Puff Pastry: Vols-au-Vent

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

I have abandoned my blog for the past 3 months... but now I'm back!! I actually made quite a lot of stuff during my summer in Taiwan but I just never got around to updating... i blame it on the heat! :P But it's okay, hopefully this means that there will be more frequent updates for the next few months with the recipes that I've saved up... hmmmmmm, we'll seee. So this month's Daring Bakers' Challenge was to make our own puff pastry. YA.... HARDCORE, huh! Puff pastry was always something i bought at the grocery store. Never in my right mind would I have thought to make my own. I've actually watched cooking shows with chefs saying stuff like, "As for the puff pastry, save yourself the hassle and buy it at the store. It's not worth the time and effort to make." LOL. But i guess DB proved that guy wrong cuz all the hours that went into rolling and chilling this piece of dough was time well spent! The layers puffed up beautifully and puff pastry is so versatile that I made Vols-au-Vent with tuna salad, with creme caramel, dulce de leche croissants, and Napoleons (not pictured) all in one challenge. I probably gained 1 kg right there. Hahaha, as much as I loved this challenge, the amount of butter used still gives me the chills. Detox, here i come.

Michel Richard's Puff Pastry Dough
Hosted by: Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
http://video.pbs.org/video/1174110297/search/Pastry
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough
INGREDIENTS:

• 2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
  (or 1 cup cake flour = 1 cup all-purpose MINUS 2 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
• 1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
• 1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter
• plus extra flour for dusting work surface

DIRECTIONS:

Making the Dough:

1. Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.
2. Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix [picture 1].
   
3. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers [picture 2]. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh)
   
4. Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern [picture 3]. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick [picture 4]. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

1. Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently.
   
2. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps [picture 5].
3. Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely [picture 6]. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.
4. To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

1. Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out) [picture 7]. With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).
2. With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour [picture 8]. You have completed one turn.
3. Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds [picture 9]. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

1. If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes [picture 10]. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.
2. The total number of turns needed is SIX. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

Vols-au-Vent #1
INGREDIENTS:

• Well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe above)
• Egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
• Your filling of choice

DIRECTIONS:

1. For smaller vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles.
   
2. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter.
   
3. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides.
4. Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.
5. Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash.
   
6. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.
7. Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC).
   
8. Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly.
   
9. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)
10. Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings. Fill and serve.

Vols-au-Vent #2
DIRECTIONS:

1. Roll and cut your puff pastry into a 12 x 12 cm square shape.
   
2. Gently fold the square in half, diagonally, into a triangle.
3. At the bottom of the triangle, make a 7 cm cut on each side of the triangle, 1.5 cm away from the edge. Unfold your dough. Make sure to leave a little piece of dough attached; don't cut through (as pictured above) [picture 1]!
4. Brush some egg was along the edges of the inner square. Take one of the open corners and fold it towards the opposite corner of the inner square [picture 2]. Repeat for the other corners [picture 3].
5. Brush with egg wash again and bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden brown [picture 4].
   
6. Fill with your filling of choice.
   

Vols-au-Vent with Tuna Salad


Vols-au-Vent with Crème Caramel

Croissants (filled with Dulce de Leche)

Kimchi Mandu (Dumplings)

Omg, I'm late for this month's challenge AGAIN. UGHHHH, why do i always think posting date is on the 17th??? Gahhh, ahh well, late is better than nothing. So this month's Daring Cooks' challenge is to make our own dumplings. And since I've already posted up a recipe for Chinese dumplings in the past, i decided to make Korean kimchi mandu. But due to the lack of resources in PL, I went through great lengths for these dumplings-- i had to make my own kimchi which took me 2 days to ferment. Sigh, 自作自受 am I, hohoho. It was well worth it though, I love ANYTHING with kimchi and making a tub of it meant that i wouldn't be fretting over what to make for dinner for at least a week :) Funny thing is, JLo complained that his pee came out orange last night... HAHAHA. I know beet roots and some other veggies can change urine color, but... red chili powder?? Let's hope it was something else he ate. So anyway, what makes these dumplings Korean isn't just the kimchi filling, but also it's unique shape! From what I've read online, round dumplings are used for soups in Korea, whereas the normal ones are more commonly used for pan-frying. So if you can't resist the cutesy-ness of these little dumpling parcels, try this wrapping method on your next batch!

Kimchi Mandu (Dumplings)
A Daring Cooks Challenge hosted by JenYu @ userealbutter.com
INGREDIENTS:

• KIMCHI FILLING:
  
• 500g ground pork
• 180g firm tofu
• 200g mung bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms (soaked overnight if using dried mushrooms).
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 cup of spring onions, chopped
• 2 cups kimchi, minced and strained
  
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  
  
• DUMPLING WRAPPERS:
  
• 2 cups all purpose flour
  
• 1/2 cup warm water [mine was a bit dry so I added 3/4 cups total]
  [ I also added 1/2 teaspoon salt for a little more flavor]
  

DIRECTIONS:

Kimchi Filling:

1. Wash and finely chop the tofu (i used my food processor) [picture 1].
2. Boil the mung bean sprouts. Strain, squeeze dry, and chop them up [picture 2, 3].
3. Finely mince the shiitake mushrooms (i used my food processor) [picture 6].
4. In a big bowl, mix all filling ingredients together and refrigerate for 30 minutes [picture 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

Dumpling wrappers:

1. In a large bowl mix flour and salt with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed.
   
2. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.
3. Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes.
   
4. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders.
   
5. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces.
   
6. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers).
   
7. With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc.
   
8. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch.
   
9. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges.
   
10. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half. [picture 8].
11. Wet the ends with water, and pull both ends to meet together. Pinch them to make them stick together [picture 9].

COOKING METHODS:

• To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.
  
  
• To steam: Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.
  
  
• To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

• To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.

• To serve: Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations.

Kimchi Mandu

Strawberry Daifuku

Okay, so i take back what i said in my last post... here's the second strawberry recipe of the season: Strawberry Daifuku! I was on youtube the other day and came across a video for this beautiful mochi dessert and i just couldn't resist. This recipe is pretty easy to make although i did have some problems with the mochi. I'm guessing my glutinous rice flour wasn't the same as the one used in the video because instead of getting a watery mixture, mine just clumped up into a ball of dough. Hmmm... i steamed it anyway and i guess the mochi turned out... alright. It wasn't as elastic as i hoped it would be... but ah well, nothing's perfect XD. The mochi was also pretty hard to handle; i had to dust 2 layers of potato starch on my hands for every daifuku i made, sheesh. So in summary, the red bean paste could've been a bit more moist and the mochi could've been a bit more chewy... but other than that, this is a great dessert that i highly recommend for my fellow bakers. Enjoy!

Strawberry Daifuku
from cookingwithdog and geekchef
INGREDIENTS:

• AZUKI BEAN PASTE:
• 400g azuki beans, soaked overnight
  
• 3/4 cups of sugar (or more, according to taste)
  
• 1 tablespoon honey (or more, according to taste)
  
• 1 pinch salt
  
  
• STRAWBERRY DAIFUKU:
• 9 fresh strawberries (cut off the stems, wash, and pat dry)
• azuki bean paste
• 1 cup glutinous rice flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar (or more, according to taste)
• 1 cup water
• Potato starch for dusting
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash and drain the azuki beans that were soaked overnight [picture 1].
2. Place the beans into a pot and pour enough water to cover the beans. Steam the beans for an hour or more until soft [picture 2]. Most of the water should be absorbed by the time the beans are done (drain the beans if there's still a lot of water left).
3. Add in sugar, honey, and salt [picture 3]. Mix well.
4. Transfer the beans into a food processor[picture 4]. Blend to the consistency of your choice (chunky/mashed).
   
5. Scoop out the mashed beans into a saucepan and set it over low heat. Stir frequently in order to evaporate the excess water [picture 5]. [This step may be excluded if your beans have already reached the right consistency].
   
6. Once the azuki bean paste have cooled, take about 1 - 2 tablespoons of paste and shape them into balls. Flatten the paste with your palm, place the strawberry in the center, and push the paste up towards the top. Make sure to cover all sides of the strawberry [picture 6]. Repeat for all 9 strawberries. Cover with a plastic wrap to keep them moist.
   
   ---------------------------------------------------------------
   
7. In a non-stick pot, mix together the sugar and glutinous rice flour [picture 7].
8. Gradually add in the water and mix until there are no lumps [mine formed into a ball of dough] [picture 8].
   
9. Place the non-stick pot into a steamer and steam for 15 minutes.
10. Remove the pot from the steamer and with a spatula, stir the mochi until even [picture 9].
    
11. Transfer the mochi onto a baking sheet that has been generously dusted with potato starch. Take some more potato starch and dust over the mochi. Break the mochi into 9 pieces.
12. With your hands, shape the mochi into a flat circle. Place the azuki-coated strawberries in the center and spread the mochi up and wrap it [picture 10]. Remember to dust your hands with potato starch frequently since mochi is extremely sticky.
    
13. You'll have to work quickly while the mochi is hot or else it will not stretch far enough to wrap the strawberries.
    

Strawberry Daifuku

Strawberry Jam

My 4th year of school is finally over! All my exams went smoothly and I'll be heading back to Taiwan in a few days :D Hopefully i won't abandon this blog for another 3 months like last summer, we'll see! So anyways, unlike the past few years where I update at least 3+ strawberry recipes per season, this year the only strawberry related update will be this strawberry jam. It's kind of lame, i know. There's nothing challenging about buying a pectin mixture and boiling it with strawberries... but hey, 3 months ago I would've never imagined myself making my own jam so here it is anyway. Making jam is so ridiculously easy... i wonder why there's still such a huge jam section at every supermarket. I made 3 medium jars of jam with just 9 zloty worth of ingredients! I also included some simple instructions on how to properly can your jam so that they could be stored unrefrigerated for a year. If you're interested, more detailed instructions can be found at homecanning.com. So think twice the next time you're about to buy another jar of jelly... all it takes is 30 minutes and you'll have a years' worth of fresh homemade jam in no time.

Strawberry Jam
INGREDIENTS:

• 500g fresh strawberries
• 500g Cukier żelujący 1:1 (gel sugar)
  [or Pectin + sugar, amount according to package directions]
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash the strawberries cut them into slices or quarters.
   
2. Place the strawberries in a large bowl and crush them with a potato masher [picture 1].
   
3. Add in 500g of the gel sugar mixture and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved [picture 2].
   
4. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil [picture 3]. Never stop stirring!
   
5. When the mixture reaches a full rolling boil (it continues boiling even when you stir it), your jam is done [picture 4].
6. Sterilize your jars and caps by boiling them in hot water for 5 minutes [picture 5].
7. Carefully pour the boiling hot jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/2 an inch of space on the top. Wipe jar removing any stickiness and seal tightly with a cap.
8. Now place the filled jars back into the water and let it boil for another 10 minutes so that the jar will seal properly [picture 6].
   
9. Remove the jars from the boiling water and let it cool for 24 hours.
   
10. You can check if the jars are properly sealed if the cap center is pulled down and does not move when you press on it.
    
11. Properly canned jam can be stored unrefrigerated for 1 year. But once opened, remember to keep it in the fridge!
    

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Strawberry Jam

Curry Strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Ever since the May challenge [Apple Strudel] was revealed, i convinced myself that i was going to sit this one out. Why? I don't particularly like my fruits cooked/baked and rolling out paper-thin dough required time I did not have (Pathology NBMEs). Sighhh, but after 25 days of looking through numerous DB's completed challenges, i just couldn't resist-- the savory strudels were the ones that won me over. So for my strudel, I stuffed it with a curry filling that was inspired by the popular Chinese pastry-- Curry Dumplings. Everything went surprisingly well during the process and i had no problems rolling out the dough. It was so soft and moist that it took almost no effort to produce that translucent flour sheet. Now i wish i've tried out this recipe earlier in the month and had the time to experiment other fillings and variations... ah well, summer is just 2 weeks away... there's always next time!

Strudel Dough
from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

• 1 1/3 cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
• 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar [ i used red wine vinegar]

1. Combine the flour and salt in bowl.
   
2. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup.
   
3. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour and mix until it comes together [picture 1, 2]. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
   
4. Take the dough out of the bowl and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 5 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally [picture 3.
5. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better) [picture4].

Curry Filling
INGREDIENTS:

• 150g onions, chopped
• 350g ground pork [i used ground turkey]
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon starch + 1 tablespoon water [or any other thickening agent]

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat a saucepan with a little olive oil and add in the onions. Saute until onions are soft [picture 1].
2. Add in the ground pork and cook for 3 minutes [picture 2].
3. Add curry powder, salt, sugar, soy sauce to the ground pork and cook until meat is done [picture 3].
   
4. Pour in the starch water and stir until the meat mixture thickens [picture 4].

Curry Strudel

1. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can [picture 1].
2. Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.
3. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.
4. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the melted butter over the dough using your hands.
5. Spoon the filling onto the dough and fold the short end of the dough onto the filling [picture 2]. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself [i didn't have a tablecloth so i rolled it with my hands] [picture 3, 4].
   
6. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.
7. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown.
8. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature. It is best on the day it is baked.

My "Colon" strudel... or so my bf says ;)

Curry Strudel