Culinary Arts Lesson: Production of Spiced Pumpkin Bread

[Chef Dave]

CULINARY ARTS Gold Seal Lesson
Subject: Culinary Arts I

Essential Skills (Arizona State Standards)
Strand 2: Demonstrate Procedures and Safety Practices
2.3 Demonstrate the proper use of equipment as applied to food science
2.4 Exercise safety standards and sanitation practices in the kitchen.
2.5 Differentiate between basic units of measurement

Strand 3: Examine Food-Borne Illness and Food Safety
3.8. Demonstrate appropriate personal hygiene/health procedures

Strand 7: Demonstrate the Chemical Processes Involved in Leavening
7.5 Differentiate between quick breads and yeast breads

Instructional Focus

1. Organize the students into groups of 2 or 3.
2. Distribute the recipes.* Review the recipes. Ask students to identify whether the recipe in question is a quick bread or yeast bread. (Answer: Quick bread). Briefly discuss the characteristics of a quick bread.
3. Before beginning production, make sure students understand that each recipe produces only one loaf. Students will be required to produce two loaves per person. Prior to beginning production, all recipes will have to be converted into ounce measurements. Moreover, all recipes will have to be scaled up. (Since each recipe only makes one loaf, groups with two students will need to quadruple all ingredients. Groups with three students with have to multiply all ingredients by a factor of 6). Demonstrate the conversion process. Have each group convert and record each the measurements required. Recipes must be approved for use of proper measurements before each group may begin.
4. Review elements of quality for today’s production. The product will be moist. It will be properly assembled. Personal hygiene and county sanitation requirements will be followed. Group work stations will be cleaned.
5. Once recipe conversions have been approved, have each group begin production of the bread. Observe students for demonstration of personal hygiene and sanitation.
6. Once the bread products have been baked, place them on a wheeled rack in the walk in freezer for quick cooling. If time permits, complete final assembly by adding sweetened cream cheese and whipped cream topping to the loaves. Roll each loaf up, dust it with confection sugar, and wrap it for storage. Students will add their names to the loaf they are taking home. Remind students to pick up their loaves at the end of school.

Assessment:

Culinary Arts Rubric with points assessed for the following categories: overall product appearance, taste, sanitary work environment, familiarity with tools and equipment, personal hygiene, use of industry terms, professional conduct, teamwork and collaborative skills, and interaction with the chef instructor.

Each group is expected to produce 2 loaves per person.

Recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Production yield: 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
confectioners' sugar for dusting
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 15x10x1 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper. Grease and flour the paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs on high for five minutes. Gradually add white sugar and pumpkin. Add flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Spread batter evenly in pan. Sprinkle walnuts evenly on top.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately turn out onto a linen towel dusted with confectioners sugar. Peel off paper and roll cake up in the towel, starting with the short end. Cool.
4. To Make Filling: Mix confectioners sugar, vanilla, butter or margarine, and cream cheese together till smooth.
5. Carefully unroll the cake. Spread filling over cake to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up again. Cover and chill until serving. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar, if desired.

[busbus]

Hi Chef Dave,

I am new to the forum; but, I've been reading a lot of your replies. I just thought that "Chef Dave" was just a name you were using for this forum. Anyway, I love reading recipes. Sometimes I even try them. I'm going to share your recipes with a new culinary arts teacher with whom I was working up until our Christmas break even though he is a certified pastry chef. I get the impression that you have been teaching culinary arts for quite some time. Perhaps I'll introduce him to this forum so that he might hook-up with you. Perhaps you can offer support with the academic side of the culinary arts teaching.

busbus

[javamomma]

So Dave,
What is your degree in? Is it Culinary Arts?

[Chef Dave]

So Dave,
What is your degree in? Is it Culinary Arts?

I have three degrees: Associate degree in Culinary Arts backed up with 6 years of experience in the food service industry, Bachelor's degree in Education, and a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction.

[javamomma]

Very interesting. :) I do not think our high school has a culinary arts program and we are considered a very advanced opportunity program. :/ Hmmmmmm
SO did you look for a teaching job that would allow you to use your culinary arts background before getting your education degree?

If I get to asking to many questions just tell me! :)

[Chef Dave]

I'm going to share your recipes with a new culinary arts teacher with whom I was working up until our Christmas break even though he is a certified pastry chef. I get the impression that you have been teaching culinary arts for quite some time. Perhaps I'll introduce him to this forum so that he might hook-up with you.

Thank you for your kind comments. I am a trained culinary chef with industry experience as a B&B breakfast chef and fine dining chef. I have also worked at every position in a restaurant. In addition to having been a line cook at various stations, I have waited tables, bussed tables, washed dishes, worked as a host, been a cashier, and even been a manager.

Although this is my 18th year teaching, this is my first year working as a culinary arts instructor. Prior to entering the food service industry, I was an elementary teacher. During my career as an elementary teacher, I worked at various school sin Texas. I also taught overseas and spent 8 years in Saudi Arabia and Beirut, Lebanon.

I would be pleased to correspond with your culinary arts instructor.

I live in a remote rural area and do not often have the opportunity to interact with other culinary arts instructors. Of the two instructors I know in the valley, one will be stepping down at year's end. The other is hopelessly lost. Her entire industry experience was "front of the house" working as a hostess/waitress and she has no "back of the house" experience in food preparation, sanitation, or storage.

[busbus]

Hi Chef Dave,

I've stayed on this site longer than I had planned. Glad that I did. It was very interesting conversations going one. Truly enjoyed myself. Anyway, thanks for responding to my post. As soon as we return to school, I'll contact my friend, let him know about the site and give him your name to check out. Of course I will be letting him know about the recipes.

You will be one member that I will be looking for when I come back on the site. So, don't be surprised when you hear from me.

Take care.

busbus

[Chef Dave]

Very interesting.
SO did you look for a teaching job that would allow you to use your culinary arts background before getting your education degree?


I got my Bachelor's and Master's before I got my culinary arts degree. I was a teacher for 17 years and spent half of my experience overseas.

After returning to the states, I found myself unable to adjust to the restrictions imposed by NCLB. When my building administrator announced the adoption of "standardized instruction" i.e. everyone on my grade level had to write lesson plans together and teach the same lesson, the same way - I opted out.

I got a degree in culinary arts and worked in the food service industry for six years.

The restaurant hours were long. At times I worked an 84 hour week and since I was under contract, the restaurant basically picked up 34 hours "free" with unpaid overtime. My contract stipulated a minimum of a 50 hour workweek which is fairly standard in the restaurant industry.

My shift tended to vary.

I sometimes found myself working closing shift only to be on opening shift the next morning.

I worked weekends and holidays.

If I was lucky, I got a one week paid vacation per year. If I was unlucky, I'd be called in to work despite having had a scheduled vacation.

I think the thing that began bothering me the most was that my job in the food industry service served no higher purpose. My job was to help the restaurant make money.

In thinking about it, it occurred to me that the happiest time in my life was when I was a teacher. Unwilling to return to the classroom, I hit upon the idea of looking for a job as a chef instructor.

I did a google search and found myself applying to three post secondary culinary arts schools. I also applied to two high schools in Arizona.

It is now one year later ... and here I am in Arizona!

I now have the best of both worlds. I get to operate a restaurant but I don't have to worry about employee payroll, taxes, accounting, health insurance, maintenance expenses, advertising, customer problem resolution, or even making a profit.

I enjoy teaching and can teach any cuisine I want, any way I want, in any sequence I want ... as long as I stay within budget and teach to all state standards.

Since I am not a core academic instructor, I don't have to worry about testing or teaching to the test.

I think my efforts have been well received. Gross sale revenue for the student restaurant is up compared to last year. Not only are student sales up but sales to faculty are up as well.

I am told that few teachers ordered meals from the restaurant last year. A quarter of the faculty have now become repeat customers and we have even attracted the attention of the district office.

[Chef Dave]

As soon as we return to school, I'll contact my friend, let him know about the site and give him your name to check out. Of course I will be letting him know about the recipes.



I appreciate your kind words. Although all of the recipes I've shared are nice, please be aware that culinary arts emphasizes techniques over recipes.

Use of recipes are important - especially for chain restaurants which need to standardize the quality of their products via production, portioning, and plating.

If I could pass on one piece of advice to your friend, it would be this: Be familiar with your state standards.

The standards define the parameters of what needs to be taught.

Also - look at the verbiage associated with each standard. The verbs will give you important clues regarding student assessment.

For example, in Arizona under Culinary II, standard 15.5 says, students will "perform proper hand washing techniques."

The key verb is "perform."

What does this mean?

Whenever students participate in a culinary arts activity, they should wash their hands. Not only should they wash their hands, but they should wash their hands in accordance with the ServSafe practices that are usually stipulated by the county health code i.e. wash your hands under water as hot as you can stand it for at least 20 seconds. Dry your hands using a disposable paper towel.

This is not something that should be taught once and forgotten. It is a standard practice that needs to be constantly reinforced so that it becomes second nature to the students.

To document this for the state auditors, I've actually included hand washing as a component under "personal hygiene" in my grading rubric.

Woe unto the student who fails to wash his or her hands before participating in a culinary arts activity ... and woe upon the culinary arts instructor if a visiting health inspector were to observe students NOT washing their hands ...