Melt In Your Mouth Homemade Croissants
Since I've been home from uni, I have devised a list of recipes which I wouldn't have the time or the equipment to do while I'm there and throughout summer I have been trying them out. Towards the top of this list is pastry making, in particular the difficult stuff - puff pastry.
I'm also a HUGE lover of breakfast and so the logical recipe to combine the two is homemade croissants. Now I know making pastry sounds hard and time consuming, but in reality the recipe requires very little time and, if you follow the simple steps below, croissants are actually relatively simple to perfect.
Crisp on the outside, soft and buttery in the middle, croissants are the ultimate luxurious breakfast and once you've made your own, you'll never go back to store bought!
Melt In Your Mouth Homemade Croissants
Makes 12
500g strong white flour
1/2 tsp salt
300g butter, at room temperature
7g sachet of dried yeast
30g caster sugar, plus a little extra
150ml milk
150ml very hot water
sunflower oil
1 egg, beaten
Put the flour and salt into a large bowl, add 60g of the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the yeast and sugar. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Mix the milk and water together, pour into the well and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cover the bowl with oiled cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, on a sheet of baking parchment, spread out the remaining butter into a 12x20cm (5x8in) rectangle. Cover with another sheet of baking parchment and chill.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface into an 18x35cm (7x4in) rectangle and place the chilled butter on top so that in covers the top two thirds of the rectangle. Fold the bottom third of the dough over the middle third and fold the top third, with the butter, over the top to form a neat parcel. Seal the edges with the edge of your hand. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough parcel into an 18x35cm (7x14in) rectangle, fold into 3 as before, and seal the edges. Wrap and chill for a few hours until firm enough to roll and shape.
Roll out the dough into a 35x53cm (14x21in) rectangle, and cut into twelve triangles - do this by cutting the dough into six squares and then cutting them in half diagonally. Roll each triangle into a sausage shape, starting from the long side and ending with the point of the triangle. Bend the ends of each croissant to give the traditional curled shape. Place on two baking trays and leave for about 30 minutes until almost doubled in size.
Lightly brush the croissants with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Bake in a preheated oven at 220C for 12-15 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Leave to cool slightly before serving.
TIP: You can partially cook the croissants and then freeze them to be used whenever you fancy them!
I'm also a HUGE lover of breakfast and so the logical recipe to combine the two is homemade croissants. Now I know making pastry sounds hard and time consuming, but in reality the recipe requires very little time and, if you follow the simple steps below, croissants are actually relatively simple to perfect.
Crisp on the outside, soft and buttery in the middle, croissants are the ultimate luxurious breakfast and once you've made your own, you'll never go back to store bought!
Melt In Your Mouth Homemade CroissantsMakes 12
500g strong white flour
1/2 tsp salt
300g butter, at room temperature
7g sachet of dried yeast
30g caster sugar, plus a little extra
150ml milk
150ml very hot water
sunflower oil
1 egg, beaten
Put the flour and salt into a large bowl, add 60g of the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the yeast and sugar. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Mix the milk and water together, pour into the well and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cover the bowl with oiled cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Meanwhile, on a sheet of baking parchment, spread out the remaining butter into a 12x20cm (5x8in) rectangle. Cover with another sheet of baking parchment and chill.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface into an 18x35cm (7x4in) rectangle and place the chilled butter on top so that in covers the top two thirds of the rectangle. Fold the bottom third of the dough over the middle third and fold the top third, with the butter, over the top to form a neat parcel. Seal the edges with the edge of your hand. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough parcel into an 18x35cm (7x14in) rectangle, fold into 3 as before, and seal the edges. Wrap and chill for a few hours until firm enough to roll and shape.
Roll out the dough into a 35x53cm (14x21in) rectangle, and cut into twelve triangles - do this by cutting the dough into six squares and then cutting them in half diagonally. Roll each triangle into a sausage shape, starting from the long side and ending with the point of the triangle. Bend the ends of each croissant to give the traditional curled shape. Place on two baking trays and leave for about 30 minutes until almost doubled in size.
Lightly brush the croissants with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Bake in a preheated oven at 220C for 12-15 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Leave to cool slightly before serving.
TIP: You can partially cook the croissants and then freeze them to be used whenever you fancy them!
Comments
Post a Comment