I really enjoyed Pastry Week on Bake Off this year, I finally think Bake Off is starting to go “back to basics”. More classical baking challenges where bakers can play around with flavours and designs without the challenges being completely random and nobody wanting to follow along at home. So because this Technical Challenge only required “normal” ingredients and I didn’t have to visit 10 different specialist shops to get things, this weekend I made Paul Hollywood’s Dauphinoise Potato and Caramelised Onion Pithivier!
This Technical Challenge was extremely satisfying to make and eat despite a small underlying feeling of guilt of eating carbs on carbs and pouring over more cream! However, I have never made Dauphinoise Potato before so that was a fun experience and I actually quite enjoy making rough puff pastry! I have a few suggestions for tweaking Paul’s recipe and some extra tips to help you along the way, so make sure you check those out below and in the recipe steps at the end!
Some Recipe Suggestions for Paul’s Dauphinoise Potato and Caramelised Onion Pithivier
Despite having quite a few stages to it, Paul’s Dauphinoise Potato and Caramelised Onion Pithivier is fairly straightforward to make. However, I do have a few tips and tricks and alterations to the recipe that I would like to share with you before you make it!
One important thing to note is that the potatoes do not cook much while the pithivier is baking in the oven, so you have to make sure the potatoes are fully cooked through whilst preparing the filling at the start.
In addition, when scoring the pastry before baking make sure not to cut too deeply and really just create thin lines on the surface. As you can see on the pictures, I unfortunately cut too deeply a few times meaning the pastry burst open too much impacting the final design of the pithivier once baked.
The only real change to the recipe ingredients I would make is when it comes to the sauce. As I do not like blue cheese, I decided to use extra mature cheddar instead. The sauce is made using the cream and whole milk leftover from cooking the potatoes, resulting in a very thick and extremely rich sauce. For a less intense version, you may want to try only using some of the reserved milk/cream mixture and thinning the sauce with a little semi-skimmed milk instead.
More Bake Off Technical Challenges
I am absolutely obsessed with the Great British Bake Off and have challenged myself to attempt all of (or at least the ones that are “realistic” – I won’t be making pitta breads on a camp fire in the back garden!) the technical challenges from the programme! I have tried quite a few already, so make sure you check out some of the other recipes and see how I got on!
- Mary Berry’s Religieuses
- Mary Berry’s Fraisier Cake
- Paul Hollywood’s Hand-raised Chicken, Bacon and Apricot Pies
- Mary Berry’s Bakewell Tart with feathered Icing
- Paul’s Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
- Mary Berry’s Frosted Walnut Layer Cake
- Paul Hollywood’s Cottage Loaf
- Mary Berry’s Homemade Jaffa Cakes
- Paul Hollywood’s Wagon Wheel Biscuits
- Mary Berry’s Victoria Sponge Cake
- Paul Hollywood’s Mini Pork Pies
- Mary Berry’s Viennese Whirls
- Prue’s Vegan Chocolate and Raspberry Tarts (S2UC Special)
- Pizza Star Bread (Junior Bake Off)
- Mary Berry’s Coffee and Walnut Battenberg Cake
- Paul’s Crusty White Cob
- Paul Hollywood’s Rainbow Bagels
- Prue Leith’s Malt Loaf
- Paul’s Jammy Biscuits
- Paul Hollywood’s Olive Ciabatta Bread Sticks with Homemade Tzatziki
- Prue Leith’s Sticky Toffee Puddings with Sesame Tuiles
- Prue Leith’s Prinzregententorte
- Paul Hollywood’s Baklava (22cm)
- Paul’s Caramel Biscuit Bars (Twix)
- Prue Leith’s Vegan Sausage Rolls
- Prue’s Sablé Breton Cake
- Paul Hollywood’s Sticky Belgian Buns
- Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
- Prue’s Garibaldi Biscuits with Feathered Chocolate Icing
- Paul Hollywood’s Pain au Raisins
- Paul’s Spicy Beef Tacos
- Paul Hollywood’s S’mores
- Prue Leith’s Pistachio Praline Ice Cream Cones
- Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Prue’s Vertical Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Raspberry Tarts
- Paul Hollywood’s Devonshire Splits
Paul Hollywood’s Dauphinoise Potato and Caramelised Onion Pithivier
Recipe
Ingredients
DAUPHINOISE POTATO AND CARAMELISED ONION FILLING
- 750g potatoes (the original recipe calls for Charlotte potatoes, I used Baby New Potatoes)
- 300ml double cream
- 300ml whole milk
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- large knob of unsalted butter
- 2 large white onions, finely sliced
- Nutmeg, freshly grated or ground from a jar
- crushed sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE ROUGH PUFF PASTRY
- 400g plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 65g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- 120-150ml ice-cold water
- 160g frozen unsalted butter, grated
- 1 egg, beaten to glaze
FOR THE CHEESE SAUCE
- 10g unsalted butter
- 10g plain flour
- Some semi-skimmed fresh milk (optional, see recipe suggestions above)
- 75g extra mature cheddar cheese (or Roquefort cheese as in the original recipe)
- Dried or fresh chopped tarragon, to taste
Method
- Start by grating 160g of butter and place it in the freezer until you need it to make the pastry.
- Next, make the potato filling. Slice the potatoes very thinly either using a sharp knife or using the grater accessory of a food processor. In the meantime, carefully heat the cream, milk and garlic in a large pan. Add the potatoes, season with some salt and pepper, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are cooked through but not completely soft. Drain the potatoes through a sieve set over a large measuring jug to catch the milk/cream mixture. Put the potatoes on a large plate to cool and put some clingfilm right on top of the milk/cream mixture to prevent a skin from forming.
- For the caramelised onions, heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan until melted. Add the onions and cook over a low heat until soft, translucent, and lightly caramelised. Set aside to cool for later.
- To make the rough puff pastry, mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Rub in the 65g chilled butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. The gradually add enough of the ice-cold water to form a ball of dough (you might not need all of the water).
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 45x15cm rectangle. Remove the frozen grated butter from the freezer and scatter half of it over the bottom two-thirds of the dough. Fold down the top third and fold up the bottom third and press down gently at the edges to seal the butter in.
- Turn the folded dough 90 degrees and roll it out again into a 45 x 15cm rectangle. Repeat step 5, adding the remaining frozen butter and fold as before. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave it to chill in the freezer for 15 minutes, or fridge for 30 minutes.
- After the first chill, repeat the rolling and folding process from steps 5 and 6 one more time, this time without the butter. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave it to chill in the freezer for 15 minutes, or fridge for 30 minutes.
- Next, you can start assembling the pithivier. Remove the dough from the fridge or freezer and use a sharp knife to cut it into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the smaller piece of dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into a 26cm-diameter disc (use a large dinner plate for guidance, simply laying it on the pastry and cutting around the edge of the plate). Carefully place the disc onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Roll out the other piece of dough and cut out a slightly larger disc, about 28cm in diameter. Set aside until needed.
- Layer the cooled potatoes and onions on top of the smaller pastry disc leaving about 1.5cm between the filling and the edge of the pastry. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg between the layers. Aim to create a dome shape until you have used up all of the potatoes and onions (see pictures above).
- Brush a little bit of beaten egg around the edge of the pastry, then take the larger pastry disc and carefully place it on top of the filling. Press the pastry down gently making sure it is smooth over the top of the filling and using your fingers to press it down to stick to the edges of the smaller pastry disc below. Use an index finger to push down on the edge of the pastry and the finger and thumb of your other hand to pinch the pastry either side to crimp the edges.
- Holding a small knife blade at right angles to the side of the pastry, ‘knock up’ the edges by making small indentations around the base. Brush the top of the pastry with more beaten egg to glaze, then chill the pithivier in the freezer for 15 minutes, or fridge for 30 minutes.
- Brush the top again with the beaten egg and make a small hole in the centre on top of the pithivier. Using the tip of a knife, very gently score curved lines into the pastry, running downwards from the hole in the middle to the base. Make sure not to cut too deeply or the pastry will split too much in the oven. Brush the top with more beaten egg, then chill for a final 15 minutes in the freezer, or 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Bake the pithivier for 35-40 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
- While the pithivier is baking you can make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan pan over a medium heat, then add the flour and stir to make a paste (known as a roux). Stir the roux for 2-3 minutes to cook out the flour, then add a little of the reserved milky liquid from Step 2 at a time, stirring continuously until smooth. To make the sauce thinner and less rich, don’t use all of the reserved milk/cream liquid and substitute with some semi-skimmed milk instead. Add the grated cheddar (or Roquefort if using) and stir until melted. Season to taste with tarragon and black pepper (it shouldn’t need salt).
- Remove the baked pithivier from the oven and serve it with the cheese sauce. To lighten up the meal it is great served with a lightly dressed salad or some green vegetables such as broccoli or peas.
