Brioche craquelin encore

I first wrote about Thomas Keller’s version of this pastry back in February of 2015 - many moons ago - and a lot has happened since, that’s for sure. I’ve been churning this through my mind for awhile and decided that autumn is a good time to write about it.

Some time back, earlier in the pandemic days, I received an email from a gentleman in NYC who was searching for tips on how to create a version of craquelin that he used to enjoy at one of François Payard’s pâtisseries (closed for several years now). He described it as having the perfect crunchy almond top that gave the orange scented brioche just the right je ne sais quoi.

Hurray! I had a project to research. Challenge accepted. I’ve puttered with it on and off and am finally getting around to setting pen to paper as it were.

I made two different versions in my quest to replicate his memory of this treat. The first made three full sized rounds in well buttered cake pans (I had two 9-inch and one 8-inch).

The process: using my freshly prepared base brioche dough, I mixed 100 g / 1/2 cup of brown sugar with a bunch of orange zest (probably 3 or 4 oranges - I eyeball it) . . . .

sprinkled half of it over the flattened dough . . . .

folded it in three as I attempted to work the filling into the dough, turned it 90 degrees, stretched it back out a bit, sprinkled the second half over it and folded it in thirds one more time.

Then into the fridge covered for an overnight rise.

Before the rise

Here it is the next morning.

I divided the dough into three pieces, about 400 g each ( a tad more for the two 9-inch and a tad less for the 8-inch), formed rounds and placed them in the prepped pans. Note the aluminum foil wrapped around the 9-inch pans. They have removable bottoms so I wanted to avoid any butter leakage during baking.

Cover with lightly buttered plastic wrap and let rise for 1.5 to 2 hours. Remember brioche is very enriched and requires a good rise for the hoped for fluffy and light end result.

Toward the end of the rise heat the oven to 350ºF.

After the rise

I used three topping variations just for comparison’s sake. Have some toasted sliced almonds at the ready. Make the crunchy sugar topping by blending 6 tablespoons granulated sugar with 1.5 teaspoons vanilla and 1 tablespoon water (this is enough for the three pans).

Drizzle about a third of the sugar mixture over each brioche. I left one without further adornment, topped one with sliced almonds and the third with both sliced almonds and some crushed raw sugar cubes.

Bake 35-40 minutes, rotating pans half way through, until nicely golden brown.

Sugar drizzled

Sugar drizzled with almonds

With added crushed raw sugar

Let sit about 10 minutes before un-molding and placing on racks to finish cooling.

I must say all were pretty tasty, but, being a sucker for crunchiness, I really enjoyed the sugar drizzle/almond/crushed sugar cube version.

The crumb was light and nicely flavored with the orange zest.

OK good! Now on to the second version for which I followed Joanne Chang’s approach from her book “Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe”.

I knew that Joanne had worked at Payard’s in NYC back in the beginning of her baking career, so what did I do? I sent her an email asking about the process they had used! She kindly directed me to her book (link above) which I found at our local library and delved into the steps.

A few differences: individual brioche, adding candied orange rind (like Keller does) with crushed raw sugar and a slightly different topping. I can do this.

Thin slice two oranges and poach the slices in simple syrup until softened and more translucent. Let them cool and drain on a wire rack then chop into small pieces. You can do this ahead and hold in the fridge for several days if need be.

I had about a cup of rind in the end. Crush raw sugar cubes to yield about 1/2 cup of rough pieces.

For a yield of nine ~ 80 g portions: using 720 g of cold brioche dough after its overnight fridge rise, roll the dough into an approximately 10” (25 cm) by 18” (45 cm) rectangle.

Distribute the chopped orange rind and crushed sugar over the top 2/3 of the dough.

Fold the bottom third up over the middle third.

Fold up again to cover the top third.

Cut nine slices, each about 1 3/4 inches (4.5 cm) wide. You can trim up the ends first if you like - I left mine au naturel.

Place spaced apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet, cover with lightly buttered plastic wrap and let rise about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Before the rise

Toward the end of that time frame heat the oven to 350ºF.

After the rise

Make a slurry by mixing one large egg, 50 g granulated sugar and 50 g sliced almonds in a medium bowl. Spoon the mixture over each brioche.

Bake about 30-35 minutes until golden brown. You know my mantra - always check sooner than later!!

Cool, dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

Here’s a cross section - lovely pockets of orange flavor, nice crumb and pretty darn good crunchy top too!

Just goes to show you how you can create variations with your own favorite brioche or sweet bun dough. Have fun with it!

Beautiful colors are popping and fall is definitely in the air! Enjoy!!

Back to basics - pâte brisée

now THAT's flaky

In the wake of a tart class that I taught a few months back, when my apple tarts baked with pâte brisée came out soggy and under baked, I was determined to revisit the techniques involved in making this classic dough. (SIDE NOTE: in my defense the apple filling prepped by an eager culinary student was way too soupy, and the oven I used was not familiar to me, but I still felt the need for a refresher!)

Known to pie and tart bakers as flaky pie dough, pâte brisée can cause the most confident baker to question why, why, why doesn't this dough come out perfectly EVERY time?! Some years ago I compared a number of recipes and methods for pâte brisée and came away with a version that was delicious and seemed to be just the thing. But since then, even though I've used the same recipe and technique every time, I've had my share of less than stellar results. Maybe it's just me, eh?

I proceeded to look at recipes from Christophe Felder (one of my favorite tart makers) and Thomas Keller of French Laundry/Bouchon Bakery fame. In addition I obtained the recipe that the bakers at Nonna Cafe in Ada use (I've had their quiche many times and the crust is always deeelish!). The last addition to my test quartet was the recipe I've been using for years.

Truth be told, many pâte brisée recipes are very similar, but what intrigued me about these four was the difference in ratios of butter to flour, how much water is added and how the ingredients are brought together.

Here we go!

Pâte brisée is simply flour, cold butter, salt and ice water (some recipes add a bit of sugar too). In the photo below I've provided the amounts of butter and flour for each of the four recipes. From left to right you see the following ratios plus baker’s percentages for the butter: Felder (CF): butter:flour at 1:2 (50%); Keller (TK) 1:1.35 (74%); me (SV): 1:1.44 (69%); Nonna (N): 1:1.18 (85%) (getting much closer to 1:1!).

In this test I'm using Challenge unsalted butter made in California with the claim that it is from cows not treated with growth hormone rbST. I've been using it for some months now and it's good.

I've discovered over the years, working with various tart and shortbread doughs, that the closer the weight of butter gets to the weight of flour in the dough (butter weight is typically about 2/3 flour weight), the more tender and delectable the end result.

At any rate, this promised to be interesting.

Below are the four finished doughs with all ingredient amounts listed. The Felder recipe makes a larger quantity than the other three, but you can still appreciate the ingredient ratios.

Just a note - the TK, SV and N recipes are typically double (enough for two 9" tarts or pies) what I note below.  I made smaller recipes for testing purposes.

So how are these all put together, you might ask? I've always followed the "flaking" method when making pâte brisée by hand.This involves working pieces of cold butter into the flour and salt, purposely leaving large "flakes" or flat pieces of butter in the mixture. Cold water is then added in increments and mixed lightly and quickly until the dough holds together. The dough is then wrapped and chilled before rolling it out for use.

Here are the differences in technique for the other three doughs.

Felder calls for soft butter to which is added the salt, sugar and flour. The mixture is sanded by hand to coarse crumbs, then 120 gm ice water is added and mixed gently until the dough comes together. The amount of water to flour is much higher in his recipe. He claims that this dough holds very well after baking, doesn't soften and is great for juicy fruit fillings.

Keller's method involves mixing half the flour with the salt, adding butter pieces on low speed in a mixer until NO butter is visible. Then on med-low speed the remaining flour is added, followed by the water. Mix until just combined, wrap and chill.

Nonna's dough is made with a food processor, although I chose to sand the butter in by hand. Place the flour and salt in the bowl, pulse in the cold, diced butter to achieve coarse crumbs, then add the ice water and pulse just until it comes together. Wrap and chill.

All just a little bit different!

Once the four doughs were chilled I rolled them out to make 80 mm filled and baked blueberry tarts and blind baked then filled lemon tarts.

Here are the rings lined for the blueberry tarts.

Here's what I observed when rolling these doughs.

The Felder dough, even after a good chill, felt weirdly spongy and soft (NOT in a good way). It was sticky and didn't hold its shape well when lining the ring.

The Keller dough was smooth, firm and tight, rolled beautifully and held very nicely when lining the ring.

My SV dough felt a bit rougher and drier than the others, although rolled well and held when lining the ring.

The Nonna dough felt soft (in a good way) - not too wet, not too dry - rolled nicely and held well when lining the ring.

I popped the lined rings into the freezer to firm up before baking.

First the blueberry tarts. I sprinkled some fine, dry bread crumbs in the bottom of the tart shells - this is meant to create a barrier between the filling and the crust to help reduce the chance for sogginess. Then I filled each with fresh blueberries that were tossed in a little lemon juice, sugar and flour ( for four 80 mm tarts I used a generous 3 cups of berries with 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice, 4 - 6 tablespoons sugar (or to taste) and 2 tablespoons of flour).

Heat the oven to 425 F. Here they are ready to go in.

I gave these 5 minutes then decreased the oven temp to 400 F. Continue baking another 20-25 minutes or so until the berries are bubbly and the crust is nicely browned.

I sprinkled vanilla sugar atop the blueberry tarts once out of the oven.

I also rolled out some scraps of each dough to bake all by themselves. I wanted to see how they puffed and tasted sans filling. A sprinkle of vanilla sugar gave them just the right something.

It's a bit difficult to see from the photo above, but all of the scrap pieces puffed up nicely, except the Felder dough. Here’s the Nonna dough, beautifully flaky.

Now for the blind baked tarts with oven temp at 400ºF.

Freeze the lined rings for 10-15 minutes then fill with parchment rounds and dry beans.

Bake with weights for 15 minutes, remove weights and bake an additional 5-8 minutes until nicely browned. Always pay attention to what's going on inside your oven!!

All four doughs held their shape pretty well during baking with the usual amount of shrinkage away from the rings.

After reducing the oven temp to 300ºF I filled them with my current favorite lemon filling and baked them until the filling was set, about 10-15 minutes. Check out my post from 2/16/16 on lemon-lime tart and here’s a link to two of my favorite tarte au citron recipes.

Now for the tasting. Steve was on hand for the event, my ever present tasting guru. First the blueberry.

I realize you can't appreciate the difference in the doughs visually, but the first thing I checked was how they all felt when portioning them with a serrated knife, followed by how easily they cut with a fork.

Felder's crust was tough, both when slicing with a knife and when cutting with a fork. It was chewy in the mouth, not flaky or tender and the flavor was dull. No thanks.

Keller's cut very easily with both knife and fork, was tender and crisp with a pleasant and agreeable flavor.

Mine was just a tad resistant to cutting compared to Keller's, slightly less tender but crisp in the mouth with good flavor.

Nonna's cut easily with great flavor and texture.

All of the above observations held when tasting the plain baked scraps of dough. Felder's was chewy and tough, broke apart with a bend rather than a crisp snap without any flakiness. The other three were flaky, crisply tender and delicious.

When cutting and tasting the lemon tarts, the same observations held true. (Love that lemon filling!)

Felder was the obvious loser. However the other three were all good, leaving me with the question - now what?!

As if you haven't already had enough, I decided to do just a bit more reading and research and came upon one more technique that sounded promising. I'll credit this one to Kristen Rosenau who writes the blog "Pastry Affair" (http://www.pastryaffair.com).

First I tweaked my recipe (it's coming at the end, I promise!) by increasing the butter to bring the butter:flour ratio to 1:1.25 (80%), in between TK and N.

In Kristen's by-hand method she takes half of the diced cold butter and sands it into the flour and salt. Then she adds the other half of the butter in larger diced pieces and "flakes" them, leaving flat pieces of butter visible. Add the ice water incrementally and once the dough holds together, turn it out onto a piece of parchment or plastic wrap. There may very well be some crumbly pieces at the edges. Don't worry.

Using the plastic wrap as an aid, fold the dough in three.

Flatten and turn it 90 degrees then fold in three again (basically a rustic version of puff pastry).

Flatten, wrap and chill for a good hour or more.

I then performed the same steps as with the quartet of doughs already described, making a filled and baked blueberry tart, a blind baked and filled lemon tart and baking a piece of the dough all by itself.

Ready for the oven above and all baked below.

Here’s the au naturel dough all baked up.

And the finished lemon tart.

Of course while the blueberry and lemon tarts were cooling, I just had to snitch a taste of the plain crust - YUM!  Tender, flaky and all around delicious.

Once they were cooled, Steve and I tasted the blueberry and lemon versions and found the crust to be wonderfully tender, flaky and buttery. And, to top it off, they were still delicious the next day!  I like that.

So here's my version that I intend to use from this day forward.

Pâte brisée (makes approximately 645 gms of dough, MORE than enough for two 9" tarts; just freeze what you don't need). Click here for a printable PDF version.

325 grams all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
OPT: one tablespoon granulated sugar
260 grams cold, unsalted butter (1/2 small-dice, 1/2 large-dice)
60 ml (4 tablespoons) ice cold water

Mix the flour, salt and sugar (if using) in a large bowl.
Sand in the small-dice butter with your finger tips to achieve coarse crumbs.
Flake in the large-dice butter leaving flat, largish pieces in the mixture.
Add 1/2 the water, toss with a fork then toss and gently squeeze with your hands. Add additional water by tablespoon until the dough holds together.
NOTE:  if the dough still seems dry and too crumbly to hold together (as it might on a cold, dry winter's day), continue to add additional tablespoons as needed but don't exceed 120 ml (8 tablespoons).
Place the dough onto a piece of parchment or plastic wrap; using the wrap as an aid, flatten the dough and fold into thirds. Turn 90 degrees, flatten and fold in thirds again. Flatten, wrap and chill for at least an hour or overnight.

If you don't intend to use the dough for a couple of days, freeze it well wrapped for up to 3 months. A day before you wish to use it remove it from the freezer and place in the fridge to thaw overnight.

While this may not have been the most scientific of studies, it was indeed illuminating. I love experimenting and learning, especially when I get to work with dough. Yeah.

Have lots of fun folks!!

Croissants revisited

Always eager to try a new technique or two when it comes to croissant making, I opted to give Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel’s recipe from “Bouchon Bakery” a try. With its decidedly French flair and way of doing things I figured what could be bad about that, eh?

I haven't made croissants in some months, and, now that our kitchen remodel is finished (a much improved and fantastic work space!), it was definitely time.

I looked back to my October, 2014 croissant post written soon after I first started this blog.  At that time I compared my usual method with Philippe Conticini's of Pâtisserie des Rêves and found his sorely lacking, both in process and in final product.

This time I compared Keller/Rouxel's method with the one that I had developed for myself some years ago.

WARNING!  Technical stuff coming up!!

Here are just a few things in the Bouchon recipe that vary from my usual method:  a pre-ferment (poolish) that sits for 12-15 hours; water instead of milk; higher butter:flour ratio; slightly higher in sugar; long kneading time (20 minutes!); different technique to envelop the butter; freezing the dough for 20 minutes in between all steps; different shaping technique; lower oven baking temperature - whew, that's a lot!

This post is geared to those of you who are familiar with the steps of croissant making.  If you've never made croissants, there are tons of resources available that will help you understand the process.

Let's go through some of the steps in pictures.  Once past the poolish steps I show comparisons between Bouchon's dough and mine.

Bouchon poolish

poolish after a 15 hour overnight

lengthy knead of Bouchon dough

smooth, tight Bouchon dough vs. my more lax and open structured dough

Below are two commonly used ways of enveloping the butter - what I like to think of as rectangle vs "baseball diamond".  They both work, so you choose.

ready to envelop the butter

packages ready to roll

first turn completed

second turn completed

The Bouchon dough on the left is smoother and tighter than mine, however rolling it was a more arduous task since it was more elastic and required more rolling pressure.

Freezing the Bouchon dough for 20 minutes in between each step didn't seem detrimental, but I must admit that I prefer my usual method of resting the dough in the fridge as opposed to the freezer. For me the primary issue is that the butter be cool yet malleable and not too cold and hard to break apart during the rolling.

Once all turns were completed I divided each dough into two in preparation for final rolling and shaping.  Check out the layers below.

The Bouchon dough is tighter and the laminations look more precise . . . .

Bouchon dough

whereas my dough looks more rough.

my dough

Once the doughs were rolled out and cut into triangles, I shaped them using the approaches below.  I had never seen the Bouchon method of turning the corners IN before rolling the croissant.  Interesting.

Here are the rolled up end results.

I egg washed and proofed . . . .

ready for the oven

then egg washed again and baked just a few of each (the remainder of the shaped and unbaked croissants went into my freezer).

Unusual for me was the 325ºF oven temp recommended for the Bouchon version, whereas I bake my croissants at 400ºF.  I was taught that the hotter oven temp helps the initial oven rise when baking laminated dough.

The Bouchon version required 40-45 minutes before I was happy with the degree of browning.  Mine looked good after the usual 20 minutes or so.

Bouchon on left, mine on right

The size difference is due to the fact that Bouchon's recipe is a slightly larger amount of dough cut into 16 portions, whereas mine is cut into 12 portions, yielding larger croissants.

Once cooled it was time for cutting and tasting.  The Bouchon croissants felt heavy.  What a disappointment when I found the interior to be doughy with flat layering and a vacant space in the center!

Bouchon version

My version felt light to the touch and exhibited a honeycombed, airy interior.  While I would like to see more distinct laminated layers, the appearance still beat Bouchon's.

my version

While the Bouchon version had a crisp, shard producing exterior and a decent flavor with a hint of sweetness, the texture was doughy and unpleasant, and the croissant left a greasiness on my fingertips and lips that suggested too much butter for my taste.

Bouchon version

My version had some decent crisp exterior shards, although not as impressive as Bouchon's.

my version

When all was said and done, it was clear to me that I should stick with what I know.  I'd still consider tweaking my approach with perhaps a slightly longer kneading time, but otherwise I'll move forward with my standard recipe and technique.

I always love experimenting - it's one of the best ways to learn!!

And remember - there's never an end to the story.

Craquelins - a Belgian brioche treat from Thomas Keller

I've been salivating over Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery book that's been sitting on my pastry library bookshelf for several months now.  Thus far I've made a few of the shortbread recipes and have read through a good deal of the book, soaking in the advice and tips from Sebastien Rouxel, the head patissier.  His way of presenting things is right up my alley and is so in line with how I've come to view my own approach to pastry and the French way of doing things.

His energy, passion and attention to detail come through loud and clear, especially on the heels of my ever growing disillusionment with Philippe Conticini's La Pâtisserie des Rêves book, it's imprecision and sloppy editing.

The craquelins recipe was calling my name, and, as usual, I did some research on this enriched dough treat.  It is classically a Belgian specialty made by mixing citrus zest and sugar cubes into brioche dough.  Lemon is most commonly used, but some versions use orange and add some orange liqueur as well.

The method that is described in a number or recipes involves mixing sugar cubes into brioche dough and then covering and enclosing the shaped dough balls with a smaller disc of brioche dough.  This apparently acts as a seal to keep the sugar cubes from popping through during baking.

Bouchon's version calls for candied orange rind, orange zest and orange liqueur, and I figured I'd follow their lead on this one.

First I made my candied orange rind, which can be done ahead and kept in the fridge for several weeks.  It's a straightforward process with the fussiest part being the separating of the rind from as much of the white pith as possible.

I typically slice the rind off the orange, then remove any remaining pith before cutting the rind into narrow strips.

Make a simple syrup and set it aside.  Place the rind in cold water in a separate sauce pan, bring it to a boil, then strain it.  Do that two more times (this helps reduce the bitterness of the rind),

boiling the rind

then place the rind into the simple syrup and simmer until translucent (that might take 20-30 minutes).

the candied rind

Let the rind cool to room temp before refrigerating it in its syrup until you're ready to use it.

Time to make the brioche!  Every time I make this enriched dough I am amazed at the transformation that occurs.  What begins as a somewhat dry, firm dough develops into a satiny, shiny, buttery mass of goodness.  Whoa baby!

This recipe has a starter made with 60 gm whole milk, 8 gm instant yeast and 90 gm all purpose flour.  It's dry and not terribly attractive.

Mix it, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for an hour.

starter

Meanwhile, get the orange rind mixture ready:  finely chop the candied orange rind, mix with orange zest and liqueur.  The recipe calls for 150 gm candied rind, 15 gm orange zest and 1.5 tsp orange liqueur.  I used 80 gm rind, 10 gm zest and 1.5 tsp hazelnut liqueur, since that's what I had on hand.

Proceed with the mise en place for the remaining dough.

all the ingredients

Place 390 gm all purpose flour, 52 gm granulated sugar and 12 gm kosher salt (see side note below) in the mixer bowl.  Give it a quick whisk, then mix in the starter dough and blend for 30 seconds or so.

Side note:  in the book 12 gm of kosher salt is equated to 4 teaspoons; however my 12 gm was closer to 2-2.5 tsp; remember - not all kosher salts are created equal!!  And that, folks, is just one example of why weighing trumps measuring!

Add 225 gm eggs in three additions,

starting to add the egg

. . .  then mix on low speed for 15 minutes to develop the gluten.

The dough at this point feels kind of tough and not at all satiny smooth.

Start adding the butter, several pieces at a time, incorporating each addition before adding more.

Once all the butter is added, mix for a couple more minutes . . .

and voila!  What a beautiful piece of dough!!

At this point it's time to turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape a rough rectangle, onto which you place the orange rind/zest mixture.

Knead the orange mixture into the dough and then pat into a rectangle again.

Do a fold-over of the dough, side to side . . .

then top to bottom . . .

then flip it over, form a ball and place in an oiled bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough sit at room temp for an hour.

Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, pat it into a rectangle and repeat the side-to-side/top-to-bottom stretching and folding process.  Place the dough, seam side down, in the bowl, cover and refrigerate over night.

Here's the dough after its overnight chill . . .

ready for shaping

Turn the chilled dough onto a lightly floured work surface, shape it into a rough log . . .

getting ready to divide

and divide it into 12 approximately 100 gm portions.  Have 12 sugar cubes at the ready.

all weighed out

Now form each portion into a ball . . .

then push one sugar cube into the bottom of each.

Turn them back over and re-roll to push the sugar cube more centrally into the dough.


Now place them in lightly oiled paper baking molds on a sheet pan and brush with egg wash.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let proof for 1.5 to 2 hours.  I turn the proofing setting in my oven on at 85º for just a few minutes and then turn it off.  It makes for a nice proofing environment (I think about 75º is ideal).  Of course, if it's summer and your kitchen is nice and warm, just proof at room temp!

With brioche it can be difficult to appreciate a dramatic rise due to the quantity of butter which tends to weigh the dough down.  However I think you can see in the photo below that the dough has indeed filled out in the baking cups compared to the photo above.

After proofing brush again with egg wash and sprinkle each with pearl sugar.

ready for the oven

Bake at 325º convection for about 20-25 minutes - and don't forget to watch what's happening in that oven!

c'est fini!

 These rose beautifully and baked to a lovely golden color - and the aroma - oh la la!

like little moonlit nuggets

Once they had cooled I simply had to try one.  I didn't feel too guilty since I'd already had my morning oatmeal and berries - and it was lunch time, after all.

The crumb is moist and soft, the crunchy sugar a treat like none other and the orange rind and zest adds the perfect note.  I can't wait to try these with lemon.

And, of course, Steve liked them too.

Yes indeed!  Thanks Bouchon Bakery!!