Almond Puff Loaf

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 16
• 1/2 cup butter (4 ounces, 1 stick)
• 1 cup flour (4 1/2 ounces)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup water (8 ounces)
• 1/2 cup butter (4 ounces, 1 stick)
• 1 cup flour (4 1/2 ounces)
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature, warm them, in the shell, in hot tap water for 10 minutes if they're cold from t
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2/3 cup jam (7 ounces) or 2/3 cup preserves (7 ounces)
• 1/2-2/3 cup sliced almonds (2 to 2 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (2 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 teaspoons milk (approximately) or 4 teaspoons water (approximately)

Recipe

• 1 first layer: in a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the butter, flour, and salt (if you're using it), working the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or fork, your fingers, or a mixer.
• 2 mix until everything is crumbly, then stir in the water. the dough will become cohesive, though not smooth.
• 3 divide the dough in half; if you're using a scale, each half will weigh about 4 5/8 ounces.
• 4 wet your hands, and shape each piece of this wet dough into a rough log.
• 5 grease a baking sheet or sheets that'll allow you to stretch and pat the logs into 11 x 3-inch rectangles on the sheet, leaving at least 4 inches (but preferably 6 inches) between them, and 2 inches on each side. these puff up in the oven (hence the name), and you need to leave them room for expansion.
• 6 second layer: in a medium-sized saucepan, bring the water and butter to a boil.
• 7 stir until the butter melts, then add the flour (and salt, if you're using it) all at once.
• 8 stir the mixture with a spoon till it thickens, begins to steam, and leaves the sides of the pan; this will happen very quickly.
• 9 transfer the dough to a mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer. beat it at medium speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just to cool it down a bit.
• 10 add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat until the dough loses its "slimy" look, and each egg is totally absorbed.
• 11 mix in the almond extract.
• 12 divide the batter in half.
• 13 spread half the batter over one of the dough strips on the pan, covering it completely.
• 14 repeat with the remaining batter and dough.
• 15 with a spatula (or your wet fingers) spread the batter until it completely covers the entire bottom layer of dough. smooth it out as best you can.
• 16 bake the pastry in a preheated 350°f oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until it's a deep golden brown.
• 17 remove it from the oven, and transfer each pastry to a wire rack (a giant spatula works well here).
• 18 topping: spread each warm pastry with about 1/3 cup of jam or preserves. (any flavor is fine, but our favorites are raspberry and apricot.)
• 19 sprinkle the toasted almonds atop the jam. by this time, your beautifully puffed pastries are probably starting to sink; don't worry, this is all part of the plan.
• 20 icing: stir together the sugar, vanilla, and enough milk or water to form a thick but "drizzlable" icing. drizzle the icing atop the pastries.
• 21 cut into squares or strips to serve.