Daring Bakers: Danish Braid

Everywhere you look today it's Danish Pastry. Why? Because Kelly of Sass and Veracity and Ben of What's Cooking? selected Danish Braids for the Daring Bakers June challenge. Both Kelly and Ben thought the selected recipe, from Sherry Yard's The Secrets of Baking, would be a great way to introduce the rewards of laminated dough. Danish pastries are in the same family as puff pastry, so this challenge was a great jumping off place for those of us who (thankfully) missed the croissant challenge.

Every month's challenge has a few strict guidelines and some areas left open to each baker's own interpretation and preferences. Kelly and Ben asked that we follow the recipe for the dough to the letter, but encouraged us to use whatever fillings we'd like. We also had to make at least one braid--the recipe yields enough dough for two braids, and we were free to do whatever we liked with the second half of the recipe.

I loved this challenge and this recipe. The dough itself is made with ground cardamom and orange zest, which imparted the most heavenly smell to our apartment (Jack gets kudos for grinding whole cardamom pods for me in a mortar). I made one braid early in the month and froze the rest of the dough while I mulled over what I'd do with it. Ultimately I loved the braid so much that I just made a second one. I really wish I had doubled the recipe, so that I could say I still have some of that fabulous pastry in my freezer!

For my filling I used Rhubarb-Orange Marmalade and a simple confectioner's cream gleaned from watching Beatrice Ojakangas demonstrate on Julia Child:  Lessons with Master Chefs. The finished results were mouth-wateringly delicious!
 

Danish Braid
from The Secrets of Baking, by Sherry Yard
Makes enough for 2 large braids

1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups filling, jam, or preserves
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.

Danish Dough
Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

The 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.

The 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.

Comments

[giz]

Your braid is really beautiful and rhubarb/orange marmalade sounds heavenly. I like the glaze on the top - it gives it such a nice polished look. And, you're right, the smell when it's baking is other worldly. It was fun this month.

[Ulrike]

I also bet on rhubarb, it is heaven, isn't it? Your braid looks delicious, well done!

[Aran]

beautiful ann! good thing you missed the heat wave!!!

[zorra]

Mouth-waterin indeed!

[Sass E-mum]

THAT - is the braid I imagined making. Mine didn't turn out quite like that - and I'm astonished how you've even iced it as I wanted to.

[Zita]

Aaww..look so fresh and soft..yummy :)

[Judy]

Your braid looks so good!!! I bet that filling was incredible!

[Angie]

Ann,
Yours is very impressive; very beautiful! Thank you for your very, very kind comment on my blog ... I HAVE to go back and try this again. After viewing all others, I see a few places where I went wrong. I need to work on presentation!

[Di]

Your braid looks delicious. I'm with you--I wish I still had some dough stashed in my freezer. Guess I'll just have to make more. =)

[Marla]

Lovely. thanks for the reminder of the orange rhubarb marmalade. i wanted to try it when I saw it before but had already hacked down my plants for pies, now they are big enough to go again. I make a rhubarb apricot, that I really like so this sounds quite good as well. Gotta try it!

[Susan/Wild Yeast]

Orange-rhubarb marmalade, how fabulous! And it looks so pretty with the drizzle of glaze.

[Amy P]

Your braids are beautiful. So perfect!

[Candace]

Fabulous braid and pics! The filling sounds to die for!

[grace]

ya done good, ann. it took me a long time to learn to braid my own hair, so my next endeavor--braiding bread. :)

[Jenny]

Beautiful job on your braid. It looks incredible!

[Aparna]

Rhubarb is something I've only read about. Don't get it here, but sounds interesting.
I didn't drizzle mine with glaze as I was worried it would turn out too sweet. But your braid looks really tempting.

[Manggy]

Yowza! That is just fantastic, Ann. And such a highly recommended dough too, coming from you! Maybe I'll give it a shot someday, if the tropical air doesn't turn it into mush.
Lovely pics too.

[shayne]

your filling sounds great. I will be making this again for sure.

[Joy]

That is a beautifully decorated braid - artful!

[Dianne]

How gorgeous does that look? Stunning!

[Molly W]

Your braids look perfect, and I really like the rhubarb-marmalade idea.

[Jyotsna]

Amazing choice of filling! And the braids look simply gorgeous :)

[leslie]

YOurs looks great as well!!! Didnt your house smell Lovely???!!!!!
Thanks for stopping by my blog! Come back anytime!!!

[Temperance]

Another beautiful braid tempting me with it's Rhubarby goodness. I really need to find a supplier of quality rhubarb. I had not thought of pairing it with orange though.

[Mom Quixote]

Oh I wanted to try rhubarb, too: maybe next time around.

Your braid looks delicious. I love the drizzle!