What is one to do when you have a freezer full of sausage that was on sale in bulk and you need to make room for more food to freeze? You turn to Paul Hollywood's "How to Bake" and you make the Sausage Rolls for your hubby (as a non-meat eater), but save some pastry for you.
My personal challenge: baking my way through "How to Bake". This post is my experience baking and learning new skills from tackling each recipe in Paul Hollywood's, "How to Bake". I will also document any recipe changes that I made - mainly as a result of not having the ingredients on hand (i.e., we never have regular sugar in the house) - and how the recipe fared. I will not be providing the recipes that are in his book.
For the third recipe that I made, I decided to surprise my husband with "How to Bake" Sausage Rolls. I was really excited to try out a puff pastry recipe, and with all the sausage that was stored in our fridge, I stumbled across the perfect recipe.
Side note: I know I am not alone in this: hunger and grocery shopping do not mix well. I end up buying things because I am hungry. While at the store, my stomach takes control of my actions, my eyes get too big, and they are often bigger than my stomach, my wallet, and my well-intentioned grocery list. But, I have to say, this rule is even greater for a man in the grocery store. My husband came home with easily more food than could fit in our fridge and freezer, combined.
Thus, enters my need to use sausage for this third recipe (we had four packages - thanks to the current sales at the time) from "How to Bake".
Just like the Danish pastry dough, the puff pastry also required a book turn - here was my second chance at nailing the book fold and turn! I hope this second attempt would make Paul Hollywood proud, but at the end of the day, it was husband approved. My husband was actually shocked by how many layers existed in the pastry, and he enjoyed every bite. I think the added cheese and spices that I, again, changed from the original recipe, was the selling point.
Here are some of the lessons that I learned:
Don't Judge the Book by its Cover. Okay, so my final end product did not look like the photo. My scoring was not nearly deep enough, and the pastry did not brown as much as the "How to Bake" photo. Despite the lack of golden brown color and perfect spiral-like design in the pastry, the final product smelled divine, and as I mentioned before, was husband approved. So, if you ever bake, cook, or design something that is not quite Pinterest-worthy, my only advice is this: do not fret. If it tastes just as good as you hoped, or still functions, or brings you joy, you did it exactly right! Own it.
Enjoy Your Work. While I am a vegan and try to toe the gluten-free line as much as possible, I still enjoyed my efforts in the kitchen. I took pride in each book turn, took photos along the way, and played around with flavors. Whatever recipe that you attempt, and whether you taste-test along the way, indulge in the final result, or gift to someone, enjoy your efforts. I think baking can be an incredible release - it is relaxing, an escape, and can bring cheer to everyone, including yourself. I hope that in your next kitchen adventure, you take the time to realize how incredible you are, and the skill, focus, and care that goes in to baking. Enjoy it.
Just Breathe. Often times I move and function in the kitchen as if it is a dance. It is smooth. It is easy. It is an escape. I love finding this groove and getting lost in the recipe. For this particular recipe, I found that space. But, I was quickly bothered when my scoring knife barely broke a layer of the dough, and when I thought too much butter was escaping the dough while it was baking. I figured the puff pastry would either be left soggy, or dry in parts, or both. Luckily, the scoring did not affect the taste of the baked sausage rolls, and while the cubed butter was too large in my initial dough making attempt, the extra steam in the oven did not ruin the layers, or overall texture of the puff pastry. What I learned: All will be fine. Just breathe.
Trust Your Gut on Flavors. I decided to add chopped garlic and sage to the sausage. When I worked at Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery, one of my husband's favorite recipes that we made in the kitchen was the sage stuffing for Thanksgiving. That recipe was my inspiration for these spices and flavors for the Sausage Rolls. Whatever you add or change, trust your gut and go with flavors that you enjoy.
On that note, I hope that you find a recipe book you enjoy, or this one, that I am currently baking my way through. Either way, enjoy baking and nourishing yourself and your family.
All my light and all my love. Namaste.