Braided Franks

See how flaky and wonderful they are ?


There is a pastry shop in the town I used to live in that has these awesome pastries (Patiseria Select - Piata Unirii) that are just to die for.
Being a little hard for me to just go there and buy a few, then come back here, I said to myself that I really must try a personal replica of these, in my very own kitchen.
Sure enough, the result met my high expectations and really it wasn't even hard to do !
I thought that boiling the hot dog links for 2 minutes would puff them up a bit so they would not dry while baking, but then I changed my mind right before I began working on them.


They seemed juicy in the package and I thought to myself I can take my chances with this - at least this time.

Ingredients:
4 franks (hot dog links)
1 puff pastry sheet


Directions:
Thaw the puff pastry sheet at room temperature for 25 to 40 minutes, depending on how warm and cozy your house / kitchen is.
When ready, lightly flour your work surface, spread the dough, cut in 4 and start working with one frank at a time.


Cut small margin pieces of dough on each side, then place the frank in the middle and start making the braid.

I thought the dough braid should be moistened with a little water before placing the dough pieces on top of the other, but as I was doing it I realized that there is no need (look at the pictures here of before and after)....



as the dough is soft enough to bind well and also, the braid is strong so even when puffed up, there is no way this braid would open.
I was right !








When done, place all the braided franks on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Make sure you tuck the ends well in.



Bake them at 400 for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden and delicious !