Apple Cinnamon Danish Braid 09 December, 2011

Truth be told, I've been eating apple cinnamon danish braid for three days straight. Honestly, I wanted to perfect this mighty dessert before I shared my successes and failures. On my first attempt, you could say that I acted a bit overzealous. Instead of saving half of my dough for a rainy day, I made one giant danish pasty. I filled it will apples to the brim, until they were spilling out everywhere. I was left with a juicy mess, and a half-baked piece of pastry. Being the amateur Danish pastry chef that I am, I hadn't the slightest inclination on how to pull this recipe together. On my first attempt, I neither browned my butter, nor cooked my apples. I was left with  a giant pastry filed with crunchy apples - not the texture I was looking for. Without cooking the apples, I didn't have a chance to boil off the excess juices, which added to my giant soggy mess. I made my glaze too watery, leaving plenty of room for it to completely slide off the outer crust. Let me just say, I was feeling discouraged. 

Luckily, my second attempt was magical and the third spectacular. I was quite pleased with my results. I'd been planning to make a Danish pastry for years, but unfortunately that thought was placed on the back burned, and had slowly drifted into a bottomless abyss. Last week, I had been perusing the local grocer, during some well deserved spare time. Hunger pangs left me feeling uneasy, and I soon found myself heading towards the bakery. Funny enough, hunger pangs in the grocery store always subconsciously send me directly to the bakery. This is where I found a mouth watery Danish braid. At that moment I knew I had to replicate this beast. The challenge was mine.

I made my away around the store in a hunger pang coma trying to round up my ingredients, while grabbing a fair share of frivolous items on the way. When I say frivolous, I'm not talking about one giant box of goldfish crackers, or a weeks supply of kinder surprise eggs. And when I say round up my ingredients, I meant that I grabbed a few apples. I had my mind set on adapting a recipe from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan, because I figured that my lack of Danish pastry experience would be balanced out with the guidance from a baking master. I'm gonna tell you straight up, you will need 2 days to complete this recipe. The first day is all about the pastry. You will need to proof some yeast. Mix in some milk, sugar, salt, and eggs. Cut some butter into some flour, and then mix everything together. Next you will need to roll out the dough. Roll it into a long rectangle, and have some flour on hand to prevent dough stickage. Once you have your rectangle, fold it like a letter. Place the letter short side facing up. Roll it out again, and repeat the process a total of three times. Cut it in half, wrap in Saran, and place in the fridge overnight. 

Day 2 - pour yourself a cup of coffee, then slice some apples, brown some butter, cook the apples in the butter with flour, cinnamon, and sugar until nice and soft. Let the mixture cool, have a shower, read some news. Do what you do best. Then, grab your piece of pastry and roll it out into a 9 x 13 inch rectangle. Next you will need to clean it up. Make it look fancy like the diagram below.

Finally, cut some braid strips and then braid that pastry like you mean it - this is the fun part. Put it in the oven and bake. Once it's baked, mix up some sugar glaze, drizzle it on top and sprinkle some powdered sugar.

Eat your Danish pastry warm with a slice of cheddar cheese, because really, it's the only way.

APPLE CINNAMON DANISH BRAID RECIPE
yields 1 danish braid with leftover dough
recipe adapted from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan

Prep time: 30 minutes plus 12 hours rest in the fridge
Cooking time: 15 - 20 minutes

Crust Ingredients (yields 2)
2 1/4 tsp or 1 pack of active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 egg
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 egg white for wash

Filling Ingredients (yields 1)
2 tbsp butter
4 cups apples, peeled and sliced (a mixture of apples yields the tastiest result)
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1 1/4 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients (yields 1)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, add the yeast, 1 tsp sugar, and warm water. Let the yeast rest until it proofs (starts to foam), approximately 10 minutes.

2. Once the yeast has proofed, add the egg, milk, sugar, and salt. Stir with a whisk, and set to the side.

3. Measure out the flour and place into a large bowl. Cut one cup of butter into small cubes. Add the butter to the flour. With your hands, a pastry blender, or a food processor, crumble or cut the butter into the flour into tiny pieces the size of a pea.

4. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and combine with a spatula until the dough starts to come together. Place the dough onto a floured work surface and with your hands, shape the dough into a square.  Roll the dough into a rectangle (13 x 9 inches). Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds (similar to folding a letter to fit into an envelope). Turn the dough, small side at the top, and roll it out into a 13 x 9 inch rectangle. Repeat this process 3 times, rolling then folding. Cut the dough in half, wrap in Saran wrap, and place in the fridge overnight.

5. In a large pot over medium heat, brown 2 tbsp of butter. In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the sliced apples and the sugar cinnamon mixture to the pot and stir. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the apples are tender, 15 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes.

6. Once you are ready to make your braid, preheat the oven to 400 F.

7. Remove one piece of dough from the fridge, and save the other for a rainy day. {Dough can last in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for 3 months}. On a floured piece of parchment paper, roll out the dough to a 13 x 9 inch rectangle. Place the apples down the middle of the dough, with the smaller end facing you. Cut diagonal strips down both side of the dough, parallel to the apples. Fold the strips over the apple filling in a crisscross manner. (Please refer to diagram above)

8. Place the parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Brush the top of the pastry with an egg wash (one egg white and a tsp of water). Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until brown on top. 

9. In a small bowl, whisk the icing sugar, milk, and vanilla until you get a desired consistency. You should be able to drizzle the glaze onto the pastry without it all dripping off. Drizzle over the top of the braid and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.