Last week we were back in the kitchens beginning a new class: Viennoiserie (or laminated dough.) For those of you that haven't studied your morning pastry before enjoying it, Viennoiserie is a Viennese style pastry. It is a high fat, rich baked good product similar to bread. The breads are enriched with butter, sugar, milk and eggs. They can be either sweet or savory. Last week we made and studied puff pastry. There are three types of puff pastry: ordinary, reverse and blitz (literally meaning "lightning.") The ordinary is made of a beurrage (butter) encased in detrempe (dough) to create a laminated dough. The paton (package) is then rolled out and given several tourage (turns) or folds that create the layers to the dough. The reverse is just the opposite, the butter is on the outside and is wrapped around the dough. Yes, this is a very difficult dough to work with. The Blitz dough is made like flaky pie dough by combining all the ingredients at once and then rolling and folding the dough. The blitz is easier to make and much less time intensive however you will not get the rise you would with the other two doughs.
Pictured are several of the products made from the ordinary and reverse doughs: The vol au vents are filled with pastry cream and topped with fresh fruits. The pithivier is a almond creme filled pastry meant to bring prosperity with a sunburst scored on the top. The chausson aux pommes are essentially apple turnovers in a circular shape. The bouchees are the circular shaped pastry filled with a mushroom Newburg sauce. The fruit band is a larger version of the vol au vents filled with pastry cream and topped with fresh fruit.
Next week we are making croissant and danish doughs. Until then, I hope your morning pastry is less of a mystery and more appreciated.
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