Today we will have the classic French breakfast with homemade croissants. These are crescent shaped yummy cakes of puff pastry or leavened puff pastry. And the very dough is kneaded in several stages and requires a lot of patience and free time.
History of croissants got lost somewhere in the distant past associated with the last battle of the Middle Ages. In Vienna besieged by Turkish troops in 1683 a mysterious cook baked a pastry shaped like a crescent moon, a symbol similar to the image on the flag of the Ottoman Empire. It turns out that it was prepared in the name of liberation from the Turkish conquerors. Croissant was loved by the French, but in fact, it is purely a product of the Austrian culinary art. By the way, the correct name of croissant is "Viennese bagel» (Wiener Kipferl).
Put the required number of yeast in a small pot.
Dissolve the yeast in warm water.
Do not forget to add a teaspoon of sugar and give it a rest.
In the meantime, in a separate bowl, sift some flour and mix it with salt and sugar.
Now combine the dry ingredients with the yeast.
Getting the dough kneading and add the egg yolks and butter.
Thoroughly knead the dough by hand for at least 10 minutes.
The ready dough is put in a bag and sent in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.
At the end of the time, take out the dough from the fridge and make a crosswise incision.
Roll out the dough in the shape of a flower with petals and place the butter in the middle.
Give it an envelope shape flowing the dough in the way shown in the picture.
Edges will certainly need to be carefully connected and. Then roll out the dough into a rectangle.
Ready rectangle folded into three layers, as in the photo.
Now put the dough for croissants in a plastic bag and put in the cool place for about 1 hour or 30 minutes in the freezer.
Now, sprinkle work surface with flour and roll out already cooled down dough.
Again, we put the dough into three layers, and then give it a «book» form. This procedure should be repeated several times, and the more the better.
After the last rolling, dough should be folded again and put back in the fridge for at least 5 hours.
Now proceed to the preparation of croissants and foremost divide the dough into halves. Put one in a cool place, and take the other.
Divide the piece in halves again, flour both parts and roll out into a thin cake.
Make a certain number of triangles out of each dough piece and put a piece of chocolate on the wider side of each of them.
Make rolls starting from the wide edge.
Cover oven tray with parchment and put the croissants on it.
Cover the croissants with film and give it a rest for about 30 minutes.
When the croissants will increase in size, brush them with an egg white and bake for about 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 400F.
Once croissants are ready, removed them from the oven tray.
Put the croissants on a dish and serve with milk or tea. Bon Appetite!
Variations and options
There is a plenty of homemade croissants recipes. For instance, the dough can be prepared not only in such a way, but with a puff pastry, when flour and butter are combined and then kneaded into a bun. It can also be left in a fridge for at least 5 hours. You may use anything for the filling, but you can cook them empty as well and you may easily sprinkle it with chocolate glaze.
The highest calorie food speaks for itself when it comes to the healthiness of any bakery product. Croissants are very nutritious, so we can surely say that a couple of them can be a great breakfast. Chocolate filling even helps dealing with stress. It turns out that our homemade croissants are perfect anti-depressant and energy booster at the same time. Cook croissants on weekends, eat them for breakfast and enjoy such a wonderful start of the day. That’s it, the recipe is over. So don't waste your time and start cooking it immediately. But, most importantly, treat your loved ones with this delicious and nutritious breakfast, as real French do!