Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 837 - 418: Puff Pastry Dough (Part 2)

With Master Zhou saying this, Qin Huai was relieved.

It wasn’t that Qin Huai’s heart was too fragile to withstand criticism. Qin Huai had been scolded numerous times by Director Qin and the teachers during his years at the orphanage or school. Children from orphanages are known for having a good mindset.

Qin Huai was simply worried that Master Zhou’s sarcastic comments about his custard tarts this afternoon would be spread all over Zhiwei Restaurant by Tan Wei’an tomorrow.

Qin Huai had confidence in Tan Wei’an’s business abilities.

Although Qin Huai hardly saw Tan Wei’an these days (since their workstations were separate), and hadn’t heard a single piece of gossip from Tan Wei’an’s mouth, Qin Huai had heard countless times: "I heard Xiao Tan say that."

Today, Master Zhou specifically asked Tan Wei’an to assist Qin Huai, and Qin Huai had confidence in Tan Wei’an’s memory and mouth.

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

Qin Huai rarely went to the low-temperature zone. These past few days, he had been watching Master Zhou make custard tarts, and the steps to making them were already well understood by Qin Huai.

The preparation of the custard tart filling was straightforward and simple, needing only a pair of hands.

The dough making...

Qin Huai understood the theory, but putting it into practice was definitely challenging.

Making the tart crust requires the creaming method, ensuring the butter and dough fully merge, ideally so the fat particles in the butter tightly envelop the dough, preventing gluten formation. During kneading, it’s crucial to avoid incorporating too much air into the dough, as an air-bubbled dough is guaranteed to fail.

Of course, too little air leads to failure as well.

Su Qian had been scolded so harshly recently because he didn’t get it right in the kneading process. The most critical step for pastries like puff pastry is kneading—how to fully incorporate the butter, manage the temperature, and control the air in the dough. These are hard to learn from videos or books; they require a mentor’s hands-on guidance, with gradual practice and study.

Clearly, Qin Huai did not have a mentor to teach him these things, which is why he was not skilled in making puff pastry, and also why his finger skills were not refined.

Standing in front of the culinary table, Qin Huai was more nervous than ever before.

He hadn’t been this nervous in a long time. In that moment, he even empathized with the apprentices at Zhiwei Restaurant. He suddenly understood why when he followed the attending doctor on kitchen inspections, the apprentices never dared to meet his gaze.

The apprentices were only having their snacks inspected by Master Zhou. Now, Master Zhou was standing right next to Qin Huai, waiting to see his work.

In contrast, Su Qian’s mental resilience was quite strong; he knew he would be scolded every time he made snacks, yet he continued making them with determination.

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

When he truly began to recall, he realized he had actually observed a lot. He wasn’t just following Master Zhou around, eating snacks every day; he wasn’t just chatting about gossip with Zhao Cheng and the others; nor was he simply helping Zhou Yan continuously taste her White Jade Shrimp Rolls.

He observed how everyone made snacks, heard their thoughts in conversations—not just gossip, family, kids in school, and extracurricular activities, but also their methods of making snacks, their journeys, their mindset changes, and how they progressed from apprentices to where they are today.

When Zhou Yan asked Qin Huai to constantly taste her White Jade Shrimp Rolls, she always mumbled about having thought about this and tried that, about how those snacks should be considering her level, and how the rolls would transform in her style.

Zhou Yan was pondering, struggling, and simultaneously speaking and expressing.

Qin Huai even thought of the Qianhua Gongdeng Buns he just watched Zhao Cheng’an make. Zhao Cheng’an’s hand was steady, his fundamentals solid. In making the buns, he followed the rules, with no apparent issues, while greatly showcasing his excellent aesthetic sense in snacks.

Of course, what came to Qin Huai’s mind most was the process by which Master Zhou made the custard tarts.

Though Master Zhou was often silent when Qin Huai observed from the side, essentially not saying a word. During such times, Qin Huai’s mouth was always busy with either freshly made snacks by Zhao Cheng’an or snacks given by Wang Jiayi, always with a bowl of warm tea to resolve the greasiness on the side.

Since the low-temperature room cools the tea quickly, the apprentice eagerly replaced it.

Qin Huai even recalled that Master Zhou had a liking for Longjing tea, as the bowl of tea next to him was always Longjing.

Of course, what occupied his thoughts most was Master Zhou’s technique.

As Qin Huai reminisced, he suddenly realized that Master Zhou’s kneading process was quite slow, meticulously showcasing every detail. He hadn’t noticed much while watching these past few days, but as he genuinely started recalling, reminiscent of reviewing a video tutorial.

Just missing a commentary.

No, there indeed was commentary. Zhao Cheng’an and the others, being disciples of Master Zhou, provided the best commentary with their gossip during conversations. Every time after Qin Huai ate the custard tarts from Master Zhou, Wang Jiayi or Zhao Cheng’an would laugh and ask him if the custard tarts were exceptionally delicious, because of Master Zhou’s pastry skills and kneading techniques.

Qin Huai stood in front of the culinary table silently for a long time, as if he were in a daze.

Tan Wei’an, by Qin Huai’s side, didn’t even know where to assist. He just stared numbly at Qin Huai, his expression reading: Seriously, bro, are you going to have an epiphany here?