The Danish Invaision..Part 2..Tebirkes-Danish Poppy seed palms

Welcoming..our Danish neighbors...

Part two. There was a lot of response to part one, and I thank you all who came back for the continuation of the Danish Invasion.... This recipe is greatly adapted from Jan Hedh Artisan Bread edited *RK* 10/15/2009 by Petra Holzapfel 


Puff pastry is a beautiful thing. It is a triumph to make correctly, but even if you do not follow the *rules* to an exact T you still can turn out a fantastic puff pastry recipe. I am strictly going on experience here. I have to admit that it was way more successful then I ever thought, and so pretty. I do hope you will try these. They really are quite fantastic, and they would go so well with a nice slice of pungent cheese like aged cheddar and a cup of Earl Grey tea.


Ingredents:


450 grams bread flour
25 grams fresh yeast
240 grams full fat milk
8 grams honey
25 grams egg(½ for the dough mixture) the other half for glazing
8 grams salt
250 grams UNSALTED butter AND
½ egg mixture mixed with a pinch of salt
50 grams white poppyseed's
50 grams black poppyseed's  


Method:


Cool the flour in the fridge for 60 minutes before making the dough.Dissolve the yeast in the cold milk.Combine bread flour,milk,honey and egg in the bowl of a stand type-mixer.Mix on low speed. When the dough comes together add the butter in small bits(small cubes) and salt. Continue mixing in low speed for about 5 minutes. The dough will clear the sides of the bowl and be elastic.


Shape the dough into a ball and put into a plastic bag dusted inside with flour.(a couple tablespoons) wrap dough in bag and leave to set 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Meanwhile....

beautiful dough, ready to roll out

Cut your butter into half inch slaps and lay out onto  a large rectangle or square.of plastic wrap.

butterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Soften the butter using your rolling pin or I used a meat tenderizer. Hit it several times and shape into a 15X15 cm square..or as closely as you can.Put it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.    


Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. make an X-shaped incision on the top of the dough and roll it out. I followed this link  as it is very easy to follow http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/restaurant/techniques/pastry.html and will give you much needed guidance.

Place the cold butter in the middle of your rolled out dough and fold over the ends. The butter should be completely covered. Pat into a rectangle. I found that I just kept folding the dough over each time the butter was being worked in. I think as long as you keep folding over the dough and working in the bitter, you will achieve puff pastry. I did, and it was really not that difficult. 


Form the dough into a little loaf and place the dough back into the floured plastic bag and leave in the fridge for another 30-40 minutes.Meanwhile, line your baking trays with baking paper and mix your poppy seeds. Lightly beat your (half egg) and set aside.

it does not have to be perfect. 

roll the sides together like a scroll

Remove your dough from the fridge and cut the dough in half. You can re-cover the dough and set it back in the fridge while you roll out the first half. Roll out part one into a long rectangle, and with a sharp knife slice into somewhat  equal stripes. Then roll them together into little scroll rolls.

Look at all those lovely layers

Place on your baking paper lined baking trays.Continue with second half. Place in a luke warm draft free location in your kitchen and cover with clean kitchen towels until double in size. With a pastry brush base the palms with the egg wash and sprinkle the poppy seeds on .Preheat your oven to 220 degrees C or 428 degrees F and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden. Remover from baking tray and cool completely. Best served on the day they are made.  

right out of the oven

Give these a go. It is always fun to try a difficult recipe. Sometimes you learn more from your mistakes, then the you ever thought. That is how I grow as a cook/baker. I hope to keep on making mistakes and inventing new ways to create simple, but yet interesting available recipes to you all. Have a great weekend.