How is everyone? It's been a dark, damp and drizzly day today... and it's been my day off.
All the better to have an uninterrupted day of baking in the kitchen since Mr P is working.
I've been mulling over the Pithivier Technical Challenge from the final episode of the Great British Bake off last week. It reminded me of a round pasty to be honest! Well, that's how I described it to a friend of mine in Cornwall when she asked, "what the 'ell is a Pithhhhivvvvierrrrr!?!?!".
After a little bit of a lie in (it is my day off after all), I jumped out of bed (well, not so much jumped than slid) and settled into the kitchen grove... still in my PJ's.... mmm I appear to spend a lot of time baking in my PJ's. I am sure I am not the only one!?
There were three things on my baking list today: the Pithivier; a Pengelly style Chelsea bun and some gluten free orange and pistachio brownies (for my colleague at work).
First of all, I took to work making the dough for the buns. I used the same dough recipe that I used for Edd Kimber's buns last week. I wanted to do my own twist on them and was drawn to an almond frangipane, poppy and lemon bun.
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| Flour, sugar, salt, yeast, melted butter and milk... |
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| Bring together and then knead for 10minutes on a floured surface... |
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| ...until nice and smooth. Leave to double in size. |
Whilst the dough was resting in the lounge (watching a spot of morning TV), I made some almond frangipane (thank you Mr Hollywood) and set it aside for later.
Next task was to make the rough puff pastry for the Pithivier. Simples.
Whilst the rough puff was resting in the fridge (I stupidly forgot to take photos of the pastry), I made the filling:
- heat olive oil and butter in a frying map and gently fried off 1 large white onion, finely sliced and 3 leeks, trimmed and sliced.
- Peel and chop several potatoes and bring them to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. You don't want them totally soft. They need to hold their shape a little, so I cook them until a knife just about goes through into the middle. Drain the potatoes and leave them to cool.
- Once the onions and leeks have softened, take them off the heat and leave them to cool.
Once both of the main ingredients had cooled down, I broke the potatoes down, by hand into a large bowl and then added the leeks and onions followed by a large bunch of finely chopped fresh leaf parsley, a zest of one lemon, and seasoning. I then added 3 tbsps on double cream and a splash of milk to bind the mixture together. You don't want it very wet or else you will get a soggy bottom!
Roll out the pastry to 1/8" thick. You want two disks, one larger than the other. I used a dinner plate and a serving platter to cut around. Place the mixture in the centre of the smaller disk, leaving a 2-3cm edge for sealing. Using a little bit of beaten egg, brush the edges and place the larger pastry disk on top and seal.
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| Don't worry about using all the filing if you think you have too much... I made two smaller pithiviers with left overs! |
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| Crimp the edge to make a good seal and create a little steam hole on top then pop in the fridge for 15 minutes. |
Place the Pithivier in the fridge for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 220C. When ready to cook, I scored the top of the pastry lightly with a sharp knife and gave it a light egg wash. Pop in the oven for 10mins at 220C and then reduce the temperature to 200C for 15-20minutes. I reduced my oven temperature slightly as I use a fan oven.
Leave to cool slightly. Serve warm or cold. Yum yum. I had enough pastry to make to small pithiviers! I hate waste!
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| Very pleased with the result! |
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| Lovely and warm filling and flaky pastry |
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| Not a soggy bottom in sight! |
So, that's the Pithivier done and dusted. Next stop was the Pengelly Belly Buns....
After the dough had doubled in size, I rolled it out to 50cm by 40cm and spread a thin layer of frangipane followed by a handfull of flaked almonds, the zest of two lemons and a scattering of poppy seeds before rolling it up tightly and dividing it into 16 slices. I lined my tin again as per the Cinnamon Bun post as I find it makes it easier to take out of the tin.
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| Scattered filling |
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| Ensure a nice tight roll... and don't forget to trim the edges! |
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| Trim the edges and divide into 16 individual buns |
Remember that when you place them in your tray, to leave a little room for them to expand. I placed my tin in the airing cupboard for the second proving. It took just over an hour as the house was quite cold.
Brush with melted butter and pop them in the oven for 25minutes at 180C. Cover with tin foil towards the end if they are browning too quickly.
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| Evenly spaced with room to expand |
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| Ready to go in the oven... |
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| Oooohhh lovely! |
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| Perfect |
I made a lemon icing to drizzle on top and scattered a few more poppy seeds on top... et voila! Any they were lovely! I was really pleased with how the frangipane worked well with the lemon and the poppy seeds. This one is a keeper!
And before dinner this evening, the final bake... gluten free orange and pistachio chocolate brownies for my colleague at work.... they are still in the oven so I will have to add a photo later! They were made with rice flour and sugar substitute so they are a little healthier. They are an adapted version of the brownie recipe from this book, The Guilt Free Gourmet, which I got last week... yes, yet another cook book! I brought mine from the Book People.
Phew, what a day! Thank goodness for dishwashers!
I think the guys are work will be pleased to see me tomorrow!
Cheers for now,
Nic xoxoxo
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