It is said that good things come to those who wait, and it’s certainly true where these little beauties are concerned!
Arlettes was the bake I opted to challenge myself with for GBBO’s biscuit week (S6, W2).
It was either that or the signature dish of biscotti; I must admit it was a close run thing but given that Paul’s Technical Challenge of Arlettes contained cinnamon, the decision was made and these beautiful butter rich biscuits were attempted!
Arlettes was the technical challenge set by the Bake Off’s very own Silver Fox, Paul Hollywood. I’d never heard of Arlettes until the GBBO episode, so having done a little reading about them I found out that they are a French biscuit originating from the South of France at the start of the 1900s.
They are made from puff pastry, but reversed in that the butter encases the dough. It is rolled out and folded several times to build up the lamination layers of butter and dough.
I must admit they do take a wee while to make, due to the amount of chilling time required, but the actual hands on time is relatively minimal.
They are a little challenging to make; but where would the fun be if the contestants were given something easy to make! Though it you fancy making these; don’t let that put you off, simply take your time and give it a go, and aim to keep the butter nice and cool through out most of the recipe.
These biscuits are simply scrummy; they are crisp, light, buttery, and slightly caramelised with a little hint of cinnamon. I can imagine they’d be great made with other spices too, such as cardamom.
They were so good with my pot of tea, and they would be fabulous served with some ice cream. I must admit they are a little on the large size, the largest measured 27cm long! You’d need a big biscuit barrel to house that and probably more than one cup of your favourite beverage to accompany that ‘little’ dude!
This batch is meant to make 12 but I only managed to make 9 of these beauties because I didn’t slice them narrow enough once the pastry had been rolled up (hence their large size). With that in mind, I’ve slightly altered the dimension guide for rolling the pastry before shaping into a sausage, thus making it easier to slice into 12 discs.
So let’s get to it and bake.
ARLETTES
Ingredients
For the dough
- 60 g (2¼oz) strong white bread flour plus extra for rolling
- 60 g (2¼oz) plain flour (all purpose)
- 40 g (1½oz) butter melted
- 50 ml cold water
For the butter layer
- 125 g (4oz) butter softened
- 25 g (1oz) strong white bread flour
- 25 g (1oz) plain flour (all-purpose)
For the filling
- 50 g (2oz) golden granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
forrolling and shaping
- icing sugar (confectioners sugar) to dust
Special Equipment
- cling film
- Baking parchemnet
- Rolling Pin
Instructions
To make the dough
- Place 60g (2¼oz) each bread and plain flours into a bowl mix to combine then make a well in the centre. Pour in 40g (1½oz) melted butter and 50ml (2floz) water. Using your hand combine the liquid and flour together to make a dough.
- Place the dough onto a well floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes until it is soft and smooth. Shape the dough into a 10cm (4in)square. Wrap in cling film and chill for about 40 – 45 minutes.
To prepare the butter layer
- Beat 125g (4oz) softened butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Add 25g (1oz) each bread and plain flour and mix well. Place the butter mixture onto a long sheet of greaseproof paper and place another sheet on top. Flatten the mixture a little with your hand then use a rolling pin to roll the mixture to a 30cm x 10cm. (12x4in) rectangle. Once rolled out chill for about 25 minutes.
To make the Arlettes
- Remove the butter mixture from the fridge and place it onto a well floured work surface, peeling off the parchment. Place the dough into the centre of the mixture and use the flaps of butter to fully encase the dough. Roll the mixture into a long oblong 35cm – 40cm (14-16in) long.
- Bring the top edge to the centre and then bring the bottom edge to the centre. Fold the pastry mixture in half along the join line. Wrap in cling film and place into the fridge for 25 minutes.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge and place unwrapped onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the pastry out againas before and repeat the fold procedure. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for a further 25 minutes.
- Mix 50g (2oz) sugar and 2tsp cinnamon together in a bowl. Remove the pastry from the fridge, unwrap it and roll the pastry out into a long oblong as before on a lightly floured work surface. Scatter with the cinnamon and sugar mixture over the pastry ensuring the you go right to the edges.
- Fold as before. Roll the pastry out again,to form a 25×15 cm (10x6in) rectangle. Roll up tightly from the short end like a Swiss rol.Wrap tightly in and chill for a further 25 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan)/400°F/gas mark 6. Remove the pastry from the fridge and unwrap. Trim the edges with a sharp knife to neaten. Slice into 12 slices.
- Dust the work surface liberally with icing sugar, roll out each slice until very thin, dusting. with more icing sugar if necessary. Place the biscuits ontop baking tarys lined with parchment.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, carefully turn the biscuits over and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Cool. Once the biscuits are baked through and crisp, slide them carefully onto a baking tray to cool. Repeat with the remain slices until all the biscuits are cooked.
Sarah James
Wow, they look delicious, & so thin too, I love the sound of a cinnamon arlette. Congrats on your star baker award 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Cheers Sarah, and yes they were really scrummy! Mr E took a few into the office with him and they were soon demolished! Thank you Sarah, and congrats to you on your award for your shaped bread 🙂
Thanks for popping over and commenting,
Angela x
Amanda
You did such a good job making them so thin- well done! x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Amanda
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Mother Mands
Whoo! Congratulations Star Baker! Told you you'd of won the technical challenge 😉
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
🙂 Thank you Mands x
Anonymous
These look better than the ones on the show! Look at those tight curls!
Saskia / girlinbrogues.com
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thank you Saskia, I think I must have had a spot of luck with these little dudes! 🙂
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Tracy
Congratulations – they really are spectacular – and your instructions are very clear. I made a biscuit box for this week's challenge as I was scared by arlettes, but now I have read your guide I will definitely give them a go!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thank you Tracy! You know, I was phased by the biscuit box!! Lol!! I'll pop over and have a look.
Do have a go at the arlettes, they do take a while but they're really tasty!
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Mandi Brooks
I'm comparing my attempt with yours and I think I now know where I went wrong. Yours are a lot, lot thinner than mine which might explain why they took longer to cook in the oven too.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
I've just popped over to your site to have a gander – I don't think your Arlettes are much thicker than mine. I must admit that I had to bake our Arlettes longer than what Paul's recipes stipulated – it was about 6 minutes on the first side and then about 5 on the second! I don't know about you, but I found the flipping over stage difficult part way through the bake – the Arlettes were wanting to crinkle as I tried to lift them with the fish slice so I ended up baking them a tad longer to crisp them up more before trying again.
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Jibber JabberUK
You've got more patience than me! They do look worth the effort involved though.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
To be honest, it wasn't too bad making them; although the total time to make them seems a lot, there is a LOT of chilling involved and so it allowed me to get other 'jobs' done in and amongst.
Ooh yes, they were soo worth it, very yummy and full of flavour.
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Cat Sherrin
These are perfect and you made them look easy 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you so much Cat! I think the key really is to take your time and keep chilling the pastry between each roll and fold. 🙂
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Domesticated Momster
These look so good I could eat the whole batch! YUM! Look perfect to go with afternoon tea. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe with #foodpornthursdays.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Ha-ha-ha 🙂 they were definitely moreish and very yummy. Mr E took quite a few into the office with him and they were soon demolished! They'd be great with afternoon tea.
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Hannah Spannah CB
Gosh, these look stunning, well done ou. I bet they tasted gorgeous #GBBO
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
🙂 thank you so much Hannah. They tasted divine, and I'd certainly make them again.
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Louise Fairweather
Oh well done these look fantastic
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you so much Louise 🙂
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Cathy Glynn
These look better than the ones on GBBO, the swirls are great x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw, thank you so much Cathy x
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Jasmin Charlotte
These look so impressive!! I dont think I'd be able to make something this technical but would definitely love to eat it! x
Jasmin Charlotte
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Ha-ha-ha 🙂 I'm sure you could make them Jasmin, just take your time and go one step at a time.
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Jenny
wow these look better than the ones in the technical challenge!!! so think with perfect swirls! well done x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thank you Jenny 🙂 Though I did have the luxury of not being under a time constraint and being able to read about them properly rather than just being given scant instructions. The cinnamon swirls really came out very well.
Thanks again Jenny 🙂
Angela x
Mother Mands
Spot on them, I reckon you'd of won the technical challenge with them 😉
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Your a doll 🙂 Thank you so much Mands! But don't forget I had the luxury of not baking against the clock or the stress of cameras watching me!
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Lucy Allen
Loving the swirls! They look so good, I would love to try one. A 27 cm arlette sounds like a very tasty treat!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Lucy, I'd send you one via carrier pigeon but I'm afraid they've already been consumed! The 27cm dude couldn't really be described as petite; and the other weren't far off that size either to be honest.
You'll have to give them a go, they're not that difficult really. I think the hardest part was flipping them over at the right time – too soon and they crinkled and too late they'd be too crispy.
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
helen
these look absolutely perfect. I bet they were lovely with a cuppa.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thank you Helen 🙂 I don't know about perfect, but we certainly really enjoyed them, and yes they went down great with a cuppa.
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x