TWD: Sunny-Side-Up Apricot Pastries & Classic French Bread

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Michel Richard (pastries) / Danielle Forestier (bread)


Sunny-Side-Up Apricot Pastries

These cute pastries are a breeze to make when you take the short-cuts I did.

I had every intention of making my own puff pastry, but it has just been too warm to attempt - and I wanted to get these made pronto. I'm feeling so behind in my TWD participation. Hence the double post this week.

Not only did I use store-bought puff pastry (Dufour brand - the closest to homemade as one can get. It is made from only butter, flour, water, salt and lemon juice), I also used canned apricots, where the recipe calls for fresh, and to poach them. However apricots are no longer in season in California - just as well, for it saved me an extra step.

All that was left to make was the pastry cream. This pastry cream was OK. It had an odd after-taste after-feel, kind of powdery. I did add too much vanilla extract, but I don't think that would have given it it's odd texture; the good thing is, it wasn't noticeable after baking. Though next time, I'll use the recipe from Stars Desserts, by Emily Luchetti.

The dough is rolled out on a sugared work surface, then placed sugar side up on a baking sheet, the pastry cream and apricots are placed on top. They are baked for about thirty-five minutes in a three hundred and fifty degree oven until puffed and golden.

An apricot glaze, made from apricot jam and water that has simmered until syrupy, is brushed over the warm pastries. I think it is best to brush them after they have cooled, for the glaze seemed to just soak into the pastry, as well as the apricots. Brushing them again after they cooled gave them a shinier appearance.  

You may have noticed in the first picture, one pastry is smaller than the other. The first pastry I rolled out the dough according to the recipe, and thought it was awfully thin, and was afraid it would not have much of a rise, so I rolled the second one a little thicker and shorter; as you can see they both turned out fine. Though neither puffed as much as in the photo shown in the book. 

These were fun to make, and pretty tasty for how easy they were to prepare. I would like to make them again when apricots are in season - I think poached apricots might be a bit firmer, whereas the canned were quite soft.

I don't know what I like best - warm from the oven, or cold, straight from the fridge. I only made two of these and place one in the refrigerator overnight. The pastry still had some crunch to it, and there was a stronger apricot flavor when eaten cold. The pastry reheats nicely too. I placed half of the cold pastry in a three hundred degree oven for about five minutes.

Click here for the link to the recipe if you would like to make these yourself.


Classic French Bread

Well. The day I chose to make the French bread, the baking gods were busy, and not with me this day.

This recipe was scheduled for September. I did not get around to making it then, and we were having soup for dinner, and I thought it would be great to have some bread to go along with.

Reading the recipe, it sounded easy and doable in time for dinner. No matter that it was ninety-four degrees outside, and I would be preheating my oven to five hundred degrees.

I had my doubts from the very beginning. The dough just did not have the soft and supple feel to it as it looked in this video of Danielle making this very recipe. My dough was quite dry and firm. I added extra water, but that did not seem to help any.

After the dough has been formed into batard shapes (mishap number one: dropped one on the floor), it is placed on a floured linen or cotton towel, and the towel is pleated to help hold their shape. The picture above shows the dough after it has risen. Mishap number two: apparently I did not seal the seams tight enough - they started splitting. At least I knew my yeast was working.

These are then turned out onto a baker's peel, seam side down and slipped onto a baking stone or baking tiles (I used the back of a cookie sheet that was placed in the oven while it pre-heated). Then the oven walls are spritzed with water (alternatively you can pour water in a broiler pan that has been placed on the lowest rack) to create a moist environment. This is what gives the crust its characteristic crunch.

From the look of the slash marks, which I thought turned out so pretty - you can see the bread has an airy look to it. I couldn't wait to slice into it to reveal that airy, holey crumb that French bread has.

Did you know, that in France, it is a law that you have to wait twenty minutes after baking, before the bread can go on sale to the public? Also, no cornmeal is allowed on the baking peel or sheet either (some people use cornmeal for easy transfer and for extra crunch), for French bread is only made from flour, water, yeast and salt - nothing more.

No tunneling holes whatsoever. My crumb is tight as can be. Hmph. Looks like a flat standard white loaf, that also did not have any flavor to it. It did have a great crust though! Oh well. Maybe I'll try again when the weather is cooler.

If you would like to give this a try, click here for the recipe. Do visit my fellow baker's sites to see how they fared with this recipe and the pastry recipe. You will find their links on the LYL: Sunny-Side-Up Apricot Pasties link and the LYL: Classic French Bread link on the Tuesdays with Dorie website.

TWD: Apple Danish Braid and a Pinwheel

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Beatrice Ojakangas 





The dough for this recipe is a laminated dough, much like what we used when we made croissants, but way easier and less time consuming. Those of you unfamiliar with the term laminated dough - this is where a slab of butter is enrobed with dough, then rolled, folded (like a business letter), rolled, folded - several times. The more you roll and fold the dough, the flakier your pastry will be.

For this recipe, the butter was sliced in large pieces and pulsed for a very short time (you want the butter to be no smaller than 1/2-inch in diameter) in a food processor with the flour, before being mixed ever so lightly with the rest of the ingredients, then chilled overnight before proceeding with the rolling and folding of the dough.

The danish braid recipe calls for only half the recipe of the pastry dough. I went ahead and made the full amount and placed the rest in the freezer for a later time, thinking this is going to be good, and just may want to make another!

With the fall weather upon us, I decided to go with an apple filling instead of the recommended  apricot, prune or berry jam, topped with a confectioner's cream or almond filling. I also forwent the coffee glaze (made from coffee and powdered sugar), one - it did not sound good to me, two - it doesn't need it - before baking, the pastry is topped with almonds and sugar.

This was good. I thought it tasted even better the following day; and the boys at the shop devoured the rest - one, whom is watching what he eats, said it was so good, he had two pieces. :)

I'm happy I have more dough on-the-ready in the freezer. I'm looking forward to making pinwheels filled with maybe a pear-cranberry filling, spiced with cardamom. Sound good?

The beginnings of the apple filling.

 

I had enough dough from the scraps to make a pinwheel (OK, enough for two, but I ate that dough).

 How cute are pinwheels?!! I wish I had made all pinwheels. Next batch!

Please visit my fellow bakers to see what version they have baked up. You can find their links on the LYL: Danish Braid link over on the Tuesdays with Dorie website.

TWD: Croissants

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Esther McManus

 

Finally!! These puppies were due two weeks ago. My tardiness was not due to lack of desire; I have always wanted to make croissants. The procrastination was born from finding three days in a row to commit to make these. There are several rising periods and resting times to deal with here.

There is a PBS video of Esther and Julia making these same croissants. Watching the video was extremely helpful, especially since this book is not real clear in the instructional department and I just love Esther's way of explaining as she bakes along: "To help the mixer, because I can see the mixer is struggling." "The dough is not the boss, YOU are the boss." and "Do not be afraid of the dough - the dough should be afraid of you."  Even if you don't plan on making your own croissants, it's fun to watch the video - Esther is a kick in the pants.

OK, take a deep breath and let's get started!

Day one you mix the dough, let rest for half an hour at room temperature, then chill for at least eight hours or overnight. You also prepare the butter (mixed with two tablespoons flour) and chill it along with the dough (separately).

Day two you incorporate the butter block, yes I said block, it is one pound of butter mixed with a bit of flour and formed into a huge block. Chill again for one to two hours - unless you're feeling courageous (this being my second attempt, I chose to chill it for a bout an hour and a half) and can work quickly before the butter softens too much; then you can go ahead and make the first "turn" of the dough (rolling and folding), after which it gets chilled again for at least two hours. Then comes turn number two of three, a repeat of the first turn, and another chill for two hours. For the final turn of the dough, it too will get chilled for two hours, then the dough is ready to be used for shaping your croissants.

Day three you get to form the croissants (the fun part!). Once formed you give them an egg wash, and guess what?!!! They get to rise (proof) at room temperature for another three to four hours!!* After that, give them one more egg wash and finally into the oven.

*I formed my croissants in the evening of day two and wrapped them in plastic wrap for a slow rise in the refrigerator as mentioned in this post (one of the benefits of getting a late start - you get to read the other baker's posts for tips and issues) to be baked the following morning. However mine did not rise at all in the refrigerator and still needed a three-hour proofing period at room temperature.

The proofing period would not have been a problem since I was planning on taking these out to the boys for their morning break at around ten O'clock anyway. However I awoke with a migraine and did not even get up till ten. It was well after two before I was ready to share these delights ~ so the lucky recipients were two of my neighbors, my sister, our daughter and her co-worker, whom she affectionately calls Boss Lady (she is her boss..).

I don't feel bad that the boys did not get to indulge in these; they received the Mocha Chocolate Chip cookies (next post) two days earlier. 

Consensus so far:

Laura: TO DIE FOR
Ashley: My mom rocks
Boss Lady: AWESOME
Liz: WONDERFUL - even better than the ones in France :) 

Would I make these again? Yes. Probability of making these again ~ slim.

Success meter (1-3): 3

I chilled my counter by leaving pans filled with ice for about fifteen minutes.

Hard to find "fresh" yeast. To my surprise and after calling around to specialty stores I happened upon this at our local Nob Hill/Raley's market (at a ridiculous price). Several of the bakers from our group were able to get a whole pound from there local Bakery/Deli for the price I paid for one ounce!

If I were making a pie crust my dough would be any shape other than round!

The fillings: Chocolate, almond, and for the plain, a piece of scrap dough to give the croissant its belly.

Can you say flag overkill? I can't believe I did not take any pictures without them!

If you are feeling adventurous and have three days to spare, and are thinking you would like to give making these a try, you will find the recipe and detailed photos of this crazy long process over on Amanda's beautiful blog, Girl+Food=Love; and for more beautiful photos, tip and tricks, check out the results of the many talented bakers in the group. Just look for the LYL: Croissants link on the Tuesdays with Dorie website.

TWD: Berry Galette

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
By Dorie Greenspan

When I saw that this recipe was chosen I initially was going to pass on it. We just made blueberry pie which posted this past Tuesday. Then I thought this would be a great way to use the leftover pie dough I had in the freezer from the blueberry pie recipe.

I had enough dough leftover to make two galettes. I filled one with berries and the other with peaches. I really had high hopes for the peach galette. The peaches are really full of flavor right now. Unfortunately by the time I got around to making this, my peaches, which I purchased too many days beforehand, were less than prime.

The recipes in this book tend to be too sweet for me; therefore I used only about one, to one and a half teaspoons of sugar to the one tablespoon, plus one teaspoon the recipe called for in the berry galette. I also omitted the butter and honey. I added some lemon zest and about three-quarters tablespoon of flour to help thicken the juices. Adding the flour made for a much better result than I had with the blueberry pie.

For the peach galette I sprinkled some Demerara sugar over the formed galette, and once out of the oven, I drizzled some agave nectar over the top. The peaches, being less than par, needed something more.

This is a dessert which the fruit is the star. Make sure your fruit is top notch ~ full of flavor. It will make a difference.

Galette's make for a great last minute dessert that can even be served to guests. I bet you have what you need in your pantry for a crust (just do a google search for galette or pie dough if you don't have the ingredients for this one) and may even have some fruit laying around, and who doesn't like a rustic looking pie, warm from the oven, oozing with goodness?

Success meter (1-3): 2 (this rating should not reflect on the original recipe due to my alterations.)

With the leftover fruit I made a

delicious smoothie!

Our hosts this week are Lisa of Tomato Thymes in the Kitchen and Andrea of The Kitchen Lioness. Visit there sites for the original recipe. You can see other variations from my fellow bakers over at the Tuesdays with Dorie website. Just look for the LYL post.

Blueberry Pie

by Fine Cooking magazine



                                       Blueberry Pie



This week I should have been making pecan sticky buns for the Tuesdays with Dorie baking group to post this coming Tuesday. However I could not bring myself to make another butter-laden recipe. The first recipe (the group bakes two recipes a month) was Hungarian Shortbread which called for one pound, yes, four sticks of butter, which I made and really did not care for. The sticky buns call for even more butter - five sticks! Don't get me wrong, I am not one to shy away from any kind of sweets; especially baked goods. Reading through the recipe the sticky buns did not appeal to me.

So I baked a blueberry pie of which I have been craving and anxious to make ever since seeing the delicious, mouth-watering picture in this month's Fine Cooking magazine.

Cravings can make you do crazy stupid things like baking a pie when it is 90° outside; but the aroma while baking made it all worthwhile.

The pie turned out beautiful! The blueberry flavor was not as pronounced as I thought it would be, but very tasty just the same. I think the only other blueberry pie I had was when I was growing up and we would get the Hostess mini pies (remember those?), the ones you buy in the snack isle of your local grocery store which not only had added "real" flavoring but a lot of other ingredients too numerous to mention let alone pronounce. Hey, at the time I thought they were the best! Years later, now that I do my own baking and cooking, I have become a bit of a food snob. Even restaurant food does not impress me much anymore - oh the pitfalls of knowing how to cook.



Image found here.

The instructions which I failed to read required a cooling time of three hours. I would be in bed by then and there was no way I was going to retire without a taste of this enticing creation sitting on my cooktop. I highly recommend that you do wait the three hours or longer. I cut into it early and the slice did not hold its shape and the filling ran out. The next day the slice of pie held its shape beautifully and even tasted better in my opinion.

Success meter (1-3): 3

My dough was too fragile to weave so I just

criss-crossed them.

As well as too fragile to roll the dough over a rolling pin

 as instructed. I just flipped the parchment over directly

into the pan. Worked like a charm!

A sea of blueberries.

Flour, sugar and lemon zest to

thicken the pie.

Flip the parchment with the lattice

onto the pie.

Homemade pie cover as found in

Fine Cooking.

Start with a 12-inch square of

heavy-duty foil.

Fold in half.

Fold in half again to make a smaller square.

(note your center point)

Fold diagonally through the center point

to create a triangle.

Fold again through the center point for

a narrower triangle.

Cut across the triangle in a slight curve

about 4 inches from the tip.

Unfold and whoala!

Edge and top cover for your pie.

Edge is beautifully golden.

Time to cover up!

Yummy goodness.

This is what happens when you

don't let it cool for three hours.

Juice oozing out.

Much better the next day!

No oozing this time.

Mmmm..