Pompes Sucrees Recipes

EASY FRENCH CRêPES

Steps:

• Melt the Butter and set aside to cool down.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the Plain Flour, Caster Sugar and Salt. Create a well in the middle of the bowl.
• Mix the melted Butter and Milk (see note 1), then pour about 2/3 of the batter into the well. Mix well with a whisk until you get a thick batter.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the Eggs (see note 2), then add it to the Batter. Whisk until combined and smooth - you should not have big lumps anymore.
• Add the rest of the Butter/Milk Liquid and whisk well until all combined. You should have a rather liquid batter (see note 3). Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to rest for at least an hour, or up to 24 hours (see note 4).
• Heat up a Non-Stick Skillet or Crepe Pan on medium/high heat and grease it with a little bit of butter.
• Pour some batter over the Pan: - if using a regular pan, hold the pan on an angle while pouring the batter and continuously turn the pan around in a rotating movement to spread the batter- if using a crepe pan, use the crepe spreader to spread the batter, doing one circular movement from the centre of the pan
• Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the edges of the crepe start to lift up. Use a wooden spatula to go under the crepe and flip it over. Cook the other side for about 1 minute.
• Place the cooked crepe on a plate and repeat until you have cooked all the batter. Adjust the temperature of the stove if needed, and re-grease the pan between each crepe if they seem to stick to it.

CREPES

Steps:

• In a blender combine eggs, milk, flour, salt and oil. Process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and brush with oil. Pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into pan, tilting to completely coat the surface of the pan. Cook 2 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

POMPES SUCREES

Steps:

• Mix the yeast with the 1/2 cup warm water and set aside.
• Sift the flour, powdered sugar, and salt into a large bowl (preferably wood). Make an indentation in the center and add the yeast mixture, melted butter, orange flower water, orange and lemon zests, and aniseeds.
• Slowly stir in 1 cup of water with a wooden spoon and knead until the dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes, adding more water if necessary. The dough should be quite soft. Form the dough into a ball and put back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a cloth, and let the dough rise in a warm place for one hour.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F. Place parchment paper on two baking sheets. When the dough has risen, divide it in half. (If the dough is very sticky, flour your hands.) Then divide each half into 5 equal parts, forming each piece into a ball. You will have 10 balls. Flatten the balls with your hands and place 5 on a baking sheet. With a rolling pin, roll each flattened ball into a circle about 1/2 inch thick. Rearrange the loaves if necessary so they are at least 1 inch apart.
• Using a pastry wheel or sharp knife, make a 2 inch cut down the center of each piece of dough. Starting about an inch to one side of this cut, make three diagonal cuts slanting downward. Make symmetrical cuts on other side of the line. Do not cut through the edge of the circle. Repeat this process with the other 9 pieces of dough. Gently spread the cuts apart with your fingers to form irregular oval openings about 1 inch wide. They will close up a bit during cooking.
• Using a pastry brush or your fingers, smear some of the egg yolk on top of each loaf, then sprinkle granulated sugar over the top. Put one batch in the refrigerator while you bake the other. Bake one batch at a time on the middle rack of the preheated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until golden. Five minutes before the first batch is done, remove the other from the refrigerator and let rest before baking.
• Cool the loaves on a wire rack. The loaves may be eaten warm or at room temperature. To store, wrap the cooled loaves in aluminum foil. They will keep for up to 48 hours at room temperature. They may also be frozen in a plastic bag for up to one week.

CREPES FINES SUCREES

Steps:

• Place the ingredients in the blender jar in the order in which they are listed. Cover and blend at top speed for 1 minute. If bits of flour adhere to sides of jar, dislodge with a rubber scraper and blend 3 seconds more. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hour or overnight.
• Brush the skillet lightly with oil. Set over moderately high heat until the pan is just beginning to smoke.
• Immediately remove from heat and, holding handle of pan in your right hand, pour with your left hand a scant 1/4 cup of batter into the middle of the pan. Quickly tilt the pan in all directions to run the batter all over the bottom of the pan in a thin film. (Pour any batter that does not adhere back into your bowl; judge the amount of your next crêpe accordingly.) This whole operation takes but 2 or 3 seconds.
• Return the pan to heat for 60 to 80 seconds. Then jerk and toss the pan sharply back and forth and up and down to loosen the crêpe. Lift its edges with a spatula and if the under side is a nice light brown, the crêpe is ready for turning.
• Turn the crêpe by using 2 spatulas; or grasp the edges nearest you in your fingers and sweep it up toward you and over again into the pan in a reverse circle; or toss it over by a flip of the pan.
• Brown lightly for about 1/2 minute on the other side. This second side is rarely more than a spotty brown, and is always kept as the underneath or nonpublic aspect of the crêpe. As they are done, slide the crêpes onto a rack and let cool several minutes before stacking on a plate. Grease the skillet again, heat to just smoking, and proceed with the rest of the crêpes. Crêpea may be kept warm by covering them with a dish and setting them over simmering water or in a slow oven. Or they may be made several hours in advance and reheated when needed. Crêpea freeze perfectly.)
• As soon as you are used to the procedure, you can keep 2 pans going at once, and make 24 crêpea in less than half an hour.

POMPE à L'HUILE (OLIVE OIL BRIOCHE)

Steps:

• Check out the photo gallery below the recipe to see how the dough looks at each step.
• For the sourdough version
• The night before you plan to bake, mix a 56% hydration sourdough starter weighing 250g. Knead it on the counter for 1-2 minutes, and then place it in a jar with room for tripling. Cover and leave it somewhere warm. This stiff starter can be created from a single feed of 40g 100% hydration starter, 140g bread flour, and 70g water.
• Optional for the yeast version
• Just before mixing your dough, put a portion of the recipe's water in a small bowl with the yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let the yeast dissolve and foam up.
• Both Recipes
• Mixing
• In a medium bowl (ideally with a pouring spout), measure out the water, sugar, orange blossom water, salt, and ground anise.
• While the sugar and salt begin dissolving, zest and juice the orange, straining out seeds and pulp.
• Stir a bit and then add the oil.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, briefly whisk your flour and instant yeast - OR - add the stiff starter in chunks to your flour. If you chose to proof your yeast, you can simply pour the mixture over the flour.
• Add the orange mixture to your stand mixer bowl and begin mixing using the dough hook attachment.
• Mix 5-8 minutes, initially on low speed and then low-med. Pause once early on to scrape down the sides of the bowl. The dough should be smooth and only slightly sticky to the touch toward the end of mixing.
• If you don't have a stand mixer, mix by hand or with a spatula, and then slap and fold the dough for gluten development. Videos of this technique can be found here.
• First Rise
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place (ideally at temps in the low 80s) until about doubled. This was 3 1/2 hours with instant yeast, and 8 hours with sourdough.
• Shaping
• Scrape the dough onto your countertop. There's no need to flour or oil it. Divide the dough in two pieces and roll them into balls.
• Cover the dough balls with a large piece of plastic wrap (you'll reuse this) and let them rest for about 20 minutes.
• Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. You can also prepare two parchment squares and bake the breads one at a time on a smaller baking sheet.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the dough balls into circles about 8 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.
• Transfer the circles to the parchment paper, and make cuts in the dough as if it were pie but without reaching the center or the edges. Open the cuts a bit with your tool (spatula) or your fingers.
• Final Proof
• Cover the dough with your sheet of plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until puffy, almost twice as tall. This was 1 1/2 hours for instant yeast, and 4 hours for sourdough.
• Baking
• Preheat your oven to 400°F with a shelf in the center position.
• Bake the pompe à l'huile for 16-18 minutes or until the internal temp is over 200°F. If your fermentation times were long, the color of the breads may be lighter despite the interior being cooked through.
• Lightly brush the breads with olive oil to help them stay soft longer.
• Let the pompe à l'huile cool on a rack for about 20 minutes, then sprinkle powdered sugar on them if desired.
• The breads can be wrapped for storage, and softened through reheating in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.