Twenty Two more to go

Twenty two more Saturday farmer's market mornings, like this one, to go. But who's counting. It's a lot of work. Lots and lots of product. Today, down at GCM, they're filming "Top Chef". Some kinda cheffin' show on the Bravo network. I understand it will be a mob scene down there. Maybe the weather will be on our side. All our markets should be picking up now. Farmers are starting to turn up with more and more produce. We picked up some strawberries at the GCM on Wednesday. We have had rhubarb for a couple weeks. So starting Wednesday, we will have strawberry rhubarb danish at the market. Making homemade jam is one of my favorite things. The aroma! Val adds vanilla bean to it when she is cooking it. Best filling for danish pastries anywhere. Better than any jam in any grocery store. Ya gotta check this stuff out!

Val mixes the danish dough on Monday for Wednesday's market, and mixes Thursday for Saturday. It ferments overnight, in the fridge. Next day she laminates it with high fat, European style butter. She pounds the butter with a heavy wooden rolling pin, to make it malleable. Places it back in the fridge. Once the butter and the dough are the same consistency, she laminates them together. She does two, what is called a "double fold", or a "book fold". She rolls the dough out twice as big as the butter, places the butter "pad" on the dough, and folds the dough over the butter. This creates a layer of dough, layer of butter and a layer of dough. This gets rolled out long, and gets folded into a book. Two outside edges into the middle, and then one half on top of the other. It gets chilled for a while and then the folding step gets repeated. Ends up forty eight layers in total. At this point the dough rests in the fridge for a couple hours. After a rest the dough gets rolled out for it's final shaping. We roll the dough sixteen inches wide and four feet long. It gets cut into eighty five gram, long skinny pieces. Each sixteen inches long. The bakers roll them a little with their hands to extend the length. They roll it, moving their hands in opposite directions, and twirl the string into a loose coil. Again, back in the fridge, sixteen to a sheet pan, after brushing with egg wash. Second night in the fridge. The following morning, they get egg washed again and topped with vanilla pastry creme and homemade jam. Allowed their final rise or proof, and baked. They are glazed and off to market. We hold back some to sell in our store as well.

Here's the picture. All butter, flaky, flaky danish topped with pastry creme and homemade jam. Oh, and guess what, the jam, all sugar, no corn syrup, no added water.
Just fruit, sugar, vanilla bean and a little pectin.

The message, buy it here, buy it real.