Paris Bread Recipes

PARIS-BREST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place a small pan containing about 2-3 cups of hot water onto the bottom of your oven ( directly onto the bottom of the oven) to generate steam. Lightly grease a large baking sheet with shortening and then dust lightly with flour. Use a 10 inch pan as a template and draw a 10 inch circle onto the flour dusted sheet using a toothpick. Set aside.
• Place the 4 eggs into a small measuring cup and mix with a fork to combine, set aside.
• Combine the milk, water, salt and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When it comes to a full boil, add the flour all at once and stir to make a paste. Continue to stir over the heat for about 40 seconds until the paste dries a little. Remove from heat and place paste into a mixing bowl. Let cool about 4 minutes.
• With a mixer on low, mix the paste and slowly add the beaten eggs. Mix slowly but thoroughly until all of the eggs have been added. Place the paste into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round decorating tip. Pipe the paste out onto the sheet pan following the 10 inch ring you outlined. Pipe a second ring around the inside next to this ring. Finally, pipe another ring on top of these two rings. Lightly paint the set of rings with the remaining 1 beaten egg and press the sliced almonds into the paste.
• Place in the oven on the lowest shelf and bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and bake about 12 minutes more or until brown. Remove form the oven and using a long serrated knife slice off the top half of the puffed ring. Remove any bits of raw dough on the inside of the ring. Replace the top and place back in the oven to crisp the dough, about 5 more minutes. Cool on a rack.
• To Make The Filling: Whip the pastry cream until smooth. Place the heavy cream into a bowl along with the vanilla and beat on high until soft peaks are formed. Add in the confectioners' sugar and beat a little more. Fold the pastry cream in with the whipped cream and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe the cream mixture into the ring and then replace the top. If you wish, sprinkle with additional powdered sugar.

PARIS-BREST RECIPE

Steps:

• mix the flour, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the softened butter and knead with hands for a few minutes to obtain a smooth paste. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough about 5/32 inches/4 mm thick between two parchment paper sheets. Freeze the dough. Take the dough from the freezer and let it stand for a few minutes at room temperature. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out 8 disks 1/5 inches/ 5 cm in diameter. Freeze again until ready to use.
• , preheat the oven to 355 F/180 C. Take a parchment sheet and, using a pencil, trace a pattern of a crown made of 8 circles of about 1/5 inches/4 to 5 cm in diameter. Turn the paper over and put it on a baking sheet. Place water, salt, sugar, and butter cut into pieces in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the sifted flour all at one time and mix well with a wooden spoon. Bring back the preparation to the heat for about 1 to 2 minutes to dry the dough (it will start sticking to the bottom of the pan). Take the pâte à choux (choux pastry dough) out of the heat and put it in a bowl. Let it cool for a few minutes.
• Beat eggs for an omelet. Start adding the eggs gradually. The dough must be neither too thick nor too liquid, it must form a ribbon. The test for the right choux dough: the furrow of a line drawn with the finger in the dough must close.
• Place the choux pastry in a pastry bag fitted with Ateco plain pastry tip 809. Arrange 8 choux buns of about 1/5 inches/4 to 5 cm diameter on the baking sheet covered with the prepared parchment template. Take the craquelin disks out of the freezer and place them on each choux mound.
• Bake 35 min to 40 min without opening the oven. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
• sift flour, and corn starch. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, egg yolks, add flour with corn starch, and mix with a hand whisk. In a large saucepan, bring milk with seeds of the vanilla bean to a boil. Pour hot milk into the yolk/flour mixture and continue mixing. Pour this preparation back into the pot and bring over medium heat again. Whisk until the cream thickens. Pour the ready pastry cream into a bowl and cover with plastic film making contact with the cream. Let it cool at room temperature.
• In a bowl of the stand mixer, place butter and whip it. Add the praline and mix it. Gradually add the smoothed pastry cream and whisk until homogenous.
• add cold whipping cream to the praline in three times and whisk with a hand mixer. Place the ready insert in a pastry bag fitted with any medium pastry tip and refrigerate.
• cut the crown in half horizontally with a serrated knife and gently invert the top onto parchment paper. Transfer the praline mousseline cream to a pastry bag fitted with an open star pastry tip and push it onto each of the 8 cavities' base. Poach on the praline insert, then finish with a layer of praline mousseline cream again. Cover with the cap of the crown and dust with icing (powdered) sugar.

PARIS BREAD

Steps:

• Cut bread lengthwise and spread lightly with margarine.
• Spread mustard on bread.
• Sprinkle cheddar on both halves.
• Sprinkle chopped bacon.
• Sprinkle onion and chives.
• Place on a cookie sheet and broil until cheese is melted and bread looks toasted!