There it is... My first Daring Baker's challenge - Danish Braid. It looks lovely, doesnt it, or is it just me? I am so happy that I got to finish my first challenge, even if it did not turn out perfect. It is supposed to be a closed braid, but mine opened up while baking, but it sure tasted awesome!! Now I can say that I love danish pastry a lot!! Well...it was not a lovey-dovey relationship from the start. This is my second braid, after the super disappointment on my first try.
FLASHBACK: It all started when Kelly of Sass & Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cookin’? announced the June 2008 edition of Daring bakers - Danish Braid using Sherry Yard's recipe from "The Secrets of Baking".
FLASHBACK: It all started when Kelly of Sass & Veracity, and Ben of What’s Cookin’? announced the June 2008 edition of Daring bakers - Danish Braid using Sherry Yard's recipe from "The Secrets of Baking".
I was very nervous when I started on my first braid on Tuesday last week. I felt that this was one very-tough challenge. I did everything according to the recipe, made enough dough for two braids. I decided to make one a vanilla-creme braid with chopped strawberries and lychees. The second braid was to be a savory one with curried onions and boiled eggs. The only thing different from the assembly was that I made the cuts for the braid at an angle and only made about 5 cuts. I spend the entire day doing the pastry turns and finished baking the braids individually by about 9.00 at night.The sweet braid actually became over-proofed and had risen a lot. The savory one was just right and I finished baking it perfectly. While I was baking the sweet one, I did a few mistakes and it browned a lot, but still was ok. But when I took it out of the oven, it slipped from my hand and fell on the floor!! It broke in half and was on the floor before I could take any pictures!! GASP!!! I actually shed a few tears. A whole days work down the drain! Only because JM encouraged me, did I decide to try making another sweet braid, from scratch! The pictures below show the savory one that I made with curried onions and boiled eggs (much like the egg puffs that we get in the bakeries of Kerala).
The second time, I decided to do the braid in two days - making the dough and completing the turns in one day and the proofing and actual baking on the second day. So I made half the dough enough for a single braid and reduced the amount of orange zest. I actually ran out of yeast (I usually have several packets, so I hadnt bothered to check) and added about 1 1/4 tsp where I needed 1 1/2 tsp. When it was time to make the butter block, I see that my butter stock is almost over. Is this some kind of a joke!!? Is this really happening to me!? But I dont know why, I was kind of cool with the setbacks (when compared to the previous days disaster and tears!)! I decided to go through with it anyways, and used only 3 tbsp of butter in the place of 8 tbsp (1/4 cup) that I needed. I did all the four turns as specified in the instructions given and let it rest overnight in the refrigerator.
The next day I had finalised a different filling for my second sweet braid - butterscotch and apple filling! I made the butterscotch filling using this recipe. I only made half the amount and that too was a bit too much. The braid was rolled out to 7 1/2" by 10" rectangle and I spread the butterscotch filling in the middle third of the pastry. Then I placed the fresh chopped fuji apples (about 1/2 an apple) on top. I braided the pastry according to the instructions. This time I made closer cuts perpendicular to the filling. I kept the braid for proofing for about 2 1/4 hours, because 1) I could see that it wasnt rising as much as the previous one did 2) it was refrigerated for almost 16 hours 3) that was the time specified for proofing the refrigerated dough at 75F. I made sure that it didnt over-proof by checking it at intervals. Some of the butterscotch filling leaked out during proofing, which I just cleaned off before keeping in the oven.
I baked the braid at 400F for only 7 minutes on one side (instead of 10 minutes). I could see that the braid had actually opened up (it was perfectly closed even after proofing)! Then reduced the temperature to 350F and sprinkled a few almond slivers on top. I turned the baking sheet 180 degrees and baked for about 12 minutes (instead of 15-20 minutes) for a total of 19 minutes. The braid was baked to perfection with crisp and browned pastry which was flaky (even with a lot less butter than specified!!) I waited for JM to come home from his office to enjoy it, and enjoy we did!! As I write this, I only have less than a quarter of the braid left! :-) I am glad I could make it atleast healthier by even a bit by reducing the amount of butter, eventhough it was quite unintentional! So finally I can say that I am proud to be a Daring Baker and I completed my first challenge with some satisfaction. Eventhough the first trial of making the danish bread ended in a mishap and I vowed that I will never make this again, the bounce-back on the second day has made me atleast consider making this again! :-)
I am sorry for my rambling, but this IS my first challenge!! :-) Please take a moment to check out the wonderful creations of the other Daring Bakers!! Email me if you would like to see the entire recipe.
Hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Dont forget to leave your thoughts on my Danish braid.
