The Rise of “The People”

Reader Staci comments:

My impression has always been that Europe and especially countries like Spain and Portugal were very Catholic and religious, so I was surprised to read what you said about a ‘great religious upheaval.’ Aren’t those countries today still quite Catholic? Please explain.

Staci, I would be absolutely delighted. The question isn’t really whether or not countries like Spain and Portugal are Catholic today, but to what degree they’re Catholic. Once, and we’re going back hundreds of years now, the Catholic Church was the richest, most powerful single institution in Europe. It was involved in every aspect of European society including politics and commerce, and held property of all sorts all around the Continent, including opulent structures and gigantic land estates.

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#3 on Joe’s Most Interesting Natural Disasters List: The Lisbon Earthquake

One thing I forgot to mention about the Hieronymites Monastery is that it somehow managed to survive the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, an event that ranks among the most devastating natural disasters in recorded history. The interesting thing about the Lisbon earthquake — though I’m certainly no seismologist — is the type of motion the city was subjected to. The way I understand it, most earthquakes are strong in just one type. The Lisbon earthquake was notable in that it started with jostling up-and-down primary waves which were then followed up by even stronger shimmying, side-to-side secondary waves. Again, as I understand it, many buildings, even those built in the 1700’s, could withstand one of those two forces. But the combination of the up-and-down and side-to-side knocked down virtually every building in Lisbon.

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Who were the first to make pastéis de Belém?

Monks, it’s believed. Specifically those who lived at Hieronymites (Jerónimos) Monastery which is of course in the Belém neighborhood of Lisbon. So the story goes, the monks there invented pastéis de Belém sometime in the 1700’s, the point at which the monastery was at its richest and most influential. That could be accurate given the history of the building, which to this day remains one of the jewels of Portuguese architecture. The first structure on the site was put up by no lesser person than Henry the Navigator in 1459, which makes sense as Lisbon is located where the magnificent Tagus river meets the Atlantic. It’s one of the world’s great natural ports.

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How do you say “eek!” in French?

Reader Lee alerts me to the initial reactions to the new Pierre Hermé Pastries, which technically isn’t out yet but which is available on Amazon. Apparently the book, while visually stunning, is rife with recipe and language errors. Of course errors are nothing terribly new in the realm of celebrity cookbooks, nor among cookbooks translated from other languages. I guess in this particular instance the combination is pretty devastating. It would be a shame for an average cookbook author, but it’s inexcusable for a pastry chef of Hermé’s renown. That’s gonna hit him where it hurts the most — right in the brand!

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On High-Heat Baking

Of course most home ovens don’t go above 550 or so degrees Fahrenheit. That’s because for most people even 500 is more than enough. It isn’t for me, which is why I built a brick oven in my back yard. That thing can sustain a heat of over 850 if need be. If worse comes to worst I’ll go that route, but it’s no fun for me when I’m making something that no one else out there can do. And anyway I’ve seen some very good looking pastéis de Bélelm/nata that were baked at 550.

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What are Pastéis de Belém?

They’re actually pastéis de nata, which is to say, custard tarts. The “Bélem” comes from the name of the neighborhood on the outskirts of Lisbon where they were first made. “Cream pastries” is the literal translation, but outside the Portuguese-speaking world they also go by the name of “cream tart” “egg pastry” or “egg tart.” They are the de-facto national pastry of Portugal, though in recent years they’re become hugely popular in parts of Southeast Asia.

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A Little Housekeeping

We made a couple of technical adjustments over the weekend here at Joe Pastry World Headquarters. Nothing most of you will notice, save for the fact that we fixed a little bug that’s kept you folks on mobile devices from accessing the site. I still don’t have a mobile-specific site up (what do you think, […]

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Next Up: Pastel de Belém

I’ve been baking over my head the last several weeks, taking on recipes I know nothing about and succeeding about as much as you’d expect. The smart thing at this point is to retreat into something comfortable and familiar. But then why do the smart thing? Why not tempt fate even further, try to climb one of the Everests of pastry wearing nothing but sneakers, and risk total disaster and humiliation? Is that even a question? Let’s go!

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Making Pão de Queijo

Pão de queijo (pãos de queijo?) are a lot like gougères, but with a little less fat and zero gluten. Why’s that? Because they’re made from tapioca starch, a derivative of the cassava root, not wheat flour. This gives them a somewhat different texture, like a soft wheat bun when cool, like a hot air ballon made of molten cheese when warm. They’re really quite a delicious experience either way, no wonder they’re one of the national foods of Brazil.

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