CROISSANTS
Eighteen 3 'kinch-long croissants
Croissant is the French word for crescent. Rich, somewhat troublesome, but
unequaled by any other form of roll, a croissant can be made plain or baked
with a filling, such as jam, almond paste, or even a savory ingredient such
as ham or cheese. Filled with chocolate, it is called pain au choco/at,
chocolate bread.
If you wish, divide this recipe in half and use half to make croissants and
half to make Pains au Chocolat, below
.
Place on a work surface:
11/2 cups (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter
Measure:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Sprinkle the butter with a little of the flour and begin to beat it with a
rolling pin. Scrape the butter from the work surface and the rolling pin as
needed and fold it over itself into a heap. Continue to work the butter
until it is a smooth and malleable mass. Knead the remaining flour into the
butter with your hands, working quickly to keep the butter cold. Place the
butter on a sheet of plastic wrap and shape it into a 9 x 6-inch rectangle.
Wrap and refriger ate the butter while you make the dough.
Whisk together in a small bowl and let stand until the yeast is dissolved,
about 5 minutes:
1 cup warm (105° to 115°F) whole milk
1 package (2'/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
Mix together in a large bowl:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, softened
1 teaspoon salt
Make a well in the center and add the warm milk mixture. Mix with a fork or
your fingers to make a dough. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and
knead for a few seconds, until smooth. Refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and roll into a 15 1/2 x 8-inch
rectangle, sprinkling additional flour under neath it as needed to prevent
sticking. Position the dough so that one of the short ends is facing you.
Cover the upper two-thirds of the dough with the rectangle of butter,
leaving a l-inch border of dough on the sides and at the top. Fold the
bottom third of the dough over the but ter. Fold the top third of the
dough, with the butter on it, down over the first third, as if you were
folding a business letter. Press the edges of the dough together on all 3
sides to seal in the butter. Rotate the dough so that the folded edge is on
the left and the sealed edge is on the right.
Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour and press it gently with the rolling
pin to flatten it slightly. Keeping the short end of the dough facing you,
roll into an 18 x 8-inch rec tangle. Fold the bottom third up and the top
third down again. (This rolling and folding is called a single turn.) Ro
tate the dough so that the folded edge is on the left and the open edge is
on the right (like a book about to be opened). Give the dough one more
single turn, rolling it into an 18 x 8-inch rectangle and folding it in
thirds. Sprin kle the work surface lightly with flour as needed to pre
vent the dough from sticking; if at any time the butter gets soft,
refrigerate it for 10 to 15 minutes. Mark the dough with 2 imprints to
remind yourself that you have given the dough 2 turns. Wrap the dough
loosely in plastic and re frigerate for 30 minutes.
Place the dough so the folded edge is on the left and the open edge is on
the right, and give it another turn. Ro tate and give the dough a final
turn. If at any time the but ter gets soft, refrigerate it for 10 to 15
minutes. (At this point the dough can be frozen, wrapped in plastic, then
aluminum foil, then a plastic bag with the air removed. If frozen, thaw
overnight in the refrigerator before pro ceeding.)
Roll the dough into a 24 x 12-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Let
stand for 5 minutes to relax the gluten and prevent shrinking when cut.
Cut the dough lengthwise into two 24 x 6-inch strips.
Refrigerate 1 strip on a baking sheet. Position the remain ing rectangle
with one long side facing you Starting from the left, mark the bottom edge
of the dough by nicking it with a knife at 4'h-inch intervals. Mark the top
edge of the dough 2'/4 inches from the left edge, then continue to mark it
at 4'h-inch intervals. To cut the dough into triangles, cut from the bottom
left corner of the dough to the first mark at the top, then from that mark
to the first mark at the bottom, then from the first mark at the bottom to
the second mark at the top, and so forth, until you have 9 triangles. Make a
1/4-inch-long nick in the middle of the short side of each triangle.
To form a croissant, stretch the short side of a triangle by pulling the
corners gently as you begin to roll the stretched edge tightly (but not too
tightly) toward the op posite point of the triangle. Finish rolling the
croissant so that the point to the triangle is on the bottom of the roll.
Shape the other triangles in the same manner. Place the croissants at least
2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets, curving the ends to form crescent
shapes. Repeat the procedure with the second rectangle. (Unbaked crois
sants can be refrigerated overnight; they will rise partially, for the yeast
continues to work slowly in the chilled envi ronment. Let them finish
rising at room temperature be fore baking. They can also be frozen; thaw
overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding.)
Cover the croissants with a clean cloth or plastic wrap.
Let rise at room temperature until increased in volume by almost half, 1 to
11/2 hours.
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Brush the croissants lightly with:
1 egg, I ightly beaten
Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the croissants to a rack
and let cool completely. Croissants are best served the day they are baked,
but they may be frozen for 1 month in a sealed plastic bag. Reheat in a pre
heated 300°F oven for 5 minutes.
RASPBERRY CROISSANTS
Any jam may be used in place of the raspberry jam-try apricot, blueberry, or
black currant jam or apple butter. Prepare Croissants, above. Place 11/2
teaspoons raspberry jam (9 tablespoons total) 3/4 inch from the nick at the
wide end of each triangle before rolling up the croissant. On the first
roll, pinch the dough around the jam to seal it in.
ALMOND CROISSANTS
Prepare Croissants, above. Place 1 1/2 teaspoons almond paste, (9
tablespoons total) 3/4 inch from the nick at the wide end of each triangle
before rolling up the crois sant. After brushing with the egg wash,
sprinkle the tops with sliced almonds.
PAIN AU CHOCOLATE
Twenty-four 3 1/2inch-long rolls
Little flaky rolls of croissant pastry filled with dark choco late are a
traditional French gouter-teatime or after-school snack.
Have ready:
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 12 ounces
large chocolate chips
Prepare:
Dough for Croissants, aboveDivide in half, and refrigerate one half. Roll
the other half into a 16 x 12-inch rectangle. Cut into twelve 4-inch
squares. Arrange 1/2 ounce of the chocolate in a 2-inch long mound in each
square, parallel to and about 1/2 inch from one edge of the square. Lightly
brush the opposite edge of the square with a 1/2-inch band of:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Fold the edge of the dough closest to the chocolate over the chocolate and
continue to roll the dough up into a cylinder. Place the rolls seam side
down at least 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Repeat with the
remaining dough and chocolate.
Let rise and bake as for Croissants, above.
75th Anniversary Edition of Joy of Cooking
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