Some puff pastry items

[Cahoot]

I tackled making puff pastry last week, so here are the pastries that I've made with it.

Palmiers with cinnamon sugar. Did the last two turns (out of six total single turns) with the sugar instead of flour, and that made it quite a bit difficult to work with. I'll probably just end up making these with scraps in the future, so won't have to worry about doing that.

Apple turnovers. Making both an applesauce and cooked chunky apples for the filling gave it great texture. Used Bruno Albouze's recipe. He used inverted puff pastry, and his turnovers had an even higher rise, but for a beginner I'm very happy with my results.

Mille-feuille. Cutting the assembled pastry into the individual pastries created a huge mess with the filling spilling out (even with chilling it as long as I could without completely freezing it, as the pastry cream would then break down). I couldn't completely clean up the sides since the puff pastry layers weren't in perfectly even rectangles, so not happy with the aesthetics. Plus the marbling is too distinct, probably from using straight chocolate instead of ganache or chocolate fondant. Next time, I'd just assemble them individually, and pipe the filling in for a cleaner look.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Cahoot, overall I’d say you did a pretty good job. Puff pastries really difficult to make. Fusing the layers alway happens the first few times.

have you looked at Weekend Bakery’s croissant? The only difference between a croissant and puff pastry is the yeast. I really like their blog post on lamination.

Classic French croissant recipe – Weekend Bakery

www.weekendbakery.com

 

[Cahoot]

@Cahoot, overall I’d say you did a pretty good job. Puff pastries really difficult to make. Fusing the layers alway happens the first few times.

have you looked at Weekend Bakery’s croissant? The only difference between a croissant and puff pastry is the yeast. I really like their blog post on lamination.

Classic French croissant recipe – Weekend Bakery

www.weekendbakery.com

I like that Weekend Bakery site, their recipe and guides look to be very detailed. I've bookedmarked their website for future use when I start getting into yeasted doughs.

I've looked at a lot of puff pastry recipes (from textbooks, acclaimed pastry chefs, and general popular Internet sites), and to be honest many of them are very similar. I just have to be careful about keeping it cold to ensure the butter doesn't fuse with the dough. My kitchen isn't very cool and I can't roll it to the desired thickness as quickly as I see others do, so I'm just gonna make sure to chill the dough between turns extra long - better to do it slow but safe!

For the turnovers, the edges probably fused together a bit since I was just cutting them out with a (kinda dull) paring knife. I read a tip to lay cut-out pieces upside down when baking, so the stuck-together layers are on the bottom instead.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Yes the process of hand lamination is the same no matter who does it. The weekend bakery just has a lot of detailed information that is helpful. The discusses the lamination process in detail from start to finish. They even have a schedule of how they made their croissants from start to finish. They also answer questions from their readers. Just post a question in the comments section; about once a week they will review and respond to questions.

One of the things I found that helped me in lamination was finding the right butter. I discovered not all butter is created equal. Apparently butter is tempered in the manufacturing process. I found this out when I researched why some butter is pliable cold, and others hard as rock. Each manufacturer guards their method for tempering very closely. How the butter is tempered depends on the diet of the cows. I found this agricultural research paper written in 1958 that was all about the characteristics of butter.

When laminating dough, everything needs to be cold. If the butter is hard, it shatters as you roll out the dough. The shattered pieces tear into the dough as you roll. Plus, in the spaces where the butter breaks, the dough fuses.

If the butter is soft and pliable, it will roll out with the dough, not shatter. So you need a butter that is pliable when cold.

So high butterfat is a must.

I find Kerrygold butter is very pliable when cold. But it can be expensive. I buy it here for a good price, so I still use it.

A pastry chef told me to cut Plugra in big chunks, then whip it the food processor for about 30 seconds or so. Be very careful not to break the butter. Line a 7” square pan with plastic wrap, leaving extra on all sides. Spread the butter in the pan evenly, then cover well with the extra. Chill at least two hours before using. I’ve never tried her method, but she makes laminated dough frequently and taught a lamination class.

Are your countertops granite? If so, try covering the area you are going to use with a bag of ice. I live in a 100 yr old house, so no AC. In the spring and summer it is unbearably hot. I ice my countertop if I make any kind of dough that need to be rolled.

 

[Cahoot]

@Norcalbaker59 That's very interesting, I didn't even know that butter is tempered at all! From a quick search on the topic it seems to be similar in concept to tempered chocolate? Although the chemistry must be completely different, with tempered chocolate being caused by the crystals in cocoa butter, which obviously isn't present in butter. There's also surprisingly virtually no information I could actually find on the subject from my quick google search. However I definitely need to splurge one day and try making puff pastry with European-style butter.

And thanks for reminding me about the tip with the bag of ice. I've read it before but completely forgot about it. Will definitely come in handy with the weather warming up.

I've seen a similar method for preparing the butter block, just using a stand mixer instead of a food processor. To be honest I've just been doing the regular ol' smacking with a rolling pin, but for a larger quantity I'd imagine it'll be much simpler to just whip the butter by machine. And especially for someone who makes laminated dough more frequently, I can see why that pastry chef would prefer that method instead.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Norcalbaker59 That's very interesting, I didn't even know that butter is tempered at all! From a quick search on the topic it seems to be similar in concept to tempered chocolate? Although the chemistry must be completely different, with tempered chocolate being caused by the crystals in cocoa butter, which obviously isn't present in butter. There's also surprisingly virtually no information I could actually find on the subject from my quick google search. However I definitely need to splurge one day and try making puff pastry with European-style butter.

And thanks for reminding me about the tip with the bag of ice. I've read it before but completely forgot about it. Will definitely come in handy with the weather warming up.

I've seen a similar method for preparing the butter block, just using a stand mixer instead of a food processor. To be honest I've just been doing the regular ol' smacking with a rolling pin, but for a larger quantity I'd imagine it'll be much simpler to just whip the butter by machine. And especially for someone who makes laminated dough more frequently, I can see why that pastry chef would prefer that method instead.

There is zero in the cookbooks on the manufacturing of butter because it falls under food science and agriculture. So you won’t find anything easily on google. But I am the queen of research. There wasn’t much, but I eventually found information through Oregon State Universities‘ agricultural sciences archives and University of Davis food science department.

Conceptually the tempering of butter is sort is like chocolate in that it relates to the manipulation of crystal formation. In chocolate the crystal formations are heated to shatter them apart, then cooled in a controlled manner to realigned and neatly stacked in a desired way.

With butter it is about heating and cooling to control the crystallization of the olein and volatile fatty acids. Before they discovered tempering, the quality of butter was inconsistent. The dairy industry could not grade butter since it varied in quality by producer, season, and region. Some would be excessively hard; others would be crumbly; some would by greasy; others would leak. They discovered most of these problems were due to the volatile fatty acids and the olein in particular.

But it wasn’t an easy problem to solve since the content of volatile fatty acids and olein in the milk are affected by the diet. So that meant cows on any one farm would produce milk inconsistent throughout the year since they grazed part of the year, and were supplemented with hay and grains the rest of the year.

They also discovered butter softness increased with a higher percentage of olein. The real interesting thing is they found the amount of volatile fatty acids and olein in the milk varies during the single lactation session. At the beginning of the session, there is more volatile fatty acids, then as the milk is being pumped, the level of volatile fatty acids decreases and the olein levels increase. So the milk from the latter part of the lactation session is best for making butter. But it still needs to be tempered to make it creamy, soft, smooth, and to keep if from crumbling apart.

Since only the dairy farms knows the percentage of volatile fatty acids and olein in their cream, only they know what temperatures to temper their cream in the butter making process. So it‘s proprietary information.

I haven’t done much baking in the lockdown since I can’t eat gluten and I only see my brother’s family. So if I bake, I take it to them. But My 8 yr old niece will not eat anything unless its chocolate. Fortunately, I’ve been developing a chocolate cake recipe. I’m tired of these overly sweet gooey chocolate cakes. I want a chocolate cake that has deep chocolate flavor that is not cloying sweet and still has a nice crumb. So I’m doing a combination of brown and granulated sugar, that way I can reduce the sugar, but still have that sweetness from the brown sugar. I‘m kicking up the cocoa powder to about 55% - 60%. Most cakes are around 40% cocoa powder. Add more eggs for fat cuz I’m done with vegetable oil, I don’t want that rubbery texture. Then I am going to add some dark chocolate, not too much because I want the crumb to stay light and soft. I have the base, I just have to find the right amount of chocolate to add now.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

This talks about how variations in diet effect the levels of volatile fatty acids and olein levels in the milk. Which then ultimately affects the quality of the butter. When people say oh you can make your own butter and bake with it I just kind of smile. They see these people on the Internet beating cream into butter in the their mixers and think easy peasy. But butter is far more complex. There’s an extraordinary amount of science that goes into making butter.

Agriculture of Pennsylvania

books.google.com

 

[Cahoot]

@Norcalbaker59 Your chocolate cake sounds intriguing, I know it's often a disappointment when eating chocolate cake and it simply doesn't have enough... chocolate flavour, or it's masked by too much sweetness. I thought this might be an interesting read for you: https://www.thepancakeprincess.com/2019/04/18/best-chocolate-cake-bake-off/

It's a neat blog where the author does bake offs for a variety of classic desserts using popular internet recipes. I thought it was interesting reading about how the chocolate cake recipes differed so much, and what the taste testers liked and didn't like in those recipes. Especially for someone like me, whenever I research new recipes, I always end up comparing and cross-referencing from many many different sources to try to find a "best" recipe. I've even made spreadsheets to make comparing baker's percentages, mixing methods, baking temperatures, etc. easier. However, the best way to determine a best recipe is by actually doing a taste test. Unfortunately I don't have the resources to actually test every recipe against each other, so it's always nice when someone else does it for you!

It never fails to amaze me the level of baking-related knowledge you have. That's some obscure industry information you managed to find there. But I really can't be too surprised by all the complexity and science that goes into producing butter. With the amount of science that goes into optimizing other basic ingredients like flour and sugar, there has got to be more work involved in the production of butter.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I think chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies are the two baked goods Americans really obsess about. I’ve gone through 4 - 5 chocolate cake recipes. I’ll use one for a while and decide I don’t like it afterall.

I’ve made most of the cakes on that list. They’re OK but still not what I’m looking for. I really don’t like the oil cakes because as they put it it creates a spongy open texture. I call that rubbery. I can’t stand that texture.

I think adding more egg is the way to go. And I really think the problem with the chocolate flavor is the percentage of cocoa powder. Everyone is kinda struck on the equivalent of 1 cup or less. Some of those cakes have 25% cocoa powder which is it much at all. So of course there’s no chocolate flavor.

and they’re also stuck on traditional ratios of liquid in the cake. But cocoa powder is very absorbent so you can use liquid.

Oh so you’ve made spreadsheets to compare recipes—boy you’re just as bad as I am I suppose you spend hours on the Internet researching stuff too. But I should’ve known that you’re the only other amateur baker I’ve met that already owned a copy of Suas’ book.

It gets to be such an obsession this baking.
Other than weightlifting it’s my only other hobby. I’ve given all my sewing stuff to my sister. I text her today and asked her if she wanted all the sewing books since I am dismantling my back bedroom to set up a home gym. She asked if I was ever going to sew again. I said, “Nope.”

Yeah there’s some thing about my family we tend to go all in when we become interested in a hobby. Think I mentioned that before.

 

[Cahoot]

I think chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies are the two baked goods Americans really obsess about. I’ve gone through 4 - 5 chocolate cake recipes. I’ll use one for a while and decide I don’t like it afterall.

I’ve made most of the cakes on that list. They’re OK but still not what I’m looking for. I really don’t like the oil cakes because as they put it it creates a spongy open texture. I call that rubbery. I can’t stand that texture.

I think adding more egg is the way to go. And I really think the problem with the chocolate flavor is the percentage of cocoa powder. Everyone is kinda struck on the equivalent of 1 cup or less. Some of those cakes have 25% cocoa powder which is it much at all. So of course there’s no chocolate flavor.

and they’re also stuck on traditional ratios of liquid in the cake. But cocoa powder is very absorbent so you can use liquid.

Oh so you’ve made spreadsheets to compare recipes—boy you’re just as bad as I am I suppose you spend hours on the Internet researching stuff too. But I should’ve known that you’re the only other amateur baker I’ve met that already owned a copy of Suas’ book.

It gets to be such an obsession this baking.
Other than weightlifting it’s my only other hobby. I’ve given all my sewing stuff to my sister. I text her today and asked her if she wanted all the sewing books since I am dismantling my back bedroom to set up a home gym. She asked if I was ever going to sew again. I said, “Nope.”

Yeah there’s some thing about my family we tend to go all in when we become interested in a hobby. Think I mentioned that before.

I can relate to the obsessing about chocolate chip cookies part. I've recently made it my mission to find the "ultimate" recipe for the various basic American drop cookies: chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, snickerdoodles, sugar, etc. Of course I started with chocolate chip, and since it's not feasible for me to actually test many recipes, I instead had to research the crap out of them instead. I know from past experience that the perfect chocolate chip cookie is highly subjective, but I think that my preferences are fairly similar with the average American: crispy edges, soft and chewy middle, moderate height, nice balance of salty-sweet.

I've looked at every single taste test or bake off I could find on the internet, brushed up on how each factor in a recipe affects the cookie (Kenji's article is really helpful for that), and of course made a spreadsheet with the recipes that seemed to be rated the best. The neat part from doing this is that even without having to have a ton of experience actually baking dozens of batches of cookies, I'm now much more familiar with chocolate chip cookie recipes and can tell a about a recipe just by looking at it. The one I ended up starting from was the CI recipe, which is remarkably similar to the Kenji recipe that I've made myself a couple of times before. The main differences are just that the CI recipe only browns part of the butter to preserve moisture while Kenji browns it all and adds and ice cube, and their mixing of the eggs. I'm still planning on testing it again with a couple tweaks, but there are so many of the other cookies that I want to get to...

So I guess I can say I can also go all in when I'm really interested in a hobby too. You did mention previously how it was a trait in your family too. Gotta count that as a blessing - much better in my opinion than wandering from hobby to hobby, but never finding anything that you're truly interested in and able to stick to long-term.

I also like how you mentioned weightlifting as your only other hobby. It's the same deal for me! That was actually really my only real hobby before I even got into baking half a year ago. Even in my free time I'd spend hours watching videos discussing dieting, the scientific best exercises, techniques, etc. I've probably spent more time reading discussions and watching videos on optimal protein intake than 99.99999% of the human population.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I can relate to the obsessing about chocolate chip cookies part. I've recently made it my mission to find the "ultimate" recipe for the various basic American drop cookies: chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, snickerdoodles, sugar, etc. Of course I started with chocolate chip, and since it's not feasible for me to actually test many recipes, I instead had to research the crap out of them instead. I know from past experience that the perfect chocolate chip cookie is highly subjective, but I think that my preferences are fairly similar with the average American: crispy edges, soft and chewy middle, moderate height, nice balance of salty-sweet.

I've looked at every single taste test or bake off I could find on the internet, brushed up on how each factor in a recipe affects the cookie (Kenji's article is really helpful for that), and of course made a spreadsheet with the recipes that seemed to be rated the best. The neat part from doing this is that even without having to have a ton of experience actually baking dozens of batches of cookies, I'm now much more familiar with chocolate chip cookie recipes and can tell a about a recipe just by looking at it. The one I ended up starting from was the CI recipe, which is remarkably similar to the Kenji recipe that I've made myself a couple of times before. The main differences are just that the CI recipe only browns part of the butter to preserve moisture while Kenji browns it all and adds and ice cube, and their mixing of the eggs. I'm still planning on testing it again with a couple tweaks, but there are so many of the other cookies that I want to get to...

So I guess I can say I can also go all in when I'm really interested in a hobby too. You did mention previously how it was a trait in your family too. Gotta count that as a blessing - much better in my opinion than wandering from hobby to hobby, but never finding anything that you're truly interested in and able to stick to long-term.

I also like how you mentioned weightlifting as your only other hobby. It's the same deal for me! That was actually really my only real hobby before I even got into baking half a year ago. Even in my free time I'd spend hours watching videos discussing dieting, the scientific best exercises, techniques, etc. I've probably spent more time reading discussions and watching videos on optimal protein intake than 99.99999% of the human population.

yeah the chocolate chip cookie thing can be a real obsession.

but just remember some thing a cookie is a cookie is a cookie. There’s only so much you can do within the parameters of a cookie.

• flour 100%
• butter 80% max - and that is pushing it
• sugars 110% max a
• Brown sugar 75% for chewy 50% for standard
• Granulated sugar for crispier and more spread
• Chocolate 120% - 135% personal preference
• Egg 25% - 35% depends on how thick you want cookie
• Don’t forget the salt.
• Baking soda vs baking powder depending on spread. Baking soda is an alkaline. Alkaline delays the protein coagulation in the egg. So if you use baking soda the cookie dough will spread a little bit more because the protein will coagulate a little bit slower. If you want a slightly thicker cookie use a combination of baking soda and baking powder. If you want a puffier cakey cookie use just baking powder

I was a runner and cyclist is most of my life. I worked out in the gym regularly, five days a week. But I only lifted to stay in shape for running. I ran 6 miles a day five or six days a week. I didn’t own a car until I was 25 because I ran and cycled everywhere. I used to ride my bike at least 15- 20 miles a day.

My son is the real powerlifter in the family. And a couple of years ago I just stopped exercising. But in December my son encouraged me to get back to the gym. And when I went back he started coaching me. I was reluctant at first because as I said my lifting was only for body conditioning. Powerlifting with something really new to me. And I told him I was way too short to deadlift. But he told me to just trust in him that it was all about technique. Well we go all in; I was hooked within a month. I went from never deadlifting to pulling 187lb deadlift in about 3 mos. My goal was to be at 200 lb for a competition. But of course lock down happened.

now I’m cleaning out my back bedroom to set up a home gym. But trying to purchase gym equipment is like a lottery. I managed to purchase a really nice squat rack and barbell from a company called Rogue. Somebody stole the barbell from the shippers warehouse. Because the barbell weighed over 45lbs and was over 86 inches long. That box did not get missed placed in the warehouse. Rogue is going to replace it but because they’re sold out of everything it’s going to be a few weeks before they get in more stock.

The squat rack is a pretty big beast. So it was shipped in six boxes. So far only five boxes have been delivered. I’m really hoping the fifth box wasn’t stolen as well. I’m worried someone in the warehouse saw the Rogue Fitness return address on the box and took it.

Strength equipment is such a hot commodity when it’s restocked and notifications go out it sells out within five minutes. I’ve been trying to buy bumper plates, but so far every time they’re restocked, no matter how fast I get on the site, I’m just a tad too slow. I’ve managed to get bumper plates in the cart get it all the way to the point of hitting the purchase button and I get the Out Of Stock message.

my son said he would lend me some of his bumper plates, but I hate take some of his equipment.

he has a YouTube channel. He posts quite a bit of good information. If you want me to send you his link let me know. Some of the athletes that he has coached have made it up to the national level in competition for powerlifting.

 

[Cahoot]

yeah the chocolate chip cookie thing can be a real obsession.

but just remember some thing a cookie is a cookie is a cookie. There’s only so much you can do within the parameters of a cookie.

• flour 100%
• butter 80% max - and that is pushing it
• sugars 110% max a
• Brown sugar 75% for chewy 50% for standard
• Granulated sugar for crispier and more spread
• Chocolate 120% - 135% personal preference
• Egg 25% - 35% depends on how thick you want cookie
• Don’t forget the salt.
• Baking soda vs baking powder depending on spread. Baking soda is an alkaline. Alkaline delays the protein coagulation in the egg. So if you use baking soda the cookie dough will spread a little bit more because the protein will coagulate a little bit slower. If you want a slightly thicker cookie use a combination of baking soda and baking powder. If you want a puffier cakey cookie use just baking powder

I was a runner and cyclist is most of my life. I worked out in the gym regularly, five days a week. But I only lifted to stay in shape for running. I ran 6 miles a day five or six days a week. I didn’t own a car until I was 25 because I ran and cycled everywhere. I used to ride my bike at least 15- 20 miles a day.

My son is the real powerlifter in the family. And a couple of years ago I just stopped exercising. But in December my son encouraged me to get back to the gym. And when I went back he started coaching me. I was reluctant at first because as I said my lifting was only for body conditioning. Powerlifting with something really new to me. And I told him I was way too short to deadlift. But he told me to just trust in him that it was all about technique. Well we go all in; I was hooked within a month. I went from never deadlifting to pulling 187lb deadlift in about 3 mos. My goal was to be at 200 lb for a competition. But of course lock down happened.

now I’m cleaning out my back bedroom to set up a home gym. But trying to purchase gym equipment is like a lottery. I managed to purchase a really nice squat rack and barbell from a company called Rogue. Somebody stole the barbell from the shippers warehouse. Because the barbell weighed over 45lbs and was over 86 inches long. That box did not get missed placed in the warehouse. Rogue is going to replace it but because they’re sold out of everything it’s going to be a few weeks before they get in more stock.

The squat rack is a pretty big beast. So it was shipped in six boxes. So far only five boxes have been delivered. I’m really hoping the fifth box wasn’t stolen as well. I’m worried someone in the warehouse saw the Rogue Fitness return address on the box and took it.

Strength equipment is such a hot commodity when it’s restocked and notifications go out it sells out within five minutes. I’ve been trying to buy bumper plates, but so far every time they’re restocked, no matter how fast I get on the site, I’m just a tad too slow. I’ve managed to get bumper plates in the cart get it all the way to the point of hitting the purchase button and I get the Out Of Stock message.

my son said he would lend me some of his bumper plates, but I hate take some of his equipment.

he has a YouTube channel. He posts quite a bit of good information. If you want me to send you his link let me know. Some of the athletes that he has coached have made it up to the national level in competition for powerlifting.

That's really impressive progress in such short time, but with such an extensive background in fitness and your son for coaching, it's no surprise. One of the most important things when starting lifitng is actually getting good advice. It's a lot like baking in that aspect - there's so much misinformation around, it's hard to discern what's BS and what you should actually listen to, especially when you're new.

The lockdown has been a huge bummer for sure. Lifting was always the highlight of my day and I absolutely can't wait for gyms to reopen. No gym and more free time to bake = it's taking a lot more self-control to stay in shape.

I've heard lots of similar stories from others trying to set up a home gym now in the current situation. Nothing's in stock, and the few items available are being flipped by resellers for many times their original price.

I'd love to check out his YouTube channel. As with baking, I'm a complete sponge for information and can't help myself when it comes to reading and checking out new resources.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

That's really impressive progress in such short time, but with such an extensive background in fitness and your son for coaching, it's no surprise. One of the most important things when starting lifitng is actually getting good advice. It's a lot like baking in that aspect - there's so much misinformation around, it's hard to discern what's BS and what you should actually listen to, especially when you're new.

The lockdown has been a huge bummer for sure. Lifting was always the highlight of my day and I absolutely can't wait for gyms to reopen. No gym and more free time to bake = it's taking a lot more self-control to stay in shape.

I've heard lots of similar stories from others trying to set up a home gym now in the current situation. Nothing's in stock, and the few items available are being flipped by resellers for many times their original price.

I'd love to check out his YouTube channel. As with baking, I'm a complete sponge for information and can't help myself when it comes to reading and checking out new resources.

People have been baking like crazy around here. The shelves are stripped of flour. It’s so bad, the major grocery store chain which has a bakery, started busting open their 50lb sacks of flour to fill plastic bags fulls to sell to customers. And customers grab them up faster than they can put them out. I shared my flour stores with my SIL. Yeast is no where to be found. Since I’m 60 yrs. I can get into the stores for senior shopping hours. Usually there’s some hard to find items during senior hour, but I haven’t seen any yeast on the shelves in weeks.

The competition to buy strength training equipment is just as bad as baking supplies and toilet paper. I’m on notification wait lists the every configuation of bumper plates with every major manufacturer in the US and still haven’t been able to buy bumper plates. As soon as I get a an email/text msg notice, I jump on the site to make a purchase, but the plates sell out within a couple of minutes. It’s unreal.

Setting up a home gym is not cheap. I dropped over $950 on the barbell and squat rack alone. You’re right, people are flipping the stuff for outrageous prices on craigslist. I saw a set of Rogue bumper plates listed for $1000 on craigslist that Rogue sell for $475. People are so greedy. I doubt they get that because people know what they sell for, and few people are willing to be gouged like that. My son thinks a lot of good stuff will be listed for cheap when the gyms open back up. We‘ll see.

My son is an incredible coach. I don’t say that just because he’s my kid. When you see him you’ll be pretty surprised at how strong he is, yet he’s not fat like a lot of powerlifters. His gym total is 1781lbs.

634 lbs/287.5kg squat
419lbs/190kgs bench
728lbs/330kgs deadlift

His girlfriend his amazing too. Her squat is 264 lbs/120kgs and her deadlift is 352lbs. I’ll send you the link to his youtube channel.

 

[Cahoot]

Just to go back on topic for a bit, made another batch of mille-feuilles, this time using just blitz puff instead of classic puff pastry. What's the point of all the work in ensuring all those layers and rise if you don't actually want much rise? Wasn't satisfied with how the first batch looked so tried to make this one look cleaner. Still not great, but at least I know now it's much easier if you cut the pieces before stacking instead of after. I'd be tempted to try again but they are a bit of work...

Anyone have favourite puff pastry good to make? I wanna try for a pithivier/galette des rois next.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Just to go back on topic for a bit, made another batch of mille-feuilles, this time using just blitz puff instead of classic puff pastry. What's the point of all the work in ensuring all those layers and rise if you don't actually want much rise? Wasn't satisfied with how the first batch looked so tried to make this one look cleaner. Still not great, but at least I know now it's much easier if you cut the pieces before stacking instead of after. I'd be tempted to try again but they are a bit of work...

View attachment 2996

Anyone have favourite puff pastry good to make? I wanna try for a pithivier/galette des rois next.

they do look good. I thought your first batch looked pretty good too. And they are a lot of work. Yeah rough puff pastry is a lot easier and you can get away with it in most applications. I agree why go through the full lamination process if it’s not necessary.

In regards to puff pastry there’s just standard ratios. The hydration for the detrempe is 50% and the beurrage is either 75% or 50%.

I’ve never made a pithivier. I tried to make gluten-free one about a year or so ago. It was a dismal failure.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

That's really impressive progress in such short time, but with such an extensive background in fitness and your son for coaching, it's no surprise. One of the most important things when starting lifitng is actually getting good advice. It's a lot like baking in that aspect - there's so much misinformation around, it's hard to discern what's BS and what you should actually listen to, especially when you're new.

The lockdown has been a huge bummer for sure. Lifting was always the highlight of my day and I absolutely can't wait for gyms to reopen. No gym and more free time to bake = it's taking a lot more self-control to stay in shape.

I've heard lots of similar stories from others trying to set up a home gym now in the current situation. Nothing's in stock, and the few items available are being flipped by resellers for many times their original price.

I'd love to check out his YouTube channel. As with baking, I'm a complete sponge for information and can't help myself when it comes to reading and checking out new resources.

I was finally able to order bumper plates. Rogue fitness has two releases this morning, lbs and kg plates. The lbs plates sold out while I had them in my cart. A bit later in the morning they released kg plates and I was able to get set. So hopefully I should be lifting again in about 10 - 12 days. I am so excited!!

 

[Cahoot]

I was finally able to order bumper plates. Rogue fitness has two releases this morning, lbs and kg plates. The lbs plates sold out while I had them in my cart. A bit later in the morning they released kg plates and I was able to get set. So hopefully I should be lifting again in about 10 - 12 days. I am so excited!!

I'm so jealous! There's absolutely no timeline of gyms re-opening here, so I'm starting to face the reality they may still be closed even by the end of summer. I've heard of gyms re-opening in BC under very strict guidelines, but that's it. Meanwhile I've been watching some more of your son's YT videos. Was pleasantly surprised to see in one of them talking about neutral backs for deadlifts, he cited weak/inactive glutes as a common cause, with some exercises to fix that. I'd actually injured my back last year, and what Brendan talked about in the video was pretty much on par with what my physiotherapists told me too.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Cahoot, do you use a belt? I was very reluctant to use a belt because I don’t lift really heavy. But Brendan insisted I buy a belt. And when I started pulling 135lb he made me use it just to get use to it. I’m still not comfortable squatting with it, but can’t deadlift without it now. The support makes a huge difference I think in setting up to prevent injury.

I’m going to buy a belt with offset holes. The last couple times I worked out with Bren and Kristin I borrowed her Pioneer belt. The offset holes make for a better fit.

Things are very slow in opening here as well. They say the gyms will open in Phase 3, but no timetable for it. The indicators for reaching are very vague as well. It comes down to the government subjected decision on when to open.

Everything‘s been delivered but the bumper plates. The guy who owns the gym where I was a member is a friend of mine. He’s going to set up my squat rack for me. His regular job is a welder, mechanic, and machinist. So he can construct just about any type of gym equipment. Guys really good. He makes stuff fo his gym and a lot of other powerlifting gyms in the area. When I complained about being too short to benchpress, he designed and made blocks for my feet rest on that would still be in compliance with USPA rules. I’m going to ask him what it would cost for him to me a bar jack. I have two bars and ordered 200 kilos of bumper plates, so I will be able to setup a separate deadlift area.

 

[Cahoot]

@Cahoot, do you use a belt? I was very reluctant to use a belt because I don’t lift really heavy. But Brendan insisted I buy a belt. And when I started pulling 135lb he made me use it just to get use to it. I’m still not comfortable squatting with it, but can’t deadlift without it now. The support makes a huge difference I think in setting up to prevent injury.

I’m going to buy a belt with offset holes. The last couple times I worked out with Bren and Kristin I borrowed her Pioneer belt. The offset holes make for a better fit.

Things are very slow in opening here as well. They say the gyms will open in Phase 3, but no timetable for it. The indicators for reaching are very vague as well. It comes down to the government subjected decision on when to open.

Everything‘s been delivered but the bumper plates. The guy who owns the gym where I was a member is a friend of mine. He’s going to set up my squat rack for me. His regular job is a welder, mechanic, and machinist. So he can construct just about any type of gym equipment. Guys really good. He makes stuff fo his gym and a lot of other powerlifting gyms in the area. When I complained about being too short to benchpress, he designed and made blocks for my feet rest on that would still be in compliance with USPA rules. I’m going to ask him what it would cost for him to me a bar jack. I have two bars and ordered 200 kilos of bumper plates, so I will be able to setup a separate deadlift area.

I've actually never gotten a belt for the same reason, I don't consider myself strong enough to justify using a belt, and I didn't want to crutch on it yet at the weights that I'm still at. However I may just forsake my ego and get one to prevent being injured again.

Seems to be a similar story with wrist wraps. I actually accidentally bought a pair a while ago when I meant to buy wrist straps, and gave away them to a friend who benches more than me because I figured it'd be completely ridiculous for me to use them at the weight I was lifting. However after watching Brendan's video on how everyone should be using wrist wraps for best force transfer, and noticing how bent my wrist were even when consciously trying to keep them straight, I'll have to reconsider my stance on using wraps too.

It's really nice that you know all those people able to help you out. I'm guessing it's not long now before you're able to be lifting again. I don't even want to know how much setting up your home gym must've cost you, but this situation might end up being a good thing since it's forced you to set it up, and now you're gonna have it available forever.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Cahoot, I know I thought belts were for heavy lifters. But you can’t get more weight on the bar without a belt. Bren has a video on bracing with a belt. I’m going to buy a new belt here pretty soon. The belt I have is new; it’s a small. I’m more than happy to send it to you for free after I buy a new belt if you want it. I’m assuming you’re a woman. It’s an Inzer 10 mm black single prong suede. Bren said the two prong belts are really difficult to get out of, and since it was my first belt I should just get a single prong. Inzer makes a really good belt, but I really want to get a belt with offset holes.

do you have this set up was really expensive. But in the long run it will pay off. Powerlifting gym memberships are more expensive because they equipment is specialized. Where the average gym here is $45/ month, my powerlifting gym is $70. The place where Bren’s is a member is way more cuz the owner is nationally recognized. But Bren also has a killer home gym.

I still don’t use wrist wraps but I need to get a pair. The plates are supposed to be delivered tomorrow. Let’s just hope UPS actually delivers them. They never deliver when they’re supposed to. And then Bren and my friend will set everything up for me. I am so excited.