Breakfast pastries certainly fall on the sweet side of the morning meal divide. Danishes, donuts, blintzes, muffins, cinnamon rolls and more can all calm the call of a sweet tooth and give eaters the energy they need to take on the day – or simply indulge themselves on the weekend.
While breakfast pastries with fruit toppings and fillings aren’t as healthy as, say, fresh fruit, whole grains and lean protein for breakfast, they have wonderful flavor profiles and a variety of different forms and tastes. Learning a new fruit breakfast pastry recipe can help student chefs working toward an online cooking certificate develop another skill they can apply in their culinary careers.
A fruit-filled breakfast delight
“Breakfast pastries certainly fall on the sweet side.”
This braided strawberry cheese bread from Serious Eats combines wonderfully sweet breakfast flavors.
First, assemble six tablespoons of warm water, a teaspoon of sugar, one-and-one-half teaspoons of dry active yeast and one-quarter cup of unbleached, all-purpose flour for the sponge.
For the dough, you’ll need the completed sponge as well as six tablespoons of Greek yogurt, one-quarter cup of sugar, one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of vanilla extract, four tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature, two-and-a-half cups of all-purpose flour and two large eggs, divided.
The filling requires one cup of strawberry preserves, one-third cup of softened cream cheese, and two tablespoons each of Greek yogurt, lemon juice, sugar and flour. You can substitute other fruit preserves here and create a different flavor profile. Bobby Flay uses blackberry and raspberry preserves in this smaller fruit-filled pastry recipe, and you can try a variety of other fruit spreads as well.
To make the sponge, stir those ingredients, leaving one egg aside, together and set aside for about 15 minutes until bubbling and proofed. From there, use a stand mixer to combine and mix the dough ingredients, including the sponge. Knead the dough with a hook attachment for about five minutes, stopping when it looks like a smooth ball. With a large, lightly greased bowl in hand, transfer the dough and cover with plastic wrap, then a towel. The dough needs to rise in warm area until it reaches roughly twice its original size – about two hours.
You can use the intervening time to make the filling by mixing all the ingredients except the preserves. When the dough is ready, flour a surface and spread out into a roughly 10-foot by 15-foot rectangle, and then move to a lined baking sheet. Fill the center third of the dough with the filling, and spread the preserves on top. Then, cut one-inch strips outwards in the dough from the filled center third. Cross the strips over each other, alternating sides, on top of the center.
From there, cover the top with a clean towel for about an hour. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and use the remaining egg and one teaspoon of water to make an egg wash and brush on top. Then, bake for about 25 minutes.
This recipe is a great dish to add to you repertoire.
