Update: All three parts of my blog series are now published! Scroll for the links.

I often have to remind myself when I’m taking photos that as much as I want to document an experience, I need to actually enjoy being in the moment. On this particular day in late February, it was especially important. I was photographer, interviewer, taster and student on a special visit of Bouchon Bakery in Yountsville with my Book Project team.

Being a part of the Project has allowed me to reinforce everything I learned in pastry school and discover new techniques and tricks. The freezer has truly become my best friend. The book was put together by the Bouchon Bakery team of chefs and tested in a home kitchen and I have not come across any major issues. I say that with confidence as I approach week 17 of the project (tentative end date of summer 2014).

My day at Bouchon Bakery was a milestone moment. Not only did I tour the bakery, I was given the opportunity to meet with the chefs, which was incredibly valuable. We troubleshooted recipes, discussed technique and worked with bread dough. An experience like this is one I live for - food people sharing our love for the craft that is baking.

Part 1: A Day at Bouchon Bakery

Part 2: In Conversation with Chef Janine Weissman

Part 3: Bread Demonstration with Chef Matthew McDonald

Photo courtesy of Leticia

I am excited to share with you this new project that I am a part of. A group of us at Williams-Sonoma Union Square have joined together to bake our way through Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery cookbook.

Every week we will test a new recipe and post a blog recap on Friday. Because we have a group of people baking we will cover as many variations as possible such as convection/standard bake, varying equipment (there are some specialty tools used), metric vs standard measurements.

When I first skimmed through the book I noticed all the measurements were given in both metric and standard which is great as I prefer to weigh my ingredients. Also, everything is so precise. Vanilla paste: 7.7 grams. Eggs? Thomas Keller’s method is to weigh them after straining out the chalaze, the part that connects the egg white and yolk. To stay true to the book, I will do the same as tedious as it sounds.

Check back here each Friday as I will be posting my own entry on each recipe we do.

If you would like to participate, see here for details. It is incredibly easy. We want this to be something everyone can be involved in!