Croissant Dough

Croissant Dough is sweet, flaky, light and buttery. It make’s a delicate pastry that can be made into sweet or savory treats. This recipe shows you how to make a few of my favorites. Puff Daddies a twist on morning buns and almond and chocolate croissants! Easy process but give yourself two days to make the dough.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk or almond milk, heated to warm (105°F–110°F)
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (from two 1/4-oz packages)
• 3 3/4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Make dough:
   1. Stir together warm milk, brown sugar, and yeast in bowl of standing mixer and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If it doesn’t foam, discard and start over.) Add 3 3/4 cups flour and salt and mix with dough hook at low speed until dough is smooth and very soft, about 7 minutes.
   2. Transfer dough to a work surface and knead by hand 2 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, a little at a time, to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Form dough into a roughly 1 1/2-inch-thick rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until cold, about 1 hour.
2. Prepare and shape butter:
   1. After dough has chilled, arrange sticks of butter horizontally, their sides touching, on a work surface. Pound butter with a rolling pin to soften slightly (butter should be malleable but still cold). Scrape butter into a block and put on a kitchen towel, then cover with other towel. Pound and roll out on both sides until butter forms a uniform 8- by 5-inch rectangle. Chill, wrapped in towels, while rolling out dough.
3. Roll out dough:
   1. Unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as necessary and lifting and stretching dough (especially in corners), into a 16- by 10-inch rectangle. Arrange dough with a short side nearest you. Put butter in center of dough so that long sides of butter are parallel to short sides of dough. Fold as you would a letter: bottom third of dough over butter, then top third down over dough. Brush off excess flour with pastry brush.
   2. Turn dough so a short side is nearest you, then flatten dough slightly by pressing down horizontally with rolling pin across dough at regular intervals, making uniform impressions. Roll out dough into a 15- by 10-inch rectangle, rolling just to but not over ends.
   1. Brush off any excess flour. Fold in thirds like a letter, as above, stretching corners to square off dough, forming a 10- by 5-inch rectangle. You have completed first fold. Do this 3 more times.
   2. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours but no more than 18 (after 18 hours, dough may not rise sufficiently when baked).

Puff Daddies

These sweet and fluffy croissant pastries were a favorite at a bakery I worked at. This is the perfect treat for a cold rainy day with some tea or coffee!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoon cinnamon
• More sugar to roll in after

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out half the croissant dough 15″ by 10 ” . Brush melted butter over the whole thing, sprinkle sugar over it and cinnamon.

Roll the dough up like you would for cinnamon rolls. Slice into 2 inch rolls.

• Place in a greased muffin tin. Set by preheating oven for about 20 minutes to have them rise a little more. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 375.

Once baked pop them out of the pan quickly and carefully and roll all over in sugar. Put on wire rack too cool.

Almond and Chocolate Croissants

Ingredients

• Almond paste
• Chocolate Chips
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons milk

Instructions

Roll other half of dough out into 15″ by 10″ slab of dough. Cut dough in half horizontal. Cut triangles on either side.

Roll out almond paste into tiny logs.

Place a almond paste log on the top part of the triangle horizontal. Roll downwards and try and get as many layers as you can. Have it end with the seam underneath the croissant. Pull edges inward.

Put on a greased sheet pan. For the chocolate croissants put the chocolate chips at the top part of the triangle horizontal. Roll down in the same way as the almond croissants.

Once all the croissants are shaped put them on the greased sheet pan. Whisk eggs and milk together. Brush onto croissants and let sit by the preheating oven for 20 minutes to rise more. Put in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Once golden brown pull out and let cool on a wire rack.