Buttery And Flaky French Croissants Food

TRADITIONAL BUTTERY FRENCH CROISSANTS FOR LAZY BISTRO BREAKFASTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• BREAD MACHINE: Put the milk, water, egg, flour, salt, sugar, 1 oz butter and the yeast into your machine and select dough, normal. This will mix, knead and prove the dough and takes about an hour and a half depending on your machine.
• BY HAND: Put the egg, flour, salt, sugar, 1 oz butter and the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, slowly mix in the warm milk and the warm water until the mixture forms into a pliable dough. Cover and put the dough in a warm place, until it has nearly doubled in size.
• BUTTER DOUGH: Place the dough (both from the bread machine and by hand) on a floured surface and knead well until it feels elastic.Return the dough to the bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Return the chilled dough to your floured work surface and roll it into a rectangular shape, around 50cm X 20cm - 20" X 8".
• Separate the remaining butter into 3 portions and then using one third of the butter, dot the butter over the upper two thirds of the rolled dough, keeping a 1cm/1/2" border around the edges. Fold the dough into three , bringing up the bottom unbuttered part of the dough, and then folding the top buttered part of the dough over.
• Give the dough a half turn so that the open edges are now top and bottom and seal the edges with your rolling pin. Then take your rolling pin and press the dough at intervals to seal the dough and create air pockets. Roll out into a rectangle again, the same size, and then continue as before, two more times until your butter is used up - please see photos as a guide. It is important to return the rolled dough to the fridge in between each rolling to ensure the butter does not melt and the dough does not become too sticky. After the last rolling when all the butter is used, return the dough to the refrigerator to chill for a further 30 minutes.
• Remove from fridge and roll carefully into a big rectangle 50cm/30cm/24inx12in cut in half lengthways, divide each half into 4 to 6 triangles. Take one triangle at a time,and brush the triangle with the egg wash of milk and egg. Then from the widest edge of the triangle, roll up loosely and place in a crescent shape on a tray. Brush with the egg wash over the top for the glaze.
• TO FREEZE: At this point the croissants can be frozen; Open freeze them on a large tray, a baking tray is fine and then pack them into a rigid container or freezer bags when they are frozen. For use, remove from freezer the number required for breakfast, put onto baking tray and leave overnight. Put into a hot oven and cook for about 20 minutes until browned and risen.
• TO BAKE: Place the shaped croissants on baking trays lined with silicone baking parchment and leave to rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and puffy.

BUTTERY AND FLAKY FRENCH CROISSANTS

Steps:

• · With a mixer (or by hand), mix together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and milk. Don't let the yeast touch beforehand the sugar or salt.
• · Knead until the dough is well bounced and no longer sticks. If after having kneaded well you still feel the dough is wet or sticky, add a little flour (lightly). You must knead well because this is what will give softness to your croissants.
• · Make a beautiful ball of the dough and leave it on a corner of your work surface while you prep the margarine. Later, when you marry the margarine and the dough, both should be at the same temperature.
• · Take a piece of parchment paper. Place your 300g (1.1 lb) of firm margarine in the center and beat/loosen it with your roller. Next, fold tightly the parchment paper into a squared envelope (leave space between the margarine and the 4 edges of the envelope because the margarine is about to be spread further). With your roller, spread the margarine within the parchment envelope. Shape it into a square of homogenous thickness.
• · Make a (large) cross incision with a sharp knife on top of the ball of dough and open up the ball from its center outward. As you open up the ball, try to reform it into a square of dough and leave greater thickness in the center of the dough.
• · Lay the margarine square onto the dough square (the dough square should be larger) and close back up the dough square over the margarine square into an envelope with 4 flaps overlapping one another tightly.
• · With your roller, roll out the dough square lengthwise into a rectangle. Fold said rectangle tightly in 3 folds so as to reform a square of dough. Keep the top opening to the right.
• · Repeat previous step (i.e., roll out the dough square lengthwise into a rectangle, etc).
• · Wrap the square of dough into kitchen wrapping paper (to keep moisture) and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• · Take square of dough and unfold its 3 flaps into a 60cm*40cm (24 inches*16 inches) rectangle. Use roller to even out the shape if need be.
• · With a long knife, cut this rectangle into a series of 40cm*12cm (16 inches*5 inches) triangles. This should give you about 12 croissants.
• · Taking the 12cm (5 inch) side as your base, make a 1-inch incision in the middle of said base before rolling up the triangle dough from the base upward to its top. Do not crush the dough as you roll it up.
• · Arrange raw croissants onto a baking sheet before brushing them with the golding mixture (i.e., 3 table spoons of vegetable milk + 1 table spoon of agave syrup).
• · Let the croissants "push up" (i.e., grow) for an hour. The best is to let them sit in the closed oven at about 30 degrees Celsius (90° Fahrenheit).
• · After about an hour, brush again the croissants with the golding mixture while you preheat your oven at 180° Celsius (350° Fahrenheit).
• · When ready, bake your croissants at 180° Celsius (350° Fahrenheit) for 15-20 minutes, depending on the color.

FLAKY CROISSANTS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add warm water and shortening. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes longer. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Punch dough down. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. , Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 15x10-in. rectangle. In a small bowl, beat cold butter until softened but still cold. Spread dough with a fourth of the butter. Fold dough into thirds, starting with a short side. Turn dough a quarter turn. Repeat rolling, buttering and folding three times. Wrap in plastic. Refrigerate overnight. , On a floured surface, roll dough into a 14-in. square. With a sharp knife, cut into quarters. Cut each quarter diagonally in half, forming two triangles. Roll up triangles from the wide end; place with pointed end down 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Curve ends to form a crescent shape. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes., Brush with egg. Bake at 425° for 13-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.