Objectively that was a really good loaf, good for eating out of hand or sliced. But gilding the lily has its merits, especially if they look like this:
So pretty right? Laminated brioche is just a little different from Danish, but they are very similar. I wanted to create a handheld pastry that was tall rather than flat, and maximized the baked flavors of orange and almond paste within the pretty layers.
This is based on Ciril Hitz' formula, but in a more manageable quantity and a few tweeks.
Laminated Brioche with Candied Orange and Almond - makes 24 small pastries
brioche dough:
35 g. milk
100 g. eggyolks
60 g. sugar
7.5 g active dry yeast
220 g. sourdough starter
360 g. bread flour
10 g. salt
grated zest from half an orange, optional
75 g. butter, cubed and cool but not cold
Mix the liquids, sugar and yeast together in a mixer bowl. Add the flour and mix on low speed with the hook until the flour is moistened. Add the salt and orange zest, and mix on medium speed until the dough comes up off the sides of the bowl. (It will have a gluten window, but just barely.) Add the butter and mix on medium speed until it is smooth and elastic -- this will take a good 5-8 minutes.
Cover the bowl and let the brioche dough rise about an hour at room temperature.
Put a bit of butter or spray on the inside of a gallon-size zip-close bag, and scrub it around to coat the inside. Cuff the opening over and stand the bag upright. Gather the sides of the risen brioche dough into the middle to de-gas, then ease it into the prepared bag. Press the air out, lay the bag on its side, then press the dough inside the bag to the corners into a flat square. Seal the bag and ferment in the fridge 4 hours to overnight.
roll-in:
175 g. butter
Slice the butter into two or three pieces and place them on a silicone baking mat. With a rolling pin, smash and roll the cold butter to a flat square about 9 inches wide. (so much fun!)
Take the chilled brioche dough from the fridge and slit the bag down the side. Flour a surface lightly. Peel the bag open and, without folding the dough, flip the rectangle of brioche dough onto the surface. Press it with your fingertips into an even rectangle about 1/4 inch thick, 18 inches by 9 inches.
Use the mat to center the roll-in on the dough rectangle.
Wrap the dough in plastic (or cover with the cut-open bag, tucking the ends under). Chill the dough for 30 minutes to an hour, then do another 2 3-folds back to back. Chill the completely laminated brioche dough for two hours, or up to three days, before shaping.
candied orange-almond filling:
280 g. almond paste
60 g. softened butter
pinch of salt
enough orange juice to bring it to a spreading consistency, about 30 g.
Beat these together until they are light and smooth. Add 30-40 g. diced candied orange peel.
Roll the cold dough out to a rectangle 12x24 inches. Spread the filling on all the way to the short sides, trying to distribute the orange dice evenly top to bottom and side to side.
fold one third down and one third up to form a 4x24 inch layered rectangle. Cut the rectangle crosswise into 1-inch strips. Place each strip in the cups of a small muffin pan (this is a flexible silicone one), giving the strip a half twist before putting the ends toward the bottom. I tried a few arrangements to show off the layers here.
cover the filled pan with plastic wrap and let the pastries rise at room temperature about an hour, or in the fridge overnight.
The brioche itself should feel light and airy when you press with a fingertip. Sprinkle a few almond slices on each one, attaching them to the moist almond filling. Bake the pastries at 360F about 12-15 minutes, until the filling is set and the pastry is nicely browned.
When they are just warm, gently ease them out of the pan to cool the bottoms and keep them from getting soggy. They are nice just dusted with confectioner's sugar,
but I like to brush them with some melted orange marmalade to add some shine and tartness.
So delicious, just barely crispy/flaky and moist and tangy... and just a little different from the usual breakfast pastries.
