Pâtisserie at Home: Step-by-step recipes to help you master the art of French pastry E-Book

Will Torrent

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Seitenzahl: 194

Beschreibung

Perfect the art of French pâtisserie with over 70 classic recipes from award-winning pastry chef Will Torrent.

Das E-Book Pâtisserie at Home: Step-by-step recipes to help you master the art of French pastry wird angeboten von Ryland Peters & Small und wurde mit folgenden Begriffen kategorisiert:
pastry and chocolate expert, French baking, French pastry, pastries, easy baking, bake at home, simple baking, easy desserts, home cooking, Will Torrent, celebrity baker., celebrity chef

Leseprobe

pâtisserie

at home

food photography byJonathan Gregson

WILL TORRENT

pâtisserie

at home

step-by-step recipes to help you master the art of French pastry

‘From being a very keen, and I mean very keen, young student to becoming a very professional pastry chef I have watched Will’s progress with great interest. Now, Will is the teacher and this book allows all of us to look like professionals at home. A great book from an energetic, accomplished and skilled craftsman – you can’t help but enjoy it!’ BRIAN TURNER

DEDICATION

To my Grandad and my Nans for being my inspiration; for Mum, Dad and Sophie for supporting and believing in me. x

Senior Designer Megan Smith

Commissioning Editor Céline Hughes

Production Manager Gordana Simakovic

Art Director Leslie Harrington

Editorial Director Julia Charles

Prop Stylist Liz Belton

Food Stylist Will Torrent

Food Stylist’s Assistants Rosie Reynolds,

Emily Kydd, Kathryn Morrissey,

Alistair Birt

Indexer Hilary Bird

First published in 2013

by Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields,

London WC1R 4BW

and

519 Broadway, 5th Floor,

New York NY 10012

www.rylandpeters.com

Text © Will Torrent 2013

Design and photographs © Ryland Peters & Small 2013

ISBN: 978-1-84975-354-8

E-ISBN: 978-1-78879-325-4

Printed and bound in China

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.

US Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

NOTES

• All spoon measurements are level, unless otherwise specified.

• Recipes containing raw or partially cooked egg should not be served to the very young, very old, anyone with a compromised immune system or pregnant women.

• Unless otherwise stated, all butter is unsalted, eggs are UK medium or US large, and sugar is caster (UK) or granulated (US).

• Chocolate described as ‘dark’ for the UK is ‘bittersweet’ for the US.

• When a recipe calls for the grated zest of citrus fruit, buy unwaxed fruit and wash well before use. If you can only find treated fruit, scrub well in warm soapy water and rinse before using.

PICTURE CREDITS

All photography by Jonathan Gregson apart from:

p10 Richard Nebesky / Getty Images

p34 Frank Wing / Getty Images

p60 Terry Vine / Getty Images

p86 Jeffrey Becom / Getty Images

p122 Gueorgui Pinkhassov/Magnum Photos

p154 Anton Dijkgraaf/taverneagency.com

Contents

Introduction

Basic Techniques

Pâtisserie

Tarts

Petits Fours

Gâteaux and Desserts

Bakery and Viennoiserie

Index

Foreword

I first met Will about ten years ago, when he was fifteen and came to do a week’s work experience at the Fat Duck. Even then it was clear he had an old head on young shoulders: he was determined, thoughtful about food and showed a really good understanding of the necessary technical skills.

Somehow, a week working at the Fat Duck didn’t put him off cooking, and he’s gone from strength to strength, becoming the first British pastry chef to win a Medallion of Excellence at the WorldSkills competition in 2007, gaining the Craft Guild of Chefs Young Chef of the Year award a couple of years later, and a prestigious Acorn Scholarship in 2010. Will has said that his week at the Fat Duck changed his life, so I’ve followed his career with a certain amount of pride. I was delighted to discover that he had become a pastry chef and pâtisserie development consultant for Waitrose, which means that, a decade on, things have come full circle and we are working together again. Among other things, he now has the unenviable job of developing some of my projects for the company.

Will’s the perfect person to do this, because he’s curious, imaginative, adaptable and a great technical craftsman. Like me, he likes to push boundaries and do things differently, and he’s a bit of an obsessive. (He has those 3am moments where he wakes up and scribbles down some idea that’s come to him in his sleep.) Despite all his achievements he has kept his feet on the ground and remained admirably committed to sharing what he knows and encouraging others. These traits make him exactly the sort of guide you need to navigate the intricacies of pastry-making. His book, I’m sure, will become an instant classic. It explains with great clarity all the basics, from puff and choux pastry to crème chantilly and ganache. It covers dozens of the mouthwatering classics of the dessert world – rum baba, millefeuille, tarte au chocolat and tarte au citron, tuiles, madeleines, meringues, Black Forest gâteau, sachertorte, macarons. And there are plenty of twists among these pages to keep you on your toes, fire up your culinary imagination and impress the hell out of whoever’s lucky enough to come round for dinner.

Heston Blumenthal

Introduction

When I was growing up, I was surrounded by food, baking, sweets and family.

My Grandad trained as a chef and practised his trade in some of the most famous hotels and restaurants in the seaside town of Bournemouth. What’s more, his uncle owned a pâtisserie in Paris (see right) so all this cooking and pastry really is in the blood. My Nans also baked the most amazing cakes – chocolate, fruit and Welsh cakes – so from an early age I understood how food can bring families together and enjoyment to the table when hard work and effort go into a meal. Nans’ Welsh cakes were brought home with giddy anticipation – beautiful crumbly little things full of sugar, butter and raisins. Just writing this, I can smell them baking in the kitchen and then hear the unwrapping of the foil and greaseproof paper they were wrapped in.

I have three very vivid memories from my childhood that conjure up nostalgic tastes, aromas and wonderful memories. The first is of making peppermint creams with my friends at infant school and being stunned at the strength of minty flavour. The second is of baking chocolate fudge cake with my Nans for many a birthday celebration – I couldn’t quite reach the worktop but I did my best to get stuck in and of course I ate the raw cake mixture from the sides of the bowl and the spoon. We always looked forward to that much more than the traditionally iced fruitcake that Mum always asked for. The third is of a Greek salad made by my Grandad. I must have been about nine or ten years old and I had never tasted feta cheese before! I had always loved cheese on toast but this sour, salty cheese with its unusual texture and smell, chopped in a salad with tomatoes, cucumber and olives, really fed my imagination and I soon caught the cooking bug. With that kind of heritage, it’s no wonder I ended up training to be a pastry chef.

Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to work with some great pastry chefs and in some amazing places, so I hope some of the tips and tricks I’ve picked up here and there will make your life easier when you set out on your French pâtisserie journey.

French pastry is so often thought of as impossible to achieve at home, and something that only professional pastry chefs with years of training can perfect. Even some of the simpler French desserts have the fear factor for many people out there. But with the growing popularity of baking over recent years, it’s time to step into a pastry chef’s shoes, attempt some of the classics and surprise yourself. I hope that with my step-by-step guidelines and modern flavour combinations and finishes, you will have the confidence to attempt some of my French pâtisserie, made easy! Keep it familiar but make it new!

Will Torrent

Pâtisserie is all about technique, precision and elegance. You only need to look in a Parisian pâtisserie window to appreciate how skilled a pastry chef needs to be to produce identical rows of éclairs, perfectly piped macarons and batch after batch of silken ganache to enrobe petits fours. When you make the decision to replicate these creations at home, you needn’t doubt your skills; every basic technique is simple to master if you take your time, are meticulous and don’t berate yourself too much for a novice attempt. All these stock pastry doughs, creams and finishing touches are achievable and will provide you with the foundations for so many French pastries.

Basic techniques

Pâte sablée

This is one of my favourite types of pastry. It’s a rich, sweet shortcrust but made with icing/confectioners’ sugar to achieve a really lovely crisp, crumbly texture (‘sablée’ means sandy) that works perfectly with rich cream and fresh fruit. It’s so versatile that you can use it for tarts and biscuits but also as the base for gâteaux.

200 g/14 tablespoons butter, softened

100 g/¾ cup icing/confectioners’ sugar

a pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 eggs, lightly beaten

250 g/2 cups plain/all-purpose flour

Makes enough to line a 20-cm/8-in. tart pan

Beat the butter, sugar and salt together in a stand mixer or in a bowl with an electric whisk until pale – about 5 minutes.

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise using a small, sharp knife and scrape the seeds out into the creamed butter mixture. Add the lemon zest and beat again to incorporate.

With the whisk running, gradually add the eggs, mixing until fully incorporated.

Gently mix in the flour but do not over-work the dough otherwise the gluten will develop and you will end up with pastry that is tough rather than crisp and light.

Bring the dough together into a ball with your hands, wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed – at least 2 hours, but overnight if possible.

Pâte sucrée

This is similar to the pâte sablée but the use of caster/granulated sugar instead of icing/confectioners’ sugar makes a less delicate pastry. Use it to make tarts and as the base for gâteaux.

100 g/7 tablespoons butter, softened

100 g/1 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 eggs, lightly beaten

250 g/2 cups plain/all-purpose flour

Makes enough to line a 20-cm/8-in. tart pan

Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer or in a bowl with an electric whisk until pale – about 5 minutes.

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise using a small, sharp knife and scrape the seeds out into the creamed butter mixture. Add the lemon zest and beat again to incorporate.

With the whisk running, gradually add the eggs, mixing until fully incorporated.

Gently mix in the flour but do not over-work the dough otherwise the gluten will develop and you will end up with pastry that is tough rather than crisp and light.

Bring the dough together into a ball with your hands, wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed – at least 2 hours, but overnight if possible.

Pâte à sablé Breton

This is a pastry that works so well left on its own and stamped out to make crumbly, buttery biscuits. In the Brittany region of France, it is made into a whole, simple cake or individual biscuits, glazed with egg yolk and scored with a criss-cross pattern. The pastry also marries successfully with other components, such as in the Tarte Croustillante aux Abricots on page 83.

70 g/5 tablespoons butter, softened

60 g/5 tablespoons sugar

1½ egg yolks

100 g/¾ cup plain/all-purpose flour

a pinch of baking powder

a pinch of salt

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

finely grated zest of 1 orange

several ovenproof cookie cutters plus a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper, or a deep, 18-cm/7-in. tart pan

Makes enough to line a deep, 18-cm/7-in. tart pan

Beat the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer or in a bowl with an electric whisk until pale – about 5 minutes.

With the whisk running, gradually add the egg yolks, mixing until fully incorporated.

Gently fold in the flour, baking powder, salt and citrus zest until fully incorporated. The dough will be very buttery and wet.

Bring the dough together into a ball with your hands. To roll it out, place it between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough until about 2 cm/¾ inch thick. Refrigerate overnight, still between the sheets of paper.

The next day, preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F) Gas 4.

If you are making biscuits, stamp out rounds from the chilled dough with the cookie cutters. Transfer each round, still in the cookie cutter, onto the prepared baking sheet. You need to cook the biscuits inside the cutters because the high butter content makes them spread during baking.

Bake the biscuits in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until they are wonderfully golden brown, coming away from the cutters and sinking ever so slightly in the middle.

Allow the biscuits to cool completely on the baking sheet and inside the cookie cutters.

Keep in an airtight container before using.

Pâte feuilletée

Pâte feuilletée, or puff pastry, is quite hard to make but try it at least once! It is ‘laminated’ with lots of butter, which is worked into the pastry and needs several ‘turns’ to blend it in – this is what makes the magical, crisp layers.

Laminating

500 g/4½ sticks butter, softened

a pinch of salt

100 g/¾ cup strong white bread flour

Dough

2 teaspoons salt

220 ml/1 scant cup water, chilled

juice of ½ lemon

50 g/3 tablespoons butter, softened

120 g/1 cup plain/all-purpose flour

280 g/2 cups strong white bread flour

Makes about 1.2 kg/2½ lbs.

For laminating

Put the butter, salt and flour in a bowl and knead together with your hands to incorporate everything. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it until smooth and about 5 mm/¼ inch thick. Trim the edges with a spatula to get a neat square. (A)

Refrigerate for about 1 hour to harden.

For the dough

Put the salt, water and lemon juice in a measuring jug/cup and stir to dissolve the salt.

Either in a mixing bowl with your fingers, or in a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix the butter and flours together until they get crumbly. Gradually pour in the liquid from the measuring jug/cup and mix until a dough forms. (B)

On a lightly floured surface or in the stand mixer, knead the dough for 4 minutes. Shape into a ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove the chilled dough and butter block from the fridge. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a rectangle 20 x 30 cm/8 x 12 inches. Cut the butter block down the middle and place one half in the middle of the pastry rectangle. Bring one side of the pastry up and over the butter to cover it. Stretch the pastry if needed. Place the second butter block on top of that and fold the remaining flap of pastry over. (C)

Roll the dough out into a rectangle again. With a short side in front of you, fold the top third over, then the bottom third on top of that. Now turn the dough 90˚ clockwise so that the fold is on the left hand side. This process of flattening and folding the dough is called a ‘turn’. Poke a hole in the dough to indicate that 1 turn has been made. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Give the dough 5 further turns, resting it in the fridge for 20 minutes between each turn and prodding with further holes. (D)

Refrigerate for 1 hour before using.

Pâte à choux

People often say that they find it really hard to make choux pastry – pâte à choux – but I think it’s one of the easiest. As versatile as many classic French pastry doughs, it can be piped into buns and filled with lovely vanilla crème pâtissière in a croquembouche – the classic French wedding cake – or mixed with grated Parmesan, parsley and ham before being deep fried to make wonderful beignets for a summer canapé party.

125 ml/½ cup water

125 ml/½ cup milk

100 g/6½ tablespoons butter

a pinch of salt

a pinch of sugar

140 g/1 cup plus 1½ tablespoons plain/all-purpose flour

approximately 6 eggs

large piping bag fitted with a small, plain nozzle/tip (optional)

baking sheet, lined with greaseproof paper

Makes 12–16 small buns

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F) Gas 4.

Put the water, milk, butter, salt and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly with a silicone or wooden spoon so that the sugar doesn’t burn and cause the mixture to stick to the bottom of the pan.

When it comes to the boil, quickly stir in the flour and mix together. Beat the dough vigorously until it cleanly leaves the sides of the saucepan – this can take up to 5 minutes, depending on the heat. (A)

Transfer the dough to a stand mixer or mixing bowl (using an electric whisk) and beat in the eggs, one at a time. You might not need all 6 eggs – flour and eggs behave differently no matter how many times you make the same recipe, so the number of eggs needed can vary. (B)

As you add the eggs and beat them in, watch the dough and when it is soft and smooth and drops off a spoon leaving behind a ‘V’ shape, it is ready. (C)

To make choux buns, spoon the dough into the prepared piping bag. Pipe bulbs onto the prepared baking sheet, about 5 cm/2 inches in diameter and spaced apart as they will expand during baking. (D)

Bake in the preheated oven for 10–15 minutes, depending on the size of the buns. They should be golden brown and hollow in the middle.

Croissant pastry

The humble croissant is one of the most delicious foodie joys around. Freshly baked, torn apart, eaten with creamy salted butter, rich, fruity jam and a cup of strong coffee in Paris – nothing much beats that. I always have croissants in the freezer ready to go and although the method is quite challenging, once you get the hang of it, they are so easy to make. Perfect for special breakfasts, using in desserts or just for a lazy Sunday morning with the papers!

Laminating

300 g/2½ sticks butter, room temperature

40 g/⅓ cup plain/all-purpose flour

Dough

30 g/2 cakes fresh yeast or 15 g/3 teaspoons dried yeast

230 ml/1 scant cup cold milk

2½ tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons honey

380 g/3 cups strong white bread flour

2 teaspoons salt

egg yolk mixed with a pinch of salt, to glaze

Makes about 14

For laminating

Put the butter and flour in a bowl and knead together with your hands to incorporate them. Turn the mixture out onto a sheet of clingfilm/plastic wrap, top with another sheet and flatten with a rolling pin into a rough square about 10 cm/4 inches across. (A)

Refrigerate for about 1 hour to harden.

For the dough

Put the yeast and milk in a bowl and stir until the yeast has dissolved. Add the sugar and honey and stir again.

Either in a mixing bowl with your fingers, or in a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix the flour and salt together, then pour in the yeast mixture. Mix slowly until the mixture comes together into a dough.

On a lightly floured surface or in the stand mixer, knead the dough for 10 minutes.

If using a mixer, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cover lightly with the butter wrapper or a sheet of parchment paper. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a rectangle about 20 x 30 cm/8 x 12 inches. Remove the butter block from the fridge and cut it down the middle. Place one half in the middle of the pastry rectangle. Bring one side of the pastry up and over the butter to cover it. Stretch the pastry if needed. Place the second butter block on top of that and fold the remaining flap of pastry over. (B)

Roll the dough out into a rectangle again. With a short side in front of you, fold the top third over, then the bottom third on top of that. Now turn the dough 90˚ clockwise so that the fold is on the left hand side. This process of flattening and folding the dough is called a ‘turn’. Poke a hole in the dough to indicate that 1 turn has been made. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Give the dough another turn and allow to rest for 30 minutes. (C)

Give the dough a third turn and allow to rest for 2 hours.

At this stage, you can choose to make croissants as described here, or opt for one of the variations on page 171.

After 2 hours, to make croissants, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 3 mm/⅛ inch thick.

Cut the dough in half lengthwise using a large, sharp knife. You now have 2 strips. Trim the edges if necessary to make sure the strips are neat rectangles.

Put the long side of 1 strip in front of you. Cut out isosceles triangles (tall, with 2 equal sides) measuring about 8 cm/3½ inches across the base, all along the strip. They will naturally alternate in direction along the strip. (D)

A little tip I once heard in France was that if you cut a snip in the centre of the base of each triangle, you will get a lovely turn at the tips of the croissant. So, using a knife or a pair of scissors, make a snip in the centre of each base.

Starting from the base, roll up each triangle to make a croissant. (E)

At this point, you can freeze the croissants for another time. Take them out of the freezer the night before you want to bake them and place them on a baking sheet. Cover them loosely with a tea towel and they will be defrosted, risen and ready to bake by the following morning.

Place the croissants on a baking sheet lightly dusted with flour. (F)

Loosely cover the croissants with lightly oiled clingfilm/plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until they have nearly doubled in size – about 2 hours.

About 15 minutes before you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F) Gas 6.

Uncover the risen croissants and brush them lightly with the egg wash to glaze.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.

Crème pâtissière

This is without question the most luxurious cream on the planet! The basis of so many classic French pastries, this is rich, sweet, smooth and velvety – and simple to make too. My way of making it isn’t strictly traditional but it does ensure a thick, stable crème. Once you’ve mastered the technique, you can experiment with flavourings to adapt it to a particular cake.

1 vanilla bean

500 ml/2 cups milk

100 g/½ cup raw cane sugar

4 egg yolks

3 tablespoons cornflour/cornstarch 3 tablespoons custard powder/vanilla pudding mix (or additional cornflour/cornstarch)

2 tablespoons butter

Makes about 750 g/1½ lbs.

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise using a small, sharp knife and scrape the seeds out into a large saucepan. Drop the bean in too and pour in the milk. Bring to the boil over low heat.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk the sugar, egg yolks, cornflour/cornstarch and custard powder together with a balloon whisk until smooth and creamy.