The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 419 Shortcrust Pastry
Egg tarts are a familiar dessert to every Chinese person.

From the cheap, low-quality egg tarts sold in small shops for 2.5 yuan each with a bright yellow filling that lacks caramel color, to the standard version from K and C that is slightly more expensive but widely praised and has stable quality control, and the various new products launched by major cake shops with prices ranging from low to high but not guaranteed to be delicious in blind boxes, egg tarts can be said to be one of the most common types of pastries.

Did Qin Huai ever make such common snacks?

I've done it.

To be honest, although Qin Huai had made egg tarts before, he cut corners even more than Zhao Cheng'an. Qin Huai simply bought ready-made egg tart shells and filling from the supermarket and baked a batch of so-called ready-made egg tarts at home with Qin Luo in the oven.

As is well known, Qin Huai is not very good at making puff pastries.

Making flaky pastries requires preparing shortcrust pastry. Shortcrust pastry is a general term for the dough used in all flaky pastries. Flaky pastry is a dough made by mixing and kneading water, oil, and flour, while dry shortcrust pastry is a dough made only by kneading oil and powder.

Shortcrust pastry can be divided into three branches: dark shortcrust, bright shortcrust, and semi-bright and semi-dark shortcrust. Bright shortcrust can be further divided into large-wrap shortcrust and small-wrap shortcrust according to the technique.

Does it seem too technical and difficult to understand?

When Qin Huai first saw this explanation in the Complete Guide to Dim Sum, she didn't understand it either. Compared to basic dim sum items like steamed buns, shumai, various pastries, and noodles, which can be understood by reading recipes, it's practically a pipe dream to think that you can learn how to make flaky pastries just by reading words and looking at pictures.

Anyway, even with Qin Huai's talent, he couldn't understand the complete guide to pastries when he was a child. Of course, even if he had understood it, it wouldn't have mattered. The Qin family bought an oven when Qin Huai was in his second year of high school. Before that, they didn't even have an oven. It was truly a case of a skilled cook not being able to cook without rice.

After Qin Huai got an oven at home, she bought a batch of semi-finished products from the supermarket and baked two batches of egg tarts with Qin Luo to satisfy her craving. Then she found relevant video tutorials online and explored for a while, and she has figured out a bit of the trick. She is now able to make some simple puff pastries, such as basic shortbread and peach shortbread.

As for egg tarts...

To be honest, before coming to Zhiweiju, Qin Huai had never associated egg tarts with puff pastry. Previously, when puff pastry was mentioned, Qin Huai would picture extremely delicate and beautiful pastries, such as lotus flower pastries, apple pastries, pear pastries, and mandarin duck pastries. Egg tarts…

Qin Huai's impression of it is still that it is an essential item in cake shops.

Qin Huai hadn't expected that Master Zhou, the top chef at Bai An, would be diligently practicing his egg tart skills to explore new directions in flaky pastries. Of course, Qin Huai himself thoroughly enjoyed the treats. Who could resist a few of the best egg tarts in the country during afternoon tea?

However, egg tarts are a very simple dessert. If all else fails, you can learn from Qin Huai back in the day and buy ready-made egg tart shells and fillings from the supermarket and bake them at home. That counts as making them yourself.

However, thinking about it in a complicated way is also quite difficult.

Egg tarts are essentially Western-style pies with egg custard filling. According to Zhao Cheng'an's popular science, egg tarts first appeared in England. In the Middle Ages, there were early foods similar to egg tarts made with milk, sugar, eggs, and spices.

After egg tarts were introduced to Hong Kong, they were improved and made famous by generations of dim sum chefs, becoming one of the four famous kings of Cantonese dim sum. Chef Zhou's idea of ​​starting his research on Western pastries with egg tarts is actually quite correct, since egg tarts, as a Western pastry, are a bit too Chinese.

The process of improving egg tarts is essentially the process of improving their crust. Initially, egg tart crusts were thick and heavy. Through generations of improvements by countless chefs, the thick crust was transformed into a flaky, crisp texture. This flaky crust, combined with the rich, milky filling, creates a delightful, layered flavor profile that is sweet but not cloying, yet gentle and mellow.

It's fair to say that the potential of an egg tart lies primarily in the crust; the filling is merely an added bonus. The crust can be as delicious as the filling can be.

Now, Chef Zhou has asked Qin Huai to make egg tarts. Qin Huai thinks Chef Zhou has misunderstood him, believing him to be incredibly versatile and capable of making any dessert. But egg tarts…

Okay, egg tarts aren't that difficult to make. In theory, Qin Huai should be able to make them, but he had never actually made egg tarts before.

Egg tarts weren't on the dessert menu, and Qin Luo never asked for them. If she wanted some, the cheap cake shop near the school gate sold them for three yuan each, or two for five yuan.

Although the taste isn't great and the crust is quite terrible, it's cheap, and if you can catch the freshly baked batch, it's quite fragrant.

Qin Huai looked at Master Zhou, his heart showing difficulty, but on the surface he remained calm and said, "Egg tarts... I can give it a try, but Master Zhou, I have basically never made this kind of dessert before."

Master Zhou nodded slightly, his attitude still very gentle, showing no sign of distress: "I know, I heard from Xiao Tan that you, Xiao Qin, are not good at making puff pastries and you basically don't make them."

“When you first arrived, I only wanted the desserts you’re best at. You’ve seen quite a few these past few days, so I want to see what kind of desserts you’re worst at making.”

Master Zhou practically screamed on his face, "I know you're not good at this, but no matter how you do it, I won't scold you. After all, I'm a tolerant Master Zhou in front of you."

Qin Huai was relieved to hear Master Zhou say that.

It's not that Qin Huai is too sensitive to be scolded. Back when he was in the children's welfare home or in school, he was scolded a lot by Director Qin and the teachers. Children from welfare homes are known for their good mentality.

Qin Huai was simply worried that Master Zhou's sarcastic remarks about his egg tarts this afternoon would be passed on to every corner of Zhiweiju tomorrow, after being spoken by Tan Weian.

Qin Huai had confidence in Tan Weian's professional abilities.

Although Qin Huai hadn't seen Tan Weian much these past few days (they didn't work in the same place) and hadn't heard any gossip from Tan Weian, Qin Huai had heard countless times: "I heard Xiao Tan mention it."

Today, Master Zhou specially appointed Tan Weian to assist Qin Huai, as Qin Huai had confidence in Tan Weian's memory and eloquence.

Qin Huai followed Master Zhou to the low-temperature zone.

Qin Huai rarely comes to the low-temperature zone. These past few days, he has been watching Master Zhou make egg tarts. Qin Huai already knows the steps for making egg tarts by heart.

The preparation of egg tart filling is very simple and requires no further explanation; anyone with hands can do it.

Making the dough...

Qin Huai understands the principle, but putting it into practice will definitely be difficult.

To make egg tart crusts, use the granulation method to ensure the butter and dough are fully integrated. Ideally, the fat granules in the butter should tightly coat the dough to prevent gluten development. During kneading, avoid incorporating too much air into the dough; dough full of air bubbles will almost certainly fail.

Of course, too little air can also cause a car to overturn.

Su Qian has been getting so much flak these past few days because he didn't handle the kneading process properly. The most important part of making puff pastry is the kneading process: how to fully incorporate the butter into the dough, how to control the temperature, how to manage the air in the dough... These are things that are hard to learn from videos or books; they require a teacher to teach you step by step, and you need to practice and learn step by step.

Qin Huai clearly didn't have a teacher to teach him these things, which is why he's not very good at pastry making, and also why his finger technique isn't improving.

Qin Huai stood in front of the cooking station, more nervous than ever before.

He hadn't felt this nervous in a long time; at this moment, he even empathized with the apprentices at Zhiweiju. He suddenly understood why the apprentices had avoided eye contact with him when he followed the attending physician on his inspection of the kitchen.

The apprentices were merely inspected and tasted by Master Zhou, but now Master Zhou was standing right on the banks of the Qinhuai River, waiting to watch him make them. In comparison, Su Qian's mental fortitude was actually quite strong. He knew he would be scolded every time he made pastries, but he still persevered.

Qin Huai first went through in his mind everything he had seen these past few days.

When he began to truly reflect, he realized that he had actually witnessed a great deal these past few days. He hadn't just followed Master Zhou around eating snacks every day, nor had he merely chatted with Zhao Cheng'an and the others about gossip, nor had he simply helped Zhou Yan constantly sample her white jade shrimp rolls.

He saw how each person made the pastries. While chatting with them, he not only heard gossip, family matters, children's schooling and extracurricular classes, but also their thought processes in making pastries, their journeys, their changes in mindset, and how they went from apprentices to where they are today.

When Zhou Yan asked Qin Huai to keep tasting the white jade shrimp rolls, she kept talking about how she had thought about this and that, how she had tried this and that, how this dessert should be made according to her skill level, and how the white jade shrimp rolls would turn out according to her style.

Zhou Yan was thinking, struggling, and at the same time, she was also speaking and expressing herself.

Qin Huai even thought of the plier-shaped palace lantern buns that Zhao Cheng'an had just made. Zhao Cheng'an's hands were very steady and his basic skills were very solid. When he made the plier-shaped palace lantern buns, he was very proper and there were almost no problems. At the same time, he also showed his excellent aesthetic sense in pastries to a great extent.

Of course, what Qin Huai thought about most was the process of Master Zhou making egg tarts.

Although Master Zhou was always silent while Qin Huai watched, he could be said to barely speak. At that time, Qin Huai always had something in his mouth, either a pastry that Zhao Cheng'an had just made or a snack that Wang Jiayi had given him, and there was always a bowl of warm tea next to him to cleanse his palate.

Because the temperature in the low-temperature greenhouse is relatively low, the tea cools down very quickly, and the apprentices are very attentive in changing the tea.

Qin Huai even remembered that Master Zhou loved to drink Longjing tea, and the bowl of tea next to him was always Longjing.

Of course, what he thought about most was Master Zhou's technique.

As he reminisced, Qin Huai suddenly realized that Master Zhou was actually quite slow when kneading the dough, demonstrating every detail very well. He hadn't noticed anything amiss while watching it these past few days, but when he truly began to reflect, recall, and savor the experience, he suddenly felt like he was watching a video tutorial.

I almost couldn't explain it.

No, actually there is an explanation. As Master Zhou's disciples, the gossip they shared during their conversations was the best explanation. Every time Qin Huai returned from eating egg tarts at Master Zhou's, Wang Jiayi or Zhao Cheng'an would ask him with a smile if the egg tarts were particularly delicious, because of how amazing Master Zhou's puff pastry technique and kneading skills were.

Qin Huai stood in front of the cooking counter for a long time in silence, as if he were in a daze.

Tan Weian stood by the Qinhuai River, not knowing what role he was supposed to play. He just stared blankly at the river, his face saying: "Seriously, buddy, you're going to get a big surprise here too?"
Isn't this going against the basics? This is Zhiweiju, my territory. Shouldn't it be my turn to realize this?
Clearly, it wasn't Tan Weian's turn.

Qin Huai moved.

He said to Tan Weian, "Is the butter melted? Where's the flour? Bring me the flour."

Tan Weian: "...Oh, oh, oh."

How embarrassing! I almost forgot that I came here to help out, not to watch Qin Huai get a big brain.

Qin Huai began kneading the dough.

Qin Huai has extensive theoretical knowledge about kneading oil-based dough, and now he will put it into practice.

Qin Huai kneaded the dough very gently. He knew that it took skill to knead the butter into the dough without messing it up, but he had never known what that skill was before. He simply imitated how Master Zhou kneaded the dough, copying his technique, his speed, and his angle, and tried to knead the dough himself.

He felt he had performed reasonably well.

I feel pretty good about myself, and there are no major problems.

The butter was well incorporated and there was no gluten. The air bubbles were well controlled, not too many but not completely absent either.

Qin Huai felt that many of the problems he had encountered when making shortbread suddenly disappeared. It was as if he had suddenly gained a lot of understanding about dough, and even the flaky pastry he was not good at seemed not so bad after all.

This feeling wasn't like that sudden enlightenment in knife skills while chopping vegetables the other day; it was more like the natural progression of years of hard work. Qin Huai had already reached this level; he had been practicing for a long time, just waiting for an exam to prove his abilities. Now the exam was here, and he was answering the questions smoothly, about to hand in a pretty good paper.

Qin Huai put the dough in the refrigerator to rest while preparing the egg tart filling.

Tan Weian, the helper, was basically useless on the sidelines. He could only silently hand out various things and watch from the side, glancing at Qin Huai and Master Zhou.

Qin Huai's expression was solemn and serious, while Master Zhou's face was full of smiles and kindness.

Tan Weian: Where did he get this? Is this still Zhiweiju?

Perhaps it was Master Zhou's kind smile that gave Tan Wei'an the illusion that he could say a few words, because Tan Wei'an couldn't help but whisper to Qin Huai:

"What have you been doing these past few days? Didn't you tell me on WeChat that you've been eating snacks and gossiping?"

Qin Huai continued mixing the egg tart filling, nodding, "I'm just eating snacks and gossiping. Chef Zhou has told me to just watch from the sidelines these past few days, but I haven't been allowed to do anything myself. I'm mostly with Zhao Cheng'an and the others, and I come here in the afternoon to watch Chef Zhou make egg tarts and eat some myself."

"what happened?"

"You make such good egg tart crusts, why did you never make egg tarts before?" Tan Weian asked the probing question.

"I didn't know I made egg tart crusts so well. I never used to make egg tarts. You know I'm not good at making puff pastry. Besides, Luo Luo doesn't really like egg tarts. Sometimes when she craves them, she'll go to the bakery to buy them. Ouyang gave us so many bakery cards that we can't even finish them all."

Tan Wei'an realized that it was all Ouyang's fault for delaying Qin Huai's plans. It was all his fault for giving Qin Huai so many cake shop cards, allowing him to easily buy egg tarts, so he never made any.

hateful!

Tan Weian said that he also loves egg tarts. If he had known that Qin Huai made such good egg tarts, he would have asked Qin Huai to make more egg tarts when they were in the Yunzhong Cafeteria.

Tan Weian opened his mouth as if to say something more, but the usually kind Master Zhou had already reached his limit. He glanced at Tan Weian and said calmly:
"Xiao Tan, can't you see the tea is cold?"

Tan Weian hurriedly went to change the tea.

(End of this chapter)