New Blogs
Please take a look at my newest blog entires, I appreciate your patience as we're writing new content.
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About The Professor Chef
Welcome to The Professor Chef website. TPC, like every creation began with a simple idea. As a 40 year veteran baker, pastry chef, and college level Chef Instructor, I have gotten a lot of requests for cooking instruction. I have been told by many students that I am a patient teacher and explain things in a way that complex concepts are easy to understand. When learning something new it is important to learn how to do the task but it is equally important to understand why things happen. When you understand the why, creative freedom is unlocked.
I set out to make a series of thorough but straightforward instructional videos to assist high school baking instructors teach to a level of proficiency required for students to succeed in the college level course they would be entering. Each segment demonstrates and explains a specific introductory level technique. Each is delivered as I would in the college classroom.
As things go, the simple idea became much more complex. Soon, not only were we making videos we were trying to figure out how to deliver the content. Out of that need, the Professor Chef website was born. Having a website complicates matters immensely. Now not only do I have to concentrate on making high quality instructional videos, but keep creating other interesting content. On April 6, 2022 I posted my first blog. My advisor tells me I have to make short videos and upload them to Instagram. Additionally there is the requirement of responding to likes and comments. I am wondering when I will have time to cook and travel so I can share the experiences with you . . .
Paul Vida
Our Story
From our community to yours, we started out as a family and we hope to bring a little bit of our family to your dinner table. We've handcrafted our recipe to success and believe in the we can do it together mentality.
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"This is The Professor Chef. His welcoming and educational tone make for videos that are a delight to watch, even when I don't have the ingredients or a place to cook."
Student Tesimonial
Few things exceed the pleasure of baking bread with natural sourdough cultures and locally sourced whole grains. The Professor Chef is based in Indiana. Janie's Mill in Illinois is our go to purveyor for organic, regionally grown ancient and heirloom wheat and grains. Our eight year old "Hoosier" sourdough culture was brought to life by combining a locally produced wine, which showed yeast bloom, and King Arthur artisan bread flour. It has a mildly yogurty sour note and leavens loaves with great volume. My new starter arrived from Los Angeles. I bummed a little from Friends and Family Bakery on Hollywood Bl. I may call it "LAX". It also leavens beautifully, but produced a much more acidic tang, giving breads a distinct dimension.
Bread
Cast iron, is not good for everything as we will see in our lessons. It is good for almost everything else. Cast iron heats evenly and hot. When seasoned properly, which is not difficult to do, it is virtually non-stick in most situations. On those occasions when food does stick, cast iron is very easy to clean. To get the beautiful crust and open crumb structure of the sourdough loaves we will make, nothing beats a 500 degree Fahrenheit Dutch oven for creating the best baking conditions in home ovens.
Cast Iron