Focaccia, Baguettes, Lavosh Bread

Chef's Bread Basket

I have a long list of lists, not tear-jacking bucket lists to be crossed out before the end of time, just random things I'd like the chance to do someday: Places to see (eating my way across Italy is tops), superstars I'd like to meet and whose chests I'll tattoo my name across (Linkin Park, Alton Brown & the late Keith Floyd) and foods I would like make and master (namely cheese, beer and bread).

With cheese and beer, I can survive anywhere and be content. Bread I just find it astounding that a little flour and water can be transformed into the myriad of shapes and forms they come in, that every civilization, religion and faction of life have at least a half dozen to their name.

24 Hour Monster Dough

Sadly, we had no luxury of time for the dough rest and ferment naturally (long, slow fermentation = sweeter, more complex flavors in the bread) so Chef Gert made some dough the day before, left to ferment overnight, for a better result.

He then rolled the dough into logs, left them to rest and prove further before slashing the tops to decorate and for the dough to expand more freely in the oven. The leafy ones you see are Epi's, shaped to resemble a stalk of wheat that is the building block of bread. It is also my favorite to have with slices of foie gras, decadent and delightful.

Epi & Traditional Baguettes

Pesto Roll

We made 2 versions of focaccia: the traditional flat bread and a pesto roll. For the roll, fresh basil, olives and olive oil are blended into a slimy black-green pulp, which may not look particularly appetizing but once baked, the rich oils soaks through to make what may easily be the best savory bread you'll ever have.

Just as we did for the Chelsea buns, we spread a layer of the pulp onto the focaccia dough, rolled it up into a big, fat cigar and made decorative cuts on top before baking. Flour may be sprinkled on for that increasingly popular rustic appeal.

Focaccia

I *heart* focaccia, from making them (the key is to add extra olive oil into the dough for a moist bread and drizzle extra extra olive oil on top so it will sizzle nicely in the oven) to eating them (the key is to drench each slice in extra extra extra olive oil to take the rich bread to the next level). Do you see where I'm heading with this?

Yummy Little Gift Box

Lavosh In The Making

Lavosh is an unleavened Armenian bread, similar to a big cracker, rolled out to a mere 1mm thick, brushed with water and sprinkled with a rain of poppy and sesame seeds before baking. 

As luck would have it, my neighbors are Armenian, and they tell me lavosh is traditionally eaten plain, without toppings, without fuss. There you go, learning something new each day.

My Mightily Fine Bread Basket

I made a me some fine breads today, and my baguette was probable one of the best in class! Which pleased me to no end, as I've never made baguette sbefore. Mine came over pretty French too: thin with a good, hard crust. Délicieux!

The pesto roll didn't fare as well. Once again, I went crazy with the pesto and poured on so much the dough nearly tore from all that weight. And tore it did in the oven, exploded in fact, like a pus-filled pimple that started bleeding slime. The carnage has been intentionally kept out of view in the photo above, and I make no apologies for it, coz ugly as it was, it tasted AMAZING! Hell-Yeh!

Too much of a good thing can only be better.

Patisserie Danoise, Chelsea Buns

Chef Gert's Delightful Danish Pastries

The lesson plan today was to make some yummylicious Danish pastries, and who better to show us how than the jolly Great Dane himself, Chef Gert.

With a good pastry dough, various fillings to choose from and no set rules, the possibilities are endless. And precisely for that reason, we made such a huge variety of pastries that I shall have to present them in installments. Read on for more mouthwatering pictures.

The Various Guises Of Pastry...Monkey Face?

The dough is rolled out and cut into squares. Feel free to make them bigger if you're hungry, which I always am, but this time I'm keeping them small just so that I can make more of them.

The dough can be baked plain or with some pastry cream, to be topped with fresh fruits after. Alternatively, sturdier fruits such as apricots and sour cherries can be added before baking.

Bear Paws

The dough can also be filled with cream cheese or pastry cream and cut to form the "paws". Fanned out, they look remarkably fancy.

Hazelnut Twists

For a more intricate look, fill the dough with hazelnut paste, slice into rectangles and make a small cut in the middle. Push one end through the cut and pull out to straighten, or well, twist.

Topping With Apricot, Apply & Streusel, Brushing On Apricot Glaze

Brushed on while the baked pastries are still warm, the apricot glaze is better absorbed and gives the pastries a lovely, golden shine and a sweet finish.

 

Snails

Filling, Rolling, Doing The Twist

Slap on the filling of your choice, in our case a butter-cinnamon-sugar spread, throw in some raisins, roll up the dough like a cigar, slice and bake, individually or together in a round tin.

If you like, you can even on drizzle some fondant for added color and a fancier finish.

Chelsea Buns

Like the Danish pastries, cinnamon syrup was brushed onto the buns for a sweet shine. And just like the pastries, the texture of the Chelsea buns was pure bliss. Soft and flaky, it gave just enough resistance before melting into a buttery goodness in your mouth.

Chef's Beloved Danish Kringle

Kringles are the Danish version of pretzels, and a favorite of Chef Gert's. He shared his secret recipe for a kick-ass filling, of which I cannot and shall not divulge, I can only say it does not include apricot jam or whipped cream (his all time favorites). That said, the sweet cinnamon butter spread will make a worthy substitute.

But wait, there's more! To the filling he added pastry cream and white chocolate buttons before rolling the dough into a gigantic sausage, laid it onto a baking tray in the shape of, what else, a pretzel, sprinkled on some slivered almonds and sugar, then he baked.

The result was to die for. Soft and crunchy, sweet and cinnamony, light and buttery, every bite was sheer joy to behold.

My Sweet, Sticky Buns

I tossed in as much currents as the dough could carry, coz I know how disappointing it can be when you pay a big sum for a tiny roll at the shops only to find it sorrily lacking in fruit. So I did the buns some justice and myself a favor, and made it the way I would like to eat it. That is how all food should be prepared, don't you agree?

I left the syrup on the stove for far too long, and it boiled down to a thick, honey-like syrup, which I poured onto the buns anyway, and to my surprise, they soaked right through, leaving a layer of sweet,  gooey, sticky goodness to lick off my fingers afterward!

Danish Galore!

I made close to 50 little danishes today. Hold the fertility jokes please, I'm serious. It's a good dilemma to be in, coz these babies tastes amazing, especially straight out of the oven. I see many happy brekkies in the weeks ahead.

Patisserie Danoise (Danish Pastry), Baklava

 

Chef Karen's Baklava

I'm getting the hang of mise en place; the lessons are far less stressful, and they make the week ahead  much more enjoyable. Best part of today is, we don't go home empty handed.

Like the pavlova, baklava has many claims to it parentage. Chef Karen says it's Greek in origin, though in my opinion the Turks put up a pretty strong case too. But leave me out of this debate, I have no intention of starting a war, I'm just here to eat.

Ghee, Filo, Nuts

We used the same store-bought filo as we did for the Spanakopita, layered with melted ghee and crushed nuts (walnut and cashews drenched in a little flour and sugar). Though pistachios are a popular addition, they tend to burn in the oven, so we'll save them for garnish.

Ghee is the Indian name for clarified butter, made by simmering unsalted butter till all the water evaporates and the milk solids settle to the bottom of the pot. The result is a a clear fat with a high smoking point and a light toasted flavor, perfect for deep frying or in our case today, long baking time in the hot oven.

Ghee, Filo, Cut

Another layer of filo and ghee caps the baklava, and into the freezer it goes to set the ghee making it easier to score and slice through the filo layers before baking.

Soaking Syrup

In addition to ghee, the other key component in baklava is the sweet soaking syrup, made by boiling sugar, water, cinnamon and lemon zests, and sometimes scented with rose water and orange blossom water. This has to be ready and piping hot when the baklava comes out of the oven, for maximum liquid absorption.

Danish Pastry Dough: De Butter In De Trempe

We then made the Danish pastry dough; similar to croissants, with yeast as a rising agent, and like puff pastry, laminated with a good slab of butter, 3 turns, and it's done!

Apple Filling & Streusel Topping

Hazelnut & Cream Cheese Filling

A variety of fillings for tomorrow, and mark my words, I'm a-looking forward to it.

Glistening Baklava

I doubled the amount of nuts in the filling, halved the ghee and the soaking syrup. The result is far less greasy, not overly sweet, and chokeful of nuts, just the way I like it.

 

Nutty Layers

If you do try your hand at making this very easy dessert, resist devouring it on the same day, it will be too hot and flimsy to handle anyway. The oil and sugar will preserve it for generations to come, but refrigerated for a couple of days, the flavors will improve exponentially, and your patience will be rewarded a thousand-fold.