Ham Croissant Rolls Venezuela Food

EASY VENEZUELAN HAM CACHITOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Open the can of crescent rolls and separate the dough according to the instructions on the package.
• Place 1-2 tablespoons of the cut ham in the widest part of the triangle. Fold the corners over the ham. Roll the dough, beginning from the widest part that has the ham and ending at the tip. Fold down the sides if necessary and place on the baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of dough.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. Serve.

HAM CROISSANT ROLLS (VENEZUELA)

Steps:

• Put the yeast, a small amount of water and 1/2 cup warm water into a small container.
• Let rise for 10 minutes or so.
• In a large glass bowl, combine the sugar, salt, oil and milk.
• Add the flour and knead until everything is mixed.
• Then add the eggs and keep kneading.
• Finally, add the yeast mixture and stir until the mixture has a consistent texture (that sounds backwards to me, but I didn't write the recipe--I'm just translating).
• Cover the mixture with plastic wrap (or stick in a plastic bag) and let it rise in a warm place for two hours.
• Knead the dough again, and then divide it into four equal parts.
• Work with one part at a time.
• Roll each part of the dough into a 25 centimeter (10 inch) circle using a rolling pin--not yesterday's wine bottle, Coke bottle or whatever.
• Cut the flattened dough into 8 triangles, as if you were cutting a cake.
• Place ham in the widest part of each triangle.
• Then roll up each triangle, beginning at the widest part (where the ham is) and rolling towards the point of the triangle (which used to be the middle of the circle).
• Place the wrapped-up ham on a cookie sheet or pan, with the point folded underneath so it doesn't come unrolled.
• Cover the rolls with plastic and let rise for one hour in a warm place.
• Pre-heat oven to 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Brush melted butter on each roll and cook them in the heated oven for 15 minutes or until they are light golden.
• Remove them from the oven and brush with either a mixture of water and sugar or with an egg white.
• Return them to the oven until they are golden brown.
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• If your dough does not raise it's because your yeast is old.
• Don't assume the yeast you bought at Christmas to make"panes de jamon" (another recipe for ham bread) will still work.
• Buy new yeast.
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• Eat the rolls while hot.
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• If you don't want quite so many rolls, you can freeze the dough and make them another day.
• Or if you like, you can make the rolls without the ham and leave them in the freezer for up to two months.
• You can cook those after thawing them for only a few minutes.
• But I always just make 32 rolls and four of us eat them all within two days.

CACHITOS DE JAMON (HAM CRESCENT ROLLS)

Steps:

• Activate yeast.
• In a large glass bowl mix sugar, salt oil, milk and flour. Knead until mixed. Add the egg and continue kneading, adding the yeast last.
• Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for two hours.
• Knead the dough again, and then divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, roll into a 10" circle. Cut the flattened dough into 8 triangles. Place ham in the widest part of each triangle. Then roll from the wide end to make a crescent. Place on a cookie sheet.
• Cover the rolls with plastic and let rise for one hour in a warm place. Pre-heat oven to 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Brush melted butter on each roll and bake 15 minutes or until they are light golden. Remove and brush with egg white. Return them to the oven until they are golden brown.

HAM AND CHEESE CROISSANTS

Steps:

• Arrange racks in the upper third and lower thirds of the oven. Bring a skillet of water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Transfer the skillet to the floor of the oven and close the door. (The steam released inside the oven will create an ideal proofing environment for the pastries.) Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Let the dough sit for 5 minutes at room temperature. Unwrap (save the plastic wrap for proofing) and place on a very lightly floured surface. If the dough has shrunk during chilling, roll it out again to a slab that's 16 inches long and 15 inches wide. Dust off any excess flour.
• Use a wheel cutter to trim 1/2 inch of dough from all four sides, straightening and squaring them off, creating a slab that's 15 inches long by 14 inches wide. Using a ruler, cut the slab lengthwise into 5 equal strips each measuring 3 inches wide. Cut each strip in half crosswise, creating 10 rectangles.
• Working with one rectangle of dough at a time, cover one half with a slice of ham, folding it as needed to leave a 1/2-inch border along the short side. Then, top with 1/2 ounce (2 tablespoons) of the cheese. Roll the dough into a snug spiral, starting at the end with the ham and cheese, then transfer the spiral to one of the prepared baking sheets, resting it on the seam. Repeat with the remaining dough, ham and cheese, dividing between the sheets and spacing evenly. Very loosely cover with plastic wrap so the pastries have some room to expand.
• Open the oven and stick your hand inside: It should be humid but not hot, as the water in the skillet will have cooled. You want the pastries to proof at 70 to 75 degrees (any hotter and the butter will melt, leading to a denser pastry). Gently place the baking sheets inside the oven on the two racks and let the pastries proof until they're doubled in size, extremely puffy and jiggle delicately on the baking sheet, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• When the pastries are proofed, remove the baking sheets from the oven and carefully uncover them. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes while you heat the oven. Remove the skillet from the oven and heat to 375 degrees.
• In a small bowl, stir the yolks and heavy cream until streak-free. Remove the baking sheets from the refrigerator and use a pastry brush to gently brush the surfaces of each pastry with the yolk mixture. Transfer the sheets to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets and switch racks and continue to bake until the pastries are deeply browned, another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.