Pantera: Vulgar Display of Flour

I usually post weekly, but I'm a bit late with this dedication to Pantera – let's just say that I  had a few too many Black Tooth Grins on Saturday in honour of the late great Dimebag Darrell.

Vulgar Display of Power was a staple in my collection as a teenager, and with the anniversary of Darrell 'Dimebag' Abbott's death being this week, I decided it was high time that I revisited it. Just as I remembered, it's a fantastically consistent album – one of the best examples of a solid heavy metal record in the last 25 years, elevated to modern classic by Dime's groove-driven guitar style and his brother Vinnie's bone-crunching rhythms on drums.

So why did I choose to make bear claw doughnuts? First off, it's the only baked good that resembles a fist. But secondly, it's a Grade-A treat that hasn't really made it past the USA's shores and into the bakeries of Northern Europe. A sweet yeast dough traditionally filled with almonds, raisins and even apple pie filling, it's then shaped into a 'claw' and covered in sugar or drizzled with icing. This doughnut is so key to the cannon of great American bakes that there's even a diagram in The Joy of Cooking. Sure, there are many pastries that pretty much equate to the same thing, just as there are many great American heavy metal records – but like Vulgar Display of Power, there's just a distinctive edge that makes bear claws that much better than others of the same ilk.

So here's to the 'Cowboys From Hell' for making it out of Texas to gain universal recognition. I can only hope the bear claw becomes the Vulgar Display of Power of the doughnut world some time soon.
        

A lesson learned in life...

Known from the dawn of time...

Respect, walk!

Vulgar Display of Flour Bear Claws

(Adapted from The Joy of Cooking with a few of my own tweaks; makes six claws)

• dried active yeast  7g sachet
• plain flour  330g
• caster sugar  45g
• whole milk  30g
• eggs  2
• vanilla extract  1 tsp
• salt  1 tsp
• butter  6 tbsp, softened
• melted butter  6 tbsp, plus extra for glazing
• ground almonds  50g, or a few tbsp almond paste
• pecans  65g, chopped, plus a few whole to decorate
• cinnamon-infused sugar 3 tbsp, plus extra to decorate

1. Mix the yeast with 4 tbsp lukewarm water, then let stand for 5 minutes. Mix 65g of the flour with the sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla and salt in a large bowl, then add the yeast mixture. Add the rest of the flour, mix to a dough, then knead for 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes on a dough hook, until it is smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to your hands. 
2. Add the softened butter, then knead into the dough until completely incorporated. Put in a clean, oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour and a half, or until doubled in size. 
3. Once doubled, punch the dough down a bit, knead briefly then cover again and chill for 4-12 hours (I made the dough in the evening, then chilled overnight, ready for breakfast in the morning). 
4. Cut the dough into three pieces, then roll each into a large rectangle. Brush each with the melted butter, then add the ground almonds, pecans and cinnamon sugar. Fold lengthways into thirds, pinching the edges together to hold the filling. Cut into six rectangles, then put seam-side down on a baking sheet. Make three slashes in each doughnut to resemble claws. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes, then push a whole pecan into each 'finger', brush with more melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake for 25 minutes, until golden.