Daring Bakers Challenge…Danish Braids

Yeah! My first “official” Daring Baker’s Challenge..and what a challenge it was!! I was up until 2:30 in the morning rolling and rerolling this dough (of course, perhaps I should have started it before 9 at night, you think?) Was the lack of sleep worth it? Oh Lord…you bet it was! This is a beautiful dough, and the flavor is to die for. I had to order ground cardamom from a spice store online, as the Krogers and Food Lion wanted $15 for a little bottle – and I’m too poor for that! I ended up getting it online for a mere $3.75. Thank God for the internet! The other great flavor in the dough is orange, and while it’s subtle, it’s fantastic.

Here is a brief explanation of Danish Braids and their dough, and what’s involved in making it:

Some History:

• According to many sources, “Danish” was born when Danish bakers went on strike, and Viennese bakers were brought in to replace them, creating what is referred to as Vienna Bread.

• Conversely, it is also said that Danish bakers went to Vienna to learn the techniques Viennese bakers employed, and Danish dough was created there.

• In the early 1800’s, C.L. Olsen spent time in Germany, believing in the idea of gaining inspiration from bakers of other countries. He brought knowledge back to Denmark to introduce “foreign” breads to his country, also hiring people of other nationalities to bake in his family bakery.

Terminology:

• Laminated dough – is layered dough created by sandwiching butter between layers of dough

• Detrempe – ball of dough

• Beurrage – butter block

• Turn – each “fold & roll” of the dough produces a single turn in a 3-step process where the dough is folded exactly like a business letter in 3 columns. Each single turn creates 3 layers with this method.

And now, for the recipe we used, from Sherry Yard’s The Secrets of Baking

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients

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

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

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.

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.

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.

There are a ton of different fillings for the braid, but our challenge was to only use something we made ourselves from scratch. For me, I knew Cream Cheese was my filling of choice, but I decided to jazz it up a bit. I cooked down some fresh red raspberries in a little bit of water, then added a splash of Chambord and a scoop of sugar. For the Cream Cheese, I whipped it after leting it get to room temperature, added 1/3 cup of sugar and a splash of vanilla. After spreading it on my dough, I ran a couple of stripes of the raspberry on top of it and began my braid.

For my second braid, I did the same technique, except used fresh strawberries and Grand Marnier instead of Chambord. I think this was my favorite of the two braids, but both were out of this world good.

Problems: Other than the dough taking soooo long to fold due to the 30 minute rest times, I really had no preparation problems. What DID trouble me is my cold house. Cold houses do not help dough to proof. Therefore, as per usual, I took my beautiful braid to the car to proof. It works like a charm everytime. However, I did not notice that I didn’t have the braid perfectly level, so I ended up with a bit of a wanky looking braid. I baked it anyway (of course!) and it was divine. For the second braid, I still proofed it in the car, but made sure to keep it more level. It worked out just right.

Will I make this again?? Oh yeah. In a heartbeat. We have family coming to visit in a couple of weeks and they will be having Danish for breakfast at least ONE morning!

Thanks to the Daring Bakers for choosing such a doozy…I would have NEVER attemped such a collosal project on my own! To see other DB results, head on over to the Daring Bakers Blogroll…and give this recipe a try yourself!