Buttery, flaky and delicious, these croissants are so worth the time and effort!
When I began this project of baking and blogging, I made a list of foods I wanted to try to make. Lately I've feel like I've spent a little time away from learning new skills in the kitchen due to being sick and just the busyness of life. But a couple of weeks ago I was feeling the bug to spend some real time in the kitchen, so I decided to look at my list again. I saw croissants and decided dig into trying to make them. Earlier this year I tried making regular puff pasty. I made these. They were SO yummy. So I had hopes with this recipe too. Fortunately my hopes were met!
It turns out croissants aren't really that hard to make. They are just a bit time consuming and you just need to make sure that you are paying attention. But its worth it! They turned out flaky, buttery and delicious. They are so delicious! Normally I don't particularly love croissants, but I definitely liked these. Especially warmed. And the nice thing about this recipe is that you can put the dough in the freezer for whenever you want to make them. So I made a batch then, and then another batch yesterday. I definitely think I will be making these again in the near future.
*Slightly adapted from the King Arthur Bakers Companion cookbook
2 large eggs + enough warm water to make 2 cups
1/4 cup sugar, divided
5 1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 scant tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Butter
1 3/4 cups cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
In a large mixing bowl, combine egg mixture, 1 tablespoon sugar, 3 cups flour, and yeast. Set mixture aside while preparing the butter mixture.
Cut the butter into 1 inch chunks and place in a bowl of a stand mixture. Mix on low for a minute or two. Scrape down the edges of the bowl and add flour. Mix again on low until the butter is completely smooth.
On a piece of plastic wrap, place the butter in a ball. Shape into an 8 inch square. Wrap the butter block in plastic wrap and refrigerate while finishing the dough, at least 30 minutes.
Add the melted butter and the vanilla to the sponge. In another bowl, mix remaining sugar, 2 1/2 cups of the flour, dry milk and salt. Stir this mixture into the sponge. Knead dough for about 5 minutes. If the dough is still sticky, add a tablespoon or two of flour in at a time until the dough is at desired consistency. The dough should spring back immediately when lightly pressed and shouldn't tear when pulled. If the dough is not at that stage, continue kneading. Pat dough into a 9 inch square and loosely wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove dough from fridge and place on a lightly floured surface. Place butter/flour mixture in the middle of the dough so that it forms a diamond in the middle of the square. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter. Pinch together the seams of the dough.
Turn over dough and roll into a rectangle, about 20 by 10 inches. Fold over 1/3 of the dough into the middle. Repeat on the other side. It should be like folding a letter to go into an envelope. Try to make it so that the corners line up as closely as possible.
Turn the dough a quarter turn, and repeat the process. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes. Repeat the process again, so that you have folded it at least 4 times total. Refrigerate at least 1 more hour. You can see pictures of this process here.
When you are ready to make the croissants, remove dough from the fridge and cut dough in half. Refrigerate or freeze half of the dough, until ready to use. With the remaining dough, roll out into a 13 x 18 inch rectangle. With a pizza cutter, trim the edges about 1/4 inch. Doing this removes the edges that prevent the dough from rising.
Cut the dough into thirds lengthwise and then in half crosswise. You should have 6 rectangles that are 4 x 6 inches. Cut each of these rectangles in half diagonally. With each of these triangles, stretch them slightly. In the base of each triangle, cut a small notch in the center.
Beginning at the base of the triangle, roll the dough until you reach the tip. The tip of the triangle should be under the bottom of the croissant. Place the croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Curve the ends of each of the croissant towards each other.
Refrigerate the croissants for a half an hour. Pull out of the fridge and let rest at room temperature for 1- 1 1/2 hours. The croissants are ready for the oven when poked and the indent stays.
Preheat oven to 425. Brush the tops of the croissants with an egg that's been beaten with 1 tablespoon of water. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375 and bake another 10-15 minutes. The croissants should be a golden brown, and you should not see any raw dough when they are done. Remove from the oven. Let the croissants rest about 20 minutes before serving.
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