Rhubarb pastry

TIME 50 min

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 pound rhubarb stalks, thinly sliced diagonally (1/8 inch)

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17 1/4-ounces package), thawed

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

Accompaniment: vanilla ice cream

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.

Stir together orange juice, lime juice, and sugar in a bowl. Add rhubarb and let stand, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut pastry in half lengthwise, then roll out each piece into an 11-by 7-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Arrange pastry rectangles side by side on an ungreased large baking sheet.

Make a 1/2-inch border around each pastry rectangle by lightly scoring a line parallel to each edge (do not cut all the way through). Prick pastry inside border all over with a fork.

Strain rhubarb mixture through a sieve set over a bowl, reserving liquid. Top 1 pastry rectangle (within border) with half of rhubarb, overlapping slices slightly. Repeat with remaining pastry and rhubarb.

Bake until pastry is puffed and golden (underside of pastry should also be golden), about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil reserved rhubarb liquid in a small saucepan, skimming foam if necessary, until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 15 to 18 minutes.

Transfer tarts to a rack. Brush rhubarb and pastry with glaze and sprinkle with zest.

Demerara pastry

TIME45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup cold whole milk

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, divided

1/2 cup dried currants

Demerara or turbinado sugar (for sprinkling)

Flaky sea salt (for sprinkling)

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk milk, granulated sugar, and kosher salt in a medium bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Whisk flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Cut 10 Tbsp. butter into 1/2" cubes, add to flour mixture, and blend with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until pea-size pieces form with some larger chunks remaining. Add milk mixture and stir with a fork until large clumps form. Gently knead in the bowl until dough just comes together. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface.

With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to a 14x8" rectangle, with long side facing you. Heat 2 Tbsp. butter in a small, microwave-proof bowl in the microwave until softened but not melted, about 20 seconds. Spread evenly over dough with fingertips, then sprinkle currants evenly on top and press to adhere. Fold up bottom third of dough over center, then fold down top third to meet bottom edge, as if folding a letter. Fold in half crosswise, then, using a rolling pin, gently flatten into an 8x4" rectangle.

Cut dough in half lengthwise and in quarters crosswise to form 8 even squares. Transfer to prepared pan, spacing 2" apart. Sprinkle tops generously with demerara sugar and lightly with flaky sea salt.

Bake until scones are golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, melt remaining 4 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. When butter bubbles, remove from heat and skim off foam from surface. As soon as the scones come out of the oven, lightly brush tops with clarified butter, leaving behind white solids in bottom of saucepan. Cool scones on sheet on a wire rack and serve hot, warm, or room temperature.

DO AHEAD:

Rolled and cut scone dough can be frozen in an airtight container up to 2 days. Bake directly from the freezer, increasing baking time as needed. Scones can be made 6 hours ahead-let cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Sourdough Recipes Galore: Whole Wheat Crackers

Recipe type: Bread

 

Ingredients

1 c. "discarded" sourdough starter

¼ c. coconut oil or softened butter

1 c. whole wheat or spelt flour, or as much as you need to make a stiff dough

½ tsp. sea salt

Olive oil for brushing

Coarse salt (such as kosher salt) for sprinkling on top

Equipment:

Large mixing bowl

Plastic Wrap

Baking sheet and a Silpat type non-stick baking mat OR parchment paper OR baking stone

Rolling Pin

Pastry Brush (optional)

Pizza Cutter

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the sourdough and the oil and mix thoroughly.

Mix the salt in with ¼ cup flour and add to the sourdough mixture. Knead it all together in the bowl, adding as much flour as necessary to make a stiff dough.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap or put a lid on the bowl to prevent it from drying out.

Leave the dough at room temperature for at least seven hours.

Seven or more hours later, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take a small portion of the dough (about ¼ cup) and roll it out on a Silpat or other nonstick baking mat using a rolling pin, until it is very thin.

Pour a little bit of olive oil on the rolled out dough and spread it to the edges of the dough with a pastry brush or your hand.

Sprinkle liberally with coarse salt. (these with fine sea salt really wasn’t as good as the kosher salt!)

Cut the dough vertically and horizontally into quadrangles with a pizza cutter.

Transfer the Silpat onto your baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until just golden brown. Repeat in batches.

The crackers shrink a little bit in the oven, so when you pull out your baking sheet, they will already be separated and you don’t have to try and transfer the delicate dough from one surface to another.

UPDATE: For extra crispy crackers, If you have space and baking stones to suffice, simply turn the oven off with the crackers still inside. They’ll crisp up just lovely as it cools down. 

NOTE: Do not use this method with an electric oven, as it will still create heat even once turned off. You’d have to let quite a bit of heat out by leaving the door open for a few minutes, then check the crackers every 10 minutes or so until they’re crispy but not burnt.

Notes

* This dough freezes well and you can easily defrost one or two batches at a time so that you can have fresh crackers every day! I made a double batch of dough and let it “soak.” Then I divided it into eight equal portions which I shaped into balls and then froze. It takes 1-2 hours for the dough to defrost. Then place it on your Silpat or baking stone and continue with the recipe.

Recipe by Kitchen Stewardship