Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/149416
salt and pepper. "The burrata is a staple on my menu because everyone loves it " says Febbraro. "I've never had one complaint to tell you the truth, after all these years." "Last year we made six and a half million pieces of bread," says Loic Netter, executive baker for Wynn and Encore. From the savory bacon, Emmenthal, and Parmesan bread to the tangy olive bread and whitechocolate brioche, all 125 varietes of bread devoured at both resorts are baked at the Wynn Bread Shop, overseen by Netter. And in almost every and Encore is, of course, filtered, the Bread Shop has an additional osmosis water filter to bring it to a truly pristine level. Each detail is worked out to Netter's exact specifications, from the protein and mineral content of the flour to the freshness of the yeast, the alkalinity of the lye dip that provides that deep caramel pretzel color on the thin crust, and the size of the salt crystals sprinkled on top: "Inside the salt crystal, it's empty, just air, so the salt will try to suck up whatever humidity is in the air or in the bread," Netter says. "Because sea salt absorbs humidity very fast, it will melt on top of the warm "WE GET REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK ON THE WARM PRETZELS; A LOT OF OUR VIPs ASK FOR THEM."—carlos guía restaurant you will find some of his 3,500 daily pretzel creations, in the form of small loaves, sticks, and twists. At all times in the Bread Shop's kitchen, a machine is running at a consistent temperature to create a starter dough. "We feed the starter twice a day," explains Netter. "We mix flour and water together and let the fermentation take over." That fermentation continues until the bread reaches 50 degrees Celsius in the oven. "The fermentation produces carbon dioxide and alcohol, and the alcohol of course gives a lot of flavor." There's that science for you. To achieve the pretzel bread's light and airy, yet delightfully chewy, texture, Netter uses a bright white, medium-gluten flour. "The protein content, or the gluten, is very important," he notes. "Too much or too little will not work for what we want to do." Also of utmost importance is the quality of the water in the bakery. While all water throughout Wynn bread. That's one reason we perform five different bakes throughout the day, not only to ensure we have them as fresh as possible, but also because of the salt." Executive chef Carlos Guía offers the pretzels in several incarnations, a perfect fit for the clubby steakhouse vibe of his Country Club, he says: "We get really good feedback on those warm pretzels; a lot of our VIPs and casino hosts ask for them." Pretzel breads appear on Guía's lounge menu at lunch, while the happy-hour menu features a traditional big twist pretzel. Both are served with a trio of mustards. At dinner service, the warm pretzel loaves are provided in the complimentary breadbasket (alongside kalamata olive bread, seven-grain bread, and an epi loaf.) "They have this nice, crispy crust and a tender, moist inside," says Guía before hitting on a possible reason for this particular item's popularity. "I love pretzels. They always bring back childhood memories." n opposite page: On Country Club's lounge menu, pretzel bread is served with Dijon, Creole, and chile mustards. For the chile mustard, executive chef Carlos Guía starts with Zatarain's Creole Mustard and adds chili powder, cumin, paprika, and ground Aleppo chili. above left: The Bread Shop buzzes with pretzel-making activity. above right: Warm, freshly baked loaves of pretzel bread await delivery to Wynn and Encore restaurants. WYNN 054-059_W_F_FoodSpotlight_Fall13.indd 59 59 8/9/13 11:27 AM