This month, The Daring Bakers are undertaking a real challenge: Danish Braid.

I once tried to make Danish pastries using Nigella’s recipe in How to be a Domestic Goddess and let’s just say that it wasn’t a resounding success. But this was the real deal: laminated dough and in the height of summer, too!

Whatever you do, don’t start thinking about making your dough at 2130. Sure, the chilling will take two hours, enabling you to get to bed at a semi-decent hour, but what about the time needed to do your mis-en-place or roll out perfect rectangles? Whoops.

So, there I was at an ungodly hour, turning my dough every 30 minutes and wishing that I’d started this in the afternoon when Lucas was asleep. He had a nice long nap, and I kept thinking that he’d be waking up soon. But he didn’t and I wound up frittering away the afternoon. Woe.

Still, the dough started off pretty well once I got going. The combination of cardamom, vanilla (seeds and extract) and orange was delicious and the dough looked pretty rich even before the butter was spread onto it.

This was my first attempt at a laminated dough. The closest I’d come previously was brioche when Dave gave me my Kitchen Aid. I’ve shied away from using such huge amounts of butter in dough ever since. It probably wasn’t that bad, but the memories of sticky dough and butter everywhere are strong.

When spreading the butter on, I left a small border around the edges to try and minimise the possibility of it oozing out the sides. This seemed to work quite well: when I did the second turn there was only tiny bit of ooze that I patched up as best I could. The dough looked more yellow, too. Another thirty minutes. Weak yay.

Still, on the plus side I did manage to get plenty of reading done in between turns. I read the whole of Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl? in good time for recording our comics podcast.

Once the fourth turn was completed I cut the dough in half and gazed in wonder at all the beautiful layers I’d created. The photo doesn’t do it justice, alas, but trust me. It was an amazing sight. Almost enough to make me try making puff pastry! (Click for a much better look at the dough.)

The next evening, I rolled out one half of the dough which had risen quite dramatically, despite the cold of the fridge. It had certainly more than doubled! I’d decided to fill this braid with pistachio pastry cream—using home-made pistachio paste—some white chocolate chunks and a boozy apricot sat atop each chunk.

Alas, this braid was doomed to failure. As the dough rose, the pastry cream, despite its very thick texture—oozed out and one end started to unravel. By the time it was baked it looked quite pathetic. It tasted great, but I knew I could do better, so I sent it off to work with Dave to be devoured by locusts his colleagues and opted to make a second sweet braid the next day.

Before braiding the second, and hopefully more successful braid, I watched Julia Child’s masterclass with Beatrice Ojakangas with the sort of ferocious intensity that a lion would be proud of. One thing I noted was that she pulled up the dough surrounding the filling of the braid rather than just folding the strips of dough over. If that makes any sense? Just watch the video and you’ll see. This looked like it would help prevent the filling from escaping.

Rather than go the pistachio pastry cream route again, I chose to create a ‘Strawberries and Cream’ filling. I boiled a jar of strawberry conserve with the juice of half a lemon for five minutes until slightly thickened and let it cool. It ended up as a thick paste which I had to blob over the centre of the dough. I topped that with the remainder of the pastry cream. I topped the completed braid with some demerera sugar for a bit of crunch—has anyone in the UK managed to find pearl sugar for sale anywhere?

I just have one word to say: Wow.

Okay, maybe a few more words… This braid was world’s away from my first attempt. For a start, it looked and smelt gorgeous, with no leaky filling at all. A massive improvement. I drizzled it with a coffee glace icing which made it even prettier.

When I eventually tasted it, the taste combination was just wonderful. The strawberry jam was thick but not overly so—I had worried that it would thicken even more in the oven, leaving me with a chewy centre—and the pastry cream helped balance out the sweetness. Both took really well to the flavoursome dough. It’s been ages since I’ve had a Danish, so I’m not quite certain if the texture of the pastry was right. It was a little bready in the centre of the braid—still light, though—and only a little flaky on top. I don’t really care if the texture was 100% correct or not… the Danish braid was absolutely gorgeous (once I got the braiding right) and I’ll definitely be doing it again!

Thanks, Kelly and Ben, for such a fantastic challenge!

Danish Dough

Source: The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard.

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

For the butter block (Beurrage)
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.

Apple Filling
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients
4 Fuji or other apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Toss all ingredients except butter in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat until slightly nutty in color, about 6 – 8 minutes. Then add the apple mixture and sauté until apples are softened and caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes. If you’ve chosen Fujis, the apples will be caramelized, but have still retained their shape. Pour the cooked apples onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.) They will cool faster when spread in a thin layer over the surface of the sheet. After they have cooled, the filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Left over filling can be used as an ice cream topping, for muffins, cheesecake, or other pastries.

Danish Braid

Makes enough for 2 large braids

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

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.