Apricot Danish Braid

Directions

1. 1
   For the dough:
2. 2
   Pour the water into a bowl. Sprinkle the dried yeast on top of it and gently swirl until mixed through.
3. 3
   Add the milk, egg, sugar and salt and whisk to mix, set aside.
4. 4
   In a food processor combine the flour and cut up butter and pulse gently until the butter has been broken down into about half an inch size crumbs. The butter must stay visible to make the pastry be flaky and layered.
5. 5
   Empty the flour mixture into the wet ingredients bowl and gently mix through with a spatula until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
6. 6
   Rolling and folding the dough:
7. 7
   Flour a cool work surface and dump the cold dough onto it. Roughly shape the dough into a square. Sprinkle flour and roll the dough into a 16-inch square. Fold the dough in thirds and turn it so that the folded closed side is to your left.
8. 8
   Roll the dough out again to a dimension of 10 x 24 inches. Remember to use the flour on your rolling pin and work surface! Fold the dough into thirds again. Turn it so that the closed side is on your left again.
9. 9
   Roll it into a 20 inch square and fold it again into thirds like a brochure. Roll the dough into a rectangle roughly with dimensions 10 x 24-inches and fold it in thirds again.
10. 10
    Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for about 30 minutes. The dough is now ready to be rolled and shaped for pastries. It can be kept in the fridge for 4 days sealed in plastic or frozen for 1 month.
11. 11
    For the vanilla cream:
12. 12
    Put all of the vanilla cream ingredients except for the vanilla into a small pot. Bring to a gentle boil stirring frequently. The mixture will thicken very fast so don't stop whisking. Once the cream has thickened cook for a further minute.
13. 13
    Transfer the cream to a sieve that you've set over a bowl. Push the cream through the sieve. Cover the mixture in the bowl with plastic making sure the plastic is sitting right on top of the cream. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
14. 14
    For the Danish braid:
15. 15
    Use half of the dough recipe from above for the listed amount of Danish Braid ingredients.
16. 16
    Roll one half of the dough into a rectangle that's roughly 10 inch wide and 16 inch long. Lift it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Spread the fruit preserves down the center of the strip of dough.
17. 17
    Top with 1 cup of the vanilla cream, spreading evenly. Using a sharp knife cut angled lines down each side of the pastry, about 12 on each side but leave the center strip with the preserves uncut.
18. 18
    Fold the strips across the filling doing so alternately from each side to create a braid pattern, tucking in each piece of dough into the other side. Once all of the dough has been folded over, level each side with your hand making sure it's nice and even. See the related blog link for step-by-step photos.
19. 19
    Brush the egg white over the top of the braid and sprinkle liberally with some sugar and chopped nuts. Cover with a light towel and let it rest for about 35-40 minutes. It should get puffy but not dramatically bigger. (Cook's tip: It's hot here in California so I like to give any yeast product a little time in the car. It acts as a great proof box!)
20. 20
    Preheat the oven to 400 F and when the Danish is ready, using the parchment paper, slide the Danish onto a baking tray (parchment paper and all). Place it in the oven and bake until golden, about 15-20 minutes.
21. 21
    Make the coffee glaze by mixing the cold coffee with the powdered sugar. Drizzle the icing over the braid and serve warm in slices.
22. 22
    Recipe for Danish pastry dough from Baking With Julia, contributing baker, Beatrice Ojakangas.