Cinnamon Palmiers

Skill level: 

These are not difficult to make, the repeated refrigeration cycles create a long prep time.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, frozen

5 to 6 tablespoons ice water

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preparation

1. Stir together flour and salt in a chilled large metal bowl. Slice frozen butter into flour, gently tossing to coat butter.

2. Place butter and flour mixture in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
3. Remove flour and butter mixture from the refrigerator, and using a pastry blender, break the butter into large chunks.

4. Drizzle 5 tablespoons ice water evenly over flour mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated. Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: When dough has the proper texture, it will hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary, add another tablespoon water, stirring until just incorporated, and test again. (Do not overwork dough or add too much water, or pastry will be tough; dough will be lumpy and streaky.)  Note: I usually just work the bough with my hands, it is easier.

5. Form dough into a 5-inch square, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes.

6. Roll out dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 15 by 8  inch rectangle (with a short side nearest you). Brush off excess flour and fold dough into thirds like a letter. Rewrap dough and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.

7. Arrange dough with a short side nearest you on a floured surface and repeat rolling out, folding, and chilling 2 more times. Brush off any excess flour, then halve dough crosswise with a sharp knife and chill, wrapped separately in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.
8. Stir together sugar and cinnamon, then generously sprinkle a clean work surface with some of cinnamon sugar and place 1 piece of chilled dough on top.

9. Quickly roll out into a 16 by 12-inch rectangle (1/8 to 1/16 inch thick; if dough becomes too soft, chill on a baking sheet until firm). Trim edges with a sharp knife. Sprinkle top of dough evenly with some cinnamon sugar to cover completely, brushing off any excess. 

10. Fold 2 opposite long sides of pastry so they meet in center. Fold in same sides of pastry in same manner, then fold one half over the other (like a book) and press gently with a rolling pin to flatten slightly, forming a long rectangular log. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar if dough is sticky.

11. Chill on a baking sheet, uncovered, until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Meanwhile, repeat with remaining piece of dough and cinnamon sugar.
12. Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
13. Cut 1 log of dough crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices with a sharp knife and arrange slices, cut sides down, 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheet. 

14. Bake until puffed and golden around edges, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from oven and turn palmiers over with a spatula. (If palmiers begin to unroll, gently press to reshape when cooled slightly.) Continue baking until golden all over and sugar is caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes more. 
15. Transfer as done (palmiers may not bake evenly) to a rack and cool. Make more cookies on cooled baking sheet lined with fresh parchment.

Cinnamon Babka

Today was a dark, rainy, and dreary fall day.  The first really cold rainy fall day of the season, which put me in the mood to do some baking.   I could not decide whether to make bread, cinnamon rolls, an epiphany cake, of babka.  I did settle on the babka, after some thought, as the smell of bread and cinnamon baking is one of my favorite fall treats.

Babka, loosely translated as "old woman," is an eastern european desert bread, from the Jewish tradition.  It is made from a basic brioche dough, and usually made with either chocolate, or cinnamon filling.

Babka recipes tend to be closely guarded family secrets, so finding a good babka recipe can be a challenge.  This recipe has an authentic flavor, and is one of my favorite babka recipes.  I found this recipe at: http://www.justapinch.com/print/bread/sweet-bread/cinnamon-babka.html and broke it down into more steps, as the directions are not easy to follow in their original format.

I have given this an advanced rating, as the dough is very fragile, and requires some care when rolling and filling.  In addition, it is a yeast bread, requiring three rising cycles.  It has about a six hour prep to serve time, so a lot of time is needed, although three hours of the time is just waiting for dough to rise, and two hours are just for cooling.

Cinnamon Babka

Skill level:
Serves: 8

Ingredients

FILLING:

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter, unsalted, melted & cooled

1 large egg white, reserve yolk

2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground

1/8 teaspoon salt

DOUGH:

1/2 cup whole milk, heated to 110 degrees (2% will work fine)

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon instant or rapid rise yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons butter, unsalted, cut into 8 pieces & softened

TOPPING:

3 Tbsp cinnamon

4 Tbsp sugar

Preparation

FOR THE FILLING:

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl; mix well. Set aside 1 Tbsp filling. (I usually use a small food processor). Set aside.

FOR THE TOPPING:

Mix cinnamon & sugar together; mix well. Set aside.

FOR THE DOUGH:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position & heat oven to 200 degrees F. When oven reaches 200 degrees, turn it off. Grease large bowl. 
2. Whisk milk, egg yolks & vanilla together in 1 cup liquid measuring cup.
3. Using stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix flour, sugar, yeast & salt on low speed until combined. 

4. Slowly add milk mixture & mix until dough comes together, about 3 minutes. 
5. Increase speed to medium low & add butter, 1 piece at a time, until incorporated, about 1 minute.
6. Continue to mix until dough is smooth & comes away from sides of bowl, 10 - 12 minutes. NOTE: Once you've added the butter in this step, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl after 5 minutes of mixing, add 2 - 4 Tbsp of extra flour.
7. Transfer dough to prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap & place in turned off oven until dough has risen slightly, about 1 hour. 

8. Place in refrigerator until dough is firm & has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
9. Line 8 1/2 x 4 1/2" loaf pan with parchment paper, allowing excess to hang over edges. 
10. Punch down dough on lightly floured counter. Roll out dough to 20 x 14" rectangle. 
11. Spread all but 1 Tbsp reserved filling over dough, leaving 1/2" border around edges. (I find it easier to spread the filling if I warm it for 15 to 20 seconds in the microwave.)
    
    

12. Working from short side, roll dough into cylinder & pinch along seam to seal. Position cylinder seam side up & roll back & forth until stretched to 18" length. 

13. Spread reserved filling over top of cylinder. 
14. Fold cylinder on top of itself & pinch ends to seal. Gently twist double cylinder twice to form double figure eight. Place shaped dough seam side down in prepared pan, cover loosely with plastic & let rise in turned off oven until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 



15. Lightly beat whole egg in bowl. Remove loaf pan from oven & discard plastic. 
16. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. 
17. Brush loaf with beaten egg & sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. 

18. Bake until deep golden brown & loaf registers 190 degrees, about 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove loaf from pan & cool completely, about 2 hours. Serve. NOTE: If you use a standard 9 x 5" loaf pan, start checking the babka for doneness after 40 minutes.

Apple & Almond Galette

A galette is a rustic French term, used to describe various flat, round, free-form crusty tarts and cakes that are cooked on a baking sheet rather than in a pan.

Apple & Almond Galette

Skill level:

Serves 8

Ingredients

For the dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon. salt
1 tablespoon. sugar
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water

For the filling

2 pounds apples, such as Granny Smith or Jonagold, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon. ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon. salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 egg
1 tablespoon of milk
Sugar for sprinkling

Optional

1/4 cup apricot jam (pear also works well)
Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving

Preparation

1. To make the dough, put the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Put the butter in another bowl and place both bowls in the freezer for 10 minutes.
2. Transfer the flour mixture to a food processor and pulse about 5 times to blend. Add the butter and pulse 15 to 20 times, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/3 cup of the water and pulse twice. Squeeze the dough with your fingers; it should hold together but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gather into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack of an oven (this will catch any run-off). Position another rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400°F. 
5. Line a second baking sheet with a Silpat nonstick liner and spray with nonstick cooking spray. (I usually use a large, round cooking stone or a baking sheet, always lined with parchment paper).
6. Peel, core, and remove the stems from the apples, then gut into 1/4 inch thick pieces.



Peeled apples.



A mellon baller is a handy
tool for coring apples.



Cut away stems and bottoms.



Cut into irregular, 1/4 inch thick slices.

7. To make the filling, in a large bowl, stir together the apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cornstarch. Set aside.



Simply add sugar, spices, and lemon juice, all at once.



8. Brown the almonds in a shallow pan, or in the oven while it is warming.



Almonds being browned in a skillet.



Browned almonds, ready to add to the mix.



9. Add the browned almonds to the apple mixture, and stit to combine.



Add the almonds to the apple mix, and stir to combine.

10. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. 
11. Place the dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper and roll out into a 12-inch round. Brush off the excess flour. 
12. If edges of the round are jagged, which mine often are, use your hands to press edges into a round shape.



Rounding rough dough edges by hand.

13. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. 
14. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
15. Combine the egg and milk, lightly whipping until smooth, and eggs are not "streaky."
16. Using a brush, thinly coat the dough round with the egg and milk mixture.  (Some of the egg and milk will be left over for use in Step 18).
    

    

    Egg and milk, ready to coat the pastry.

    

    I like to use a silicone brush to coat the pastry.

17. Arrange the apple filling in the center of the dough, mounding the fruit slightly and leaving a 2 inch border. 



Pile filling on the pastry dough, leaving a 2
inch border all of the way around.



18. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the apples, pleating loosely. Brush the dough with the beaten egg. Lightly sprinkle sugar over the apples.



Dough edges pushed up to make a rustic shell.



19. Brush outside of galette with the egg and milk mixture.



Brush outside of shell with egg & milk mixture.
This will give the shell a nice glossy look
when it is baked.



20. Bake until the crust is golden and the apples are tender, about 1 hour. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the galette cool completely, about 1 hour.
21. Optional: Just before serving, in a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the jam.  Brush the apples with the jam and let cool. When cut, and ready to serve, accompany each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.