Oak Leaf
Recipe by François Galtier
I. COMPOSITION
- Chocolate & Spiced Croissant Dough
- Chocolate & Spiced Custard
- Cigarette Oak Leaf
- Varnish for Danish
II. CHOCOLATE & SPICED CROISSANT DOUGH
- 980 g T55 Flour
- 15 g Speculaas Spice Mix
- 20 g Sea Salt
- 70 g Sugar
- 40 g Honey
- 50 g Fresh Yeast
- 50 g Butter Sheet
- 450 g Water (BT50°C*)
- 100 g Essential 54 Belgian dark couverture chocolate
- 500 g Butter Sheet
PROCESS
- Melt the chocolate and mix gradually with water at the right temperature using the calculation at the end of the recipe.
- Mix all the ingredients at the 1st speed for 10 min, and the 2nd speed 4 min.
- The dough should be at 25°C after mixing.
- Make a ball with a cross using a knife and let it on the table for about 15 min before making a flat rectangle and then store it in fridge at 4°C for a few hours.
- Roll out the dough making it 4 times longer than larger, roll out the butter making it 2 times longer than larger and then place the butter on the side of the dough in order to fold the dough on the top to cover the butter.
- Fold in 2 again, cut the sides of the dough to see all the layers.
- Turn it 90°, roll it out making it 4 times longer than larger and fold it in 4.
- Cut again the sides of the dough.
- Make again the last fold and let it cool down for 1 hour in the fridge at 4°C.
III. CHOCOLATE & SPICED CUSTARD
- 20 g Corn Starch
- 450 g Whole Milk
- 230 g Essential 54 Belgian dark couverture chocolate
- 7 g Speculaas Spice Mix
PROCESS
- Mix the corn starch with the same quantity of cold milk.
- Boil the rest of the milk and add half of the hot milk on the top of the first preparation, then put everything back to the saucepan to bring to the boil again.
- Once boiled, remove it from the fire, mix it with chocolate and spices and let it cool down in the refrigerator.
- Whisk the cream before using it to get a smooth texture.
IV. CIGARETTE OAK LEAK
- 60 g Fresh 35% Cream
- 35 g Essential 54 Belgian dark couverture chocolate
- 155 g T55 Flour
- 145 g Icing Sugar
- 3 g Speculaas Spice Mix
- 120 g Egg White
PROCESS
- Warm up the fresh cream and pour on the chocolate to make a ganache.
- Mix all the ingredients together with this ganache.
- Cut an oak leaf into a plastic bucket cover and spread it out on a silicone mat using this tool to give shape to the oak leaf.
- Bake in a ventilated oven for around 3 min at 170°C.
- Place also a silicone stamp with the texture of a leaf on a plate and put it in the oven to get it hot.
- Directly after the baking place the leaves between the silicone stamps and push them to get the texture.
- Give directly the movement when you take them out from the silicone.
- If it’s getting too hard to print without breaking, use the heat gun or place it back to the oven for a bit to bring the softness back.
- Keep it in hermetic box.
V. VARNISH FOR DANISH
- 200 g Neutral Concentrated Nappage
- 120 g Water
PROCESS
- Boil at over 70°C and brush the hot danish pastry.
VI. MONTAGE
- Roll out the croissant dough to a thickness of 2cm and cut bands of 3,5cm in the length of the dough.
- Place this band on the side (with layers on the top) and cut each 3,5cm band at a 45° angle to get a diamond shape.
- Stick these diamonds with water to get a band with all the layers in the same side (at 45°).
- Cut with a ø18cm ring to have a partial disc of 11cm length.
- Then stick 2 of these partial discs to form a complete leaf shape.
- Each leaf should weight 130g.
- Place a band of baking paper into leaf molds and place the dough in the middle, let it proof at 28°C with 80% humidity for around 2 hours and bake it for around 25min at 170°C using baking paper and a plate on the top.
- Unmold while it’s hot and brush the surface.
- When it’s cold, fill it with custard from the back and stick to it a cigarette leaf with chocolate or sugar.
* BT50°C mean: Basic Temperature 50°C
BT50°C = T° Mixing Room + T° Flour + T° Water
Example to calculate T° of Water:
BT50°C = 22°C + 20°C + x (x=8°C)
