Episode 11 – Apple Turnovers

Episode 11
August 8, 2010
Apple Turnovers

There really isn’t anything quite like making apple turnovers from scratch.  Working with dough, really any kind of dough, is very relaxing.  Maybe it’s the kneading that goes into it or maybe the soft feeling of the dough or maybe just the fact that you can see yourself creating something out of nothing that’s so soothing.  Although like most of the videos this wasn’t without hiccups.

When you are making the well in the mound of flour make sure you make it plenty wide.  I cleverly edited it out but eventually my mound sprung a leak and some of the water got onto the flour.  Just try to stay calm and use your bench scraper to keep pushing the water and flour together.  Eventually the water will be absorbed by the dough.  Of course, this probably could be completely prevented with you making it in a bowl like pancake batter – but where’s the excitement in that?

I realized after I made the turnovers that I didn’t cut the apple pieces small enough.  You really need small small pieces so that you can really pack the turnovers with lots of filling.  I ended up using only about 2/3 of my filling so either I had really big apples or I made too much filling.  Use about 2 granny smith apples, and keep a third on the side in case you need it.

I really love making rustic pastries like these because the beauty in these is their jagged and unique appearance.  Unlike cakes, a not-so-uniform appearance is what gives these pastries character.  The imperfections make it appealing!  I’m not that much of a perfectionist so pastries like these are always right up my alley – so if you’re not much of a cake person try making these and I bet you’ll like it.

Of course, you don’t have to make the dough since it’s such a long process.  You can typically find it in the stores in the freezer section (just thaw for about 40 minutes).  You can also use this dough to create different kinds of puffs too.  The dough isn’t sweetened with sugar so you can also make savory puffs as well.  Try using a cherry filling for a cherry turnover; Try using ground turkey with chili powder, pickled cherry peppers, and raisins for an empanada (also really good with pie crust!); Or, one of my personal favorites, try using cream cheese, baby spinach, and lemon zest for a spinach puff!  Truly the possibilities are endless!

I mentioned in the video different desserts like tarte tatin, which is apples baked in a cast iron skillet topped with a piece of puff pastry, and pitivier, which is a strangely shaped puff pastry with almond filling in a mound in the middle.  These desserts aren’t typically common in the United States but they could inspire you to think of different ways to use your puff pastry.  Below are pictures of different pastries made with puff pastry, including the sacristans I made from the scrap strips from today’s episode.

I also mentioned freezing excess turn overs on a sheet pan until completely frozen and then placing them into a plastic container for freezer storage.  I’m baking off some this morning and I have to say it’s working out really well!  Just bake them from frozen – they might need some extra time of course – but now you can have freshly baked apple turnovers whenever you want for much less than buying them at a bakery!

Here is the recipe for the apple turnovers as well as a brief explanation on how to make sacristans.  Enjoy the videos below! Oh – and YouTube just increased the max length to 15 minutes so expect to see longer videos which means fewer “parts”!