When they say challenge, they ain't kidding! I about bowed out when I saw that we were making a Danish Braid, but being on a gluten free diet has really helped me to come out of my comfort zone and embrace baking challenges. I find it so rewarding when my baking is met with success and when it's not, instead of feeling despair I'm met with a stronger determination to try again. It must be that stubborn streak in me coming out of hiding!
I found this challenge to be immensely rewarding and my fear of pastry dough has even dwindled a bit. My Danish braid was
flaky and delicious - an overall success. My only
disappointment was that the dough barely rose, but after cooking gluten free for over three years I wasn't really expecting it to! I'm anxious to check out some of the other
gluten free daring bakers to see how they fared and what tips I can glean from their experience.
The recipe we used for this challenge comes from Sherry Yard’s "The Secrets of Baking". Everyone doing the challenge was to strictly follow the recipe for the Danish dough and than fill the braid with any topping of your choosing as long as you make it yourself. The only exception is for those on alternate diets who can make slight modifications to
accommodate their diet. I swapped out the flour cup for cup with a gluten free flour blend and added 1 tsp
xanthum gum. Otherwise I followed the recipe as written.
DANISH DOUGH - Gluten Free
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 or pumpkin pie spice
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
gluten free flour blend1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons
xanthum gum
sweet rice flour for dusting sticky dough
Ingredients for the butter block (
Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup gluten free flour blend
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 and
xanthum gum 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.
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.
Blackberry Topping 1/2 cup water 6 tablespoons sugar 4 1/2-pint containers blackberries, divided
Stir 1/2 cup water and sugar in heavy large saucepan. Add half of berries and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until syrup thickens, mashing berries with back of fork, about 12 minutes. Pour into medium bowl; gently stir in remaining berries. Cover and chill until cold, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.
DANISH BRAID Makes enough for 2 large braids Ingredients 1 recipe Danish Dough 2 cups filling, jam, or preserves
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.
Happy Easter! French Toast used to be one of my favorite breakfast, but I got out of the habit of making it when I had to go on a gluten free diet. (I like corn tortillas more than most gluten free bread, so I don't have bread very often.) When I woke up this morning I remembered that I had bread in the freezer made from the Whole Foods brand 365 gluten free bread mix (it's practically identical to the Gluten Free Pantry favorite sandwich bread mix, tastes the same but cost a little less. Both of these are favorites when I'm making bread from a mix.) The Easter Bunny left a carton of eggs in the refrigerator that we hadn't colored yet so we decided French Toast would be the perfect beginning to a beautiful Easter Sunday. French Toast is so easy to make. Here's how:
I would have never thought of making homemade crackers if it hadn't been the DB challenge, but I am so glad I did. These crackers almost taste like wheat thins (one of my favorite crackers that I can no longer eat) and it only took 5 minutes to mix them, roll them and stick them in the oven. I will be making these again and I'll probably play with the recipe a little to see if I can get them a little closer to the wheat thin flavor I remember -without the wheat. Either way I am happy to have crackers!
This weekend we got together with some friends for homemade pizza and root beer floats. I was happy to take my own mini gluten free crust (
1-3/4 cups gluten free flour blend (I use brown rice flour, potato starch, & tapioca starch)
