Full question
I used Nigella's Processor Danish Pastry recipe to make her Almond Danish. The pinched pastry dough corners burst open after baking and were unsightly. I made sure the corners were tightly pinched together before baking so I wasn't sure what else to do to ensure the dough corners stayed closed after baking. Thank you.
Our answer
Nigella's Processor Danish Pastry dough (from HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS) is an easy dough that is mixed in a food processor and left to rise in the fridge. The dough can then be used to make the Almond Danish or Cheese Danish pastries. For both pastries the shaped and filled dough is left to prove before it is baked.
If the corners of the pastry are springing open on baking then there are a couple of possible reasons. The first is that the oven is too hot, which causes the dough to expand quickly and the pastry to split open. The oven temperature in the recipe is 180c/350F but note that this is for a regular oven and fan and convection ovens need to be adjusted following the instructions in your oven handbook. The second potential reason is that the dough may have proved for too long. If it is proved for too long then the gas bubbles in the dough may have become too large and expand quickly in the oven, causing the pastry corners to split open. The pastry should have roughtly doubled in size and the dough should feel like a marshamallow - soft but with a little resistance when you press it. If it feels very soft and pillowy then it has proved for too long. Proving times depend on the warmth of the dough at the beginning of the proving time and how warm the enviroment around the dough is, and you may need to check the pastries regularly after the first 45 minutes of proving. Brushing a little egg wash onto the inside of the corners before you pinch them together may also help the corners to remain stuck together during baking.
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