I have always been wanting to make this mushroom Danish filled with cheesy bechamel and assorted sauteed mushrooms and finally got around to it.
Although a lengthy process just to satisfy my cravings but nonetheless a satisfying one. If you are keen to learn to make your own laminated croissants and the likes, you can check out my similar post on Caprese Danish , Chocolate Croissant & Plain Croissant.
RECIPE
CROISSANT DOUGH
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Baker's Flour 12 - 15% protein | 500g |
Water | 250g |
Skim Milk Powder | 10g |
Caster Sugar | 50g |
Instant Dried Yeast Osmotolerant | 10g |
Fine Salt | 10g |
Unsalted Butter - room temperature | 35g |
Lamination Butter - Fractionated Butter | 250g |
NOTE: 2 x Double Turns
BECHAMEL SAUCE
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Unsalted Butter | 65g |
30g | |
Full Cream Milk | 225g |
Grated Nutmeg | 1/4 teaspoon |
Salt | qs |
Black Pepper - grounded | qs |
Grated Grana Padano Cheese | 40g |
MUSHROOM FILLING
INGREDIENTS | QUANTITY |
Mixed Mushrooms | 200g |
Salt | qs. |
Pepper | qs. |
Unsalted Butter | 40g |
Baby Asparagus | 1 bunch |
Cherry Tomatoes | 1 punnet |
Boiled Egg | 1 |
Melt the butter in the hot pan. Sautee the sliced mushrooms until just softened. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer into a bowl to fully cool.
Prepare hard boil egg by bringing the water to a boil then gently place the egg into the boiling water. Continue to boil for 12 minutes. Remove the boiled eggs from the boiling water then place in a bowl to fully cool before peeling the shell and cutting it into 8 slices.
To make the Mushroom Asparagus Danish...
METHOD
DAY 1
In a stand mixer bowl, place the flour, milk powder, sugar and salt and mix to combine. Add in the yeast and room temperature butter. Attach a dough hook attachment and mix over low speed while gradually streaming in the water. Once all the water has been added, mix at speed 1 for 2 minutes or until the ingredients come together to form a dough. Then increase the speed 3 and continue to mix for another 4 minutes. ( I use kitchen aid standard stand mixer)
Roll the dough to a smooth ball. Check the temperature of the dough and ensure that is below 26˚C. If it is higher that that, place the dough covered well in the fridge until it cools below 26˚C. If the dough is at cool enough, cover the ball of dough loosely with a cling film on the bench at room temperature and leave for an hour or until it increases 50% of its original volume. This is the first fermentation of the dough.
Once the dough has risen to 50%, knock back the dough to get rid of some of the excess air then flatten and roll to a rectangle of 20 cm x 40 cm with a rolling pin. If you are unable to roll it to the size, do not worry too much as you will be rolling them out again during the lamination process.
Gently lift the sheeted dough onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Wrap the tray really well and place in the fridge (4˚C - 5˚C) for the second part of the first fermentation for at least 8 - 12 hours and up to 16 hours.
DETREMPE VIDEO
DAY 2
PREPARE BEURRAGE
LOCKING IN THE BUTTER
LAMINATION
1. The next day, prepare the beurrage (lamination butter) by rolling to 20cm x 20cm between two parchment paper. Ensure that the butter is around 16˚C - 19˚C when laminating. If it is too warm or feels really soft, place the sheeted butter back in to the fridge slightly. The butter should be flexible and not too hard for the lamination process.
2. When the butter is ready, remove the dough from the fridge. At this point, the dough should be between 4-5˚C .
Roll the Detrempe to double the length of the butter with the same width (20cm x 40cm). Place the butter in the center of the dough then wrap the overhanging dough on both opposite ends on top and over the butter, ensuring that the dough is not overlapping.
Pinch the two ends of the dough together to adhere. You have now locked in the butter.
FIRST DOUBLE FOLDS
3. Turn the dough around and with the two open ends closest and opposite from you, roll the dough to approximately 65 cm in length, whilst maintaining a 20cm width. During the rolling process, frequently lift the dough off the bench to prevent from sticking and dust lightly with flour if necessary. Avoid dusting too much flour as this can cause the dough to become too dry.
4. Once you have rolled to 65cm in length, trim off the two ends for a straight end (make sure you do not trim off too much as this can affect how much Danish you will end up with.
Perform a double fold by folding one end 1/4 of the way to the top of the dough, then fold the opposite ends 3/4 of the way meeting the other ends. Fold the dough over to half again. Flatten the dough slightly with a rolling pin, wrap well and place onto a flat tray and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
SECOND DOUBLE FOLDS
5. Once the 20 minutes resting is up, repeat step 4.
You have now completed all the folds needed. ( 2 x Double Folds)
Wrap the dough well and place it back into the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.
PREPARING LAMINATING BUTTER -VIDEO
LOCKING IN AND LAMINATION VIDEO
FINAL ROLLING AND SHAPING
6. Roll to 22cm in width, then turn the dough over and roll to length until you get 5mm in thickness. Cut 10 x 10 cm squares with a sharp Stanley knife. You should end up with 10 squares of Danish.
Cut and shape each pastry squares as shown in the video.
Place the pastry squares onto a tray lined with parchment paper, leaving at least 3 cm gap between.
Grease a plastic wrap with some oil spray, then place it loosely over the tray to cover the dough to prevent them from drying out.
Leave at room temperature to proof for 3 hours (less if it is a warm day / longer if it is a colder day). The pastry should start to rise and feels really light and delicate.
Pre heat the oven to 200˚C. When ready to bake, pipe cooled bechamel into the center of the Danish, top with the sauteed mushrooms, followed by baby asparagus. Drizzle with some olive oil.
BAKING
Turn the oven down to 180˚C then pour boiling water over the lava stones to create initial steam. Bake the Danishes in the oven for approximately 30 - 35 minutes or until the pastry starts to turn dark golden in color.
Remove from the oven, top with fresh parsley, sliced baby tomatoes and boiled egg (optional).
FINAL ASSEMBLY AND BAKING VIDEO
BECHAMEL
Place butter in a pot and heat until just melted. Remove the pot from the flame and add in the plain flour and whisk quickly until you create a roux. Place the pot back over the stove with low heat then gradually stream in the cold milk while continuously whisking until all the milk are added.
Continue to cook over medium heat while whisking until it starts to thicken and when tested with a spatula or wooden spoon, you are able to draw a line without the bechamel running over the line.
Once ready, season with grated nutmeg, salt and pepper then stir in shaved cheese and stir until the cheese are fully melted through.
