still rather not be a line cook.
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