I have yet to find a recipe for Canelés de Bordeaux that uses sourdough discard. This might be a first. Not quite sure. Since I started baking sourdough breads in May 2020, I have not baked anything---- from cakes to cookies to pastries and other breads, without using a levain or sourdough discard.
I first had a taste of these pastries when I went for dinner at a very fine French restaurant in California.
They were served as mignardises. Since then I have always wanted to learn how to make these French pastries.
Most recipes I found on the internet were, I thought, too time consuming, especially for a busy person like me. The traditional way is two to three days to prepare and bake these delicious goodies. They actually said waiting two to three days while having the batter sit in the fridge for all the flavors to meld is non-negotiable. Well, a sourdough discard Canelé de Bordeaux is not traditional, and all I needed was less than two hours to come up with these delicious canelés. Yes, with crispy and chewy crust, and soft and creamy custard in the inside. They taste heavenly!
Like with anything you cook or bake, using the best ingredients I think is what is essential and non-negotiable. Then adding a twist here and there based on taste preference. Some recipes add orange zest. I used key lime zest which goes well with any custard recipe. What is important when making these pastries is the use of butter and food-grade beeswax to coat the canelé molds to achieve that distinct canelé crust--- a nice sheen with an almost burnt color. The recipe below uses lesser beeswax and more butter to coat the canelé molds.
I could not wait for my canelé copper molds to arrive to test my recipe, but used my other canelé mold which arrived sooner. It yielded the result I wanted for my canelés. Now I wonder how much more beautiful could these canelés get--- because they look like they were baked in copper molds--- a copper mold that cost at least $30 each. Based on what I read online, using silicone molds for canelés will not yield the same crust because heat is not distributed equally. They say.
I am still waiting for my copper molds, and I will update you then. But for now, here is the recipe for you to try.
INGREDIENTS:
135 grams sourdough discard
75 grams all-purpose flour, sift through a sieve
225 grams granulated sugar
75 grams egg yolks (approximately 4 egg yolks)
40 grams dark rum
1 pod vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise, scrape seeds from inside
Zest of one key lime, wrap in cheesecloth
Pinch (or two) of salt
330 grams whole milk
28 grams unsalted butter
28 grams unsalted butter
8 grams food-grade beeswax
INSTRUCTIONS:
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
To make initial batter---
In a bowl, combine sourdough discard, flour, sugar, egg yolks, rum, vanilla seeds and salt.
Mix until ingredients are well incorporated. Set aside.
Below is how your initial batter should look like:
Place 28 grams of butter and pour milk in a small saucepan. On medium heat, let it come to a simmer. Do not mix.
At this point, you can dip the key lime zest wrapped in cheesecloth in the milk, then extract the juice from the zest by squeezing the wet cheesecloth. Do this a few times.
Once the milk starts to simmer, remove saucepan from the heat.
Add this mixture and whisk, slowly, at least in three batches, to the initial batter. DO NOT add simmered milk and butter mixture all at once--- as you might cook the egg yolks in the initial batter.
Whisk until mixture is well blended and smooth. At this point you will have a very thin batter. Set aside.
In a small saucepan on low to medium heat, melt butter and beeswax. Stir to combine.
Turn off heat. Use this mixture to coat your canelé molds using a pastry brush. Designate this brush solely for use for this specific coating from hereon, as it will be coated with wax.
Whisk batter to mix then pour into canelé molds. Do not fill to the brim.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit then bake the canelés for another 50 minutes, or until dark brown in color--- almost burnt looking.
Take canelés out of the oven. Invert molds onto a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature to achieve the crispy crust.
The canelé has a crust that is crispy, there is a crunch when you bite into it, and then the crust gets chewy in your mouth.