2 pita pockets
I am so glad that I tried the Danish Braid recipe and completed the challenge! It was a lot of work (rolling, chilling, rolling, chilling...you get the idea), but everything came together really well. I opted to use the apple filling recipe, and the flavor of the apples, butter and vanilla was wonderful!
The pastry itself featured vanilla bean, cardamom, and fresh orange juice. My kitchen smelled heavenly as it was baking, and the flavor was wonderful! I'm glad I was able to give away most of the braid, as I would have eaten the entire thing if I had been left alone with it. I have never worked with vanilla beans before, but really wanted to try the recipe in its entirety, so I ordered some from e-bay. I think I may be hooked on vanilla beans now.
This was a terrific first challenge for me....and I'm excited to face the next challenge! DANISH DOUGH
Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough
For the dough (Detrempe)
For the butter block (Beurrage)
DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.
BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.
APPLE FILLING (Makes enough for two braids)
Ingredients
Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 - 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.
DANISH BRAID Makes enough for 2 large braids
Ingredients
For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling you’ve chosen to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.
Egg Wash: Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid.
Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.
Click the picture above to check out the blogroll for the Daring Bakers and see many more fantastic pastries!
After recess, we discussed the ingredients for our mocha lattes. As a group, we brainstormed a sequence of steps to create the lattes, and then we set to work. My favorite moment of the celebration was when the coffee pot was brewing in the front of the room. The kids gathered around it and watched as the coffee pot filled with fragrant coffee. Of course, what coffee party would be complete without biscotti? Each of the kids had their own biscotti to dunk in the coffee. It was quite the day of coffee experiences for our class.
1/4 cup wheat flour
I cut the recipe in half, and made it in individual custard cups. The biscuit topping baked up nice and thick, and had a delicious flavor to it. My individual cobblers took about 40 minutes at the temperature recommended in the book.
I had some scraps, so added decorative hearts to the top of each cobbler.
The berry part of the cobbler was nice and juicy, and the biscuit topping soaked up all the berry goodness!
When I was finished, I took the remaining scraps, and rolled them out into a strip. I sprinkled cinnamon and sugar and raisins over the strip, and rolled it up like a cinnamon roll. The result was an absolutely delectable cinnamon biscuit. Butter and whipping cream make for good pastry!
Meat mixture:
After I put the meat mixture on top of the corn cake, I topped it with salsa and a little sour cream.
The mint infused cream was wonderful, up to the point where I whipped it. I never could get it to make the peaks that it was supposed to. However, the flavor was amazing! I ended up putting plain whipped cream in the middles with the sour cream, and having minty coffee for several days. The idea of infusing the cream with mint is a wonderful one, and I intend to try this recipe again, this time being more careful with my whipped cream.
I was really scared at the idea of making puff pastry. Oddly enough, the pastry was the easiest part of the whole recipe. My mini cream puffs came out beautifully!
Delicious!
Thanks so much for all the warm welcomes to "Tuesdays with Dorie!" I'm so glad to be a part of this baking community! Caroline of "A Consuming Passion" chose the recipe for this week, so please visit her blog if you would like the recipe for this dessert, and also to check out her peppermint cream puff ring pictures as well.
This made for a quick lunch today. The idea came from a recipe posted on allrecipes.com . I followed it pretty closely, but didn't add the cucumber, and only used 1/4 cup of cranberries instead of 1/3 cup.
1 large tomato
Anyway, I went to a movie this evening, and had too much cola and too much buttery popcorn. When I got home, I thought perhaps eating something more substantial then greasy and sugary movie theater fare would help settle my stomach. So of course, I turned to: pancakes. This evening, chocolate chips seemed to fit the bill perfectly, adding a nice gooey sweetness to the plain bread of the pancake. I also added a pinch of cinnamon to the pancake batter while mixing the dry ingredients. After ladling spoonfuls of the batter onto my griddle, I sprinkled the semi-sweet chocolate chips on each pancake. And yes, it did help my stomach.
1/2 cup grape juice
I have to have my cup of coffee in the morning, and Saturday is no exception. This morning, I made a strong cup of coffee and added 1 Tablespoon of blueberry syrup and a little skim milk. The coffee complimented the pancakes beautifully. What a way to start the morning!
Now, most of you are reading this post with the mental picture of a little white cat enjoying some "fully cooked" pasta in a bowl. This in itself would be an image, as spaghetti can be very unwieldy for a cat to eat, especially for a cat like Juniper who has no patience for anything. However, I'm here to tell you that the spaghetti that Juniper consumed was not cooked....it was the dry form. Yesterday I made some Lime Chicken with Spaghetti (which was wonderful by the way), and evidently a piece of dry spaghetti fell on the floor when I was working. I was amazed this morning when I heard a crunching sound, and found Juniper on the floor with a long strand of dry spaghetti. She had to work for it, but there is no Spaghetti left. Obviously, I need to feed her more...yours humbly, Butterbur.
This came together rather quickly, and was delicious! I think the next time I make it, I will toss in some steamed broccoli or cauliflower.
1/4 cup taco meat
4 cups well-drained non-fat yogurt cheese
This recipe made a delicious basic cheesecake. I was amazed at the amount of yogurt cheese it called for. Since I had never made cheesecake using yogurt, I cut the recipe into fourths:
1 cup well-drained non-fat yogurt cheese
1/4 cup Sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated fresh lemon peel (zest) omitted
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2-1/4 tsp. sifted cake flour
I followed the directions for mixing and baking, although I did leave it in the oven for an extra 30 minutes, and it never did brown. I poured it into a casserole dish that was a little too big, so after I removed it from the dish, I used biscuit cutters to make "cheesecake circles". I then rolled the edges in shaved chocolate. I also took some of the cheesecake and rolled it into small balls that I put in the freezer. After the cheesecake was frozen, I dipped them into semi-sweet chocolate to make candies. Delicious!!!
