PASTRY CHEF

2021 MIAMI

PASTRY CHEF AWARD

PRESENBUTTER O TED BY F EUROPE

BLUNT WILL PHOTO:

Samira Saade

BACHOUR

Pastry started as just a hobby for Samira Saade. Born in Ecuador, she grew up baking with her mother but went on to study computer science. But a nagging desire to get her hands dirty with our pushed Saade to culinary school. e Culinary Arts School Ecuador didn’t have a pastry-speci c program, so she spent two years focused on savory cooking and two in human resources. But Saade set her sights on an internship in the dessert world, speci cally with Antonio Bachour. Her family friend introduced her to the award-winning pastry chef, who welcomed her to Miami’s Bachour Bakery & Bistro in 2016. Saade hoped to concentrate on Bachour’s French patisserie-style desserts, but when a spot opened in the viennoiserie department, she volunteered. Saade fell in love with the process of waking up at the break of dawn to laminate and bake Bachour’s signature croissants. So much so that when she completed her internship, she was promoted to assistant baker. After a couple of years, Saade stepped away from the Miami kitchen to travel the world with Bachour, observing and assisting in his demos and classes. When they returned stateside in 2019, Bachour hired her as sous pastry chef of his new location in Coral Gables. In just one year, she worked her way up to executive pastry chef of the airy cafe and bakery. Today, Saade collaborates with Bachour to craft striking, meticulous desserts and pastries, such as her strawberry cheesecake croissant and cookies & cream petit gâteau. samirasaadeb / bachourmiami

Favorite kitchen tool: My KitchenAid stand mixer

Tool you wish you had: I wish I had a ermoMix at home.

Favorite cookbooks: My go-to books would be Bachour: Simply Beautiful, Fruit by Cédric Grolet, and Chocolate by Ramon Morató. Most important kitchen rule: Be consistent. Place to visit for culinary travel: Mexico Advice to your younger self: Take risks.

Salted caramel croissant

Pastry Chef Samira Saade of Bachour Adapted by StarChefs

Croissant Dough:

375 grams bread our 375 grams all-purpose our 112 grams granulated sugar Salt 400 grams whole milk 50 grams unsalted French butter, cold 35 grams fresh yeast Nonstick cooking spray

Lamination:

450 grams unsalted French butter, cold Flour

Caramel Pastry Cream:

720 grams heavy cream 360 grams whole milk 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 1½ teaspoons kosher salt 1 whole egg 3 egg yolks 5 tablespoons cornstarch 5 tablespoons unsalted French butter, melted ½ tablespoon vnlla pure vanilla extract 1½ tablespoons dark rum

Sea Salt Caramel:

METHOD:

For the Croissant Dough:

In a mixer tted with a hook attachment, add ours, sugar, salt, milk, and butter. Mix at low speed for 3 minutes, add yeast, then mix for 17 minutes. Pick up a handful of dough and stretch. If it does not break and creates a thin elastic dough, it is ready to rise. Place dough in a large bowl greased with cooking spray, then wrap well with plastic. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Using a dough sheeter, atten dough until it is roughly the size of a sheet pan. Place in a greased sheet pan and wrap well with plastic. Place sheet pan in blast freezer for 20 minutes to stop the fermentation, then refrigerate overnight.

For the Lamination:

Place a large piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Center butter on the paper. Top butter with another piece of parchment, then, using a rolling pin, pound the top from left to right to atten into a rectangular shape. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Once the butter is chilled, unwrap and roll to a 4-millimeter thickness. Wrap again and refrigerate.

e following day, using a dough sheeter, sheet and fold Croissant Dough to a 4-millimeter thickness. Lay Croissant Dough out on your work surface and place unwrapped butter block on its upper half. Fold bottom half of Croissant Dough over the butter block and run it all through the dough sheeter, lengthening its width. Turn the dough sideways and atten dough to 4 millimeters again. Fold the laminated Croissant Dough’s lower half 2 times toward the middle then again on top of the upper half. Flatten the dough a bit, wrap, and place in freezer for about 1 hour.

Remove Croissant Dough from freezer, unwrap, then sheet the dough to add width. Turn Croissant Dough sideways and sheet until it is 3 millimeters thick. Dust work surface with our and place Croissant Dough on top. Fold top half down halfway, cut lengthwise, then lay one half on top of the other. Cut out triangles, place on a sheet pan, wrap, and refrigerate 15 minutes. Remove from cooler and roll each triangle out to 8 by 35 centimeters and 3 millimeters thick. Each triangle should weigh 70 grams. Roll triangles into a croissant shape and freeze until needed.

For the Caramel Pastry Cream:

In a large bowl, combine cream and milk; set aside. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, combine brown sugar, ½ cup water, and salt. Cook until it becomes an amber color. Immediately deglaze with cream mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg yolks, and cornstarch. Temper the hot caramel cream into the egg mixture by adding a cupful of caramel at a time, whisking constantly, until half is incorporated. Pour the egg mixture back into remaining caramel, stirring constantly with a whisk until the custard is very thick and the cornstarch is cooked, about 2 minutes. Remove the custard from heat and whisk in butter, vanilla extract, and rum. Transfer custard to a hotel pan, cover, and refrigerate.

For the Sea Salt Caramel:

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and glucose. Cook, stirring often, until it becomes a golden caramel. Deglaze with cream and continue stirring. Add vanilla bean, vanilla extract, and salt. Strain solids from liquid, remove from heat, and stir in butter. Let cool.

To Assemble and Serve:

Heat a proo ng box to 82°F. Place croissants on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Proof in proo ng box about 2 hours. Bake in a 350°F convection oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack. Once the croissants have cooled, use a knife to slice a hole at the bottom. Pipe in the Caramel Pastry Cream, followed by the Sea Salt Caramel.

375 grams sugar 60 grams glucose 185 grams cream 1 vanilla bean ½ teaspoon vnlla pure vanilla extract ½ tablespoon sea salt 300 grams French butter, softened

Featured ingredients: vnlla pure vanilla extract, Butter of Europe

TCHO Chocolate Sundae

Ice Cream Makers Alissa & Jeremy Frice of Frice Cream Adapted by StarChefs We partnered with Frice Cream and TCHO Chocolate to bene t Feeding South Florida, a hunger relief organization that distributed 176 million pounds of food in 2020. For every sundae ordered during the Rising Stars Restaurant Week from March 17 to 31, StarChefs will donate $5, which equates to 45 meals for those in need.

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate Meringues:

225 grams egg whites 450 grams powdered sugar 50 grams TCHO cocoa powder 62% TCHO chocolate, for shaving

Whipped Chocolate Ganache:

900 grams heavy cream 225 grams 39% TCHO chocolate Salt 3 sheets gelatin, bloomed and drained

Brownie:

397 grams butter 709 grams sugar 175 grams eggs 1 teaspoon vnlla pure vanilla extract ¼ teaspoon sea salt 312 grams all-purpose our ¾ teaspoon baking powder 62 grams TCHO cocoa powder 95 grams 81% TCHO chocolate, chopped

Dark Chocolate Magic Shell:

200 grams 70% TCHO chocolate 25 grams coconut oil

To Assemble:

Vanilla bean ice cream TCHO cocoa nibs Bordeaux cherry METHOD:

For the Chocolate Meringues:

On a double boiler, gently heat egg whites and powdered sugar until all sugar is dissolved and whites are just barely warm. In a mixer, whip on high until sti peaks form. Fold in cocoa powder. Spread or pipe into desired shape onto sheets for dehydrator. With a microplane, shave chocolate over meringues. Place in dehydrator at 110°F overnight.

For the Whipped Chocolate Ganache:

Heat half of the cream on the stove. Pour over chocolate and a pinch of salt. Add gelatin, completely emulsify, then add remaining cream. Let set for 6 hours or overnight. Once cream is set, whip on medium-high to form soft peaks. Put whipped ganache into a piping bag and set aside until ready to serve.

For the Brownie:

In a pot, melt butter. Turn o heat. Add sugar and mix well. Add eggs and vanilla. Add all dry ingredients and mix well. Line a quarter sheet tray with parchment paper. Bake brownies at 325°F for 12 minutes or until set but still very moist. Allow to completely cool and cut into desired shape and size.

For the Dark Chocolate Magic Shell:

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and coconut oil together. Set aside until ready to serve.

To Assemble and Serve:

Warm Brownie in oven, then place in a small serving bowl. Place a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top. Pour Dark Chocolate Magic Shell over ice cream and sprinkle cocoa nibs on while the Magic Shell is still liquid. Pipe Whipped Chocolate Ganache on top, add Chocolate Meringues, then top with a Bordeaux cherry. Featured ingredients: TCHO chocolate, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs; vnlla pure vanilla extract

The Pastelito Pair The Pastelito Pair By Amelia Schwartz

No avor combination arguably screams Miami more than guava and cheese. Most commonly found inside aky Cuban pastelitos, sticky-sweet guayaba marmalade is complemented by the slight tang of cream cheese. With his King Guava bagel sandwich, Rising Star Baker Matteson Koche is one of many Miamians who have played with the guava and cheese combination. Here are some of our other favorite takes.

PASTELITO PANCAKES

Chef-owner Henry Hané of B Bistro + Bakery replaces the ake of a pastelito with the u of Japanese-style pancakes. He tops them with cream cheese mousse, guava preserves, brown butter maple syrup, and a vanilla crumble.

AVE MARIA COOKIE

At Night Owl Cookies, owner and Baker Andrew Gonzalez pays homage to Miami with his guava and white chocolate chip cookies. Each cookie is nished with a graham cracker cookie crumble, guava chunks, and guava marmalade and cream cheese drizzles.

GUAVA+CHEESE DONUT

“Guava and cheese has been a staple for us growing up,” e Salty Donut coowner Amanda Pizarro-Rodriguez says. So naturally, she and her husband, Andy Rodriguez, had to have a guava and cheese donut. e brioche dough is lled with both guava jam and sweetened cream cheese then topped with a cream cheese glaze and house-made pastelito pu pastry.