Croissant Rolls

I have wanted to make some croissants for a long time. So I decide to give myself a birthday present and make something I had never made before... I know that sounds crazy but I really had a fun birthday doing this. I think it was, what I call the Vera (grandma Egan) side of me coming out. When I get in these moods, my thoughts go back to my childhood of watching my Mom cooking new recipes in her black and pink kitchen with dishes and ingredients scattered everywhere. She always said that Grandma Page chided her about never cleaning up as she cooked. I don't care, I just love the memories...and there are many! Love you Mom.

I made this a tutorial of sorts because these are not hard to make.... they just have many steps and it takes extra time because of the refrigeration time.

One warning....these are not low calorie....but the buttery flavor is something you never taste in the store bought kind.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup barely warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups cold unsalted butter (3 1/2 sticks)

In a bowl, mix 1 cup flour, water and yeast until the lumps of flour are broken up. Set the bowl aside and let rise for 1 hour
While this mixture is rising, place the butter between two sheets of plastic wrap and using a rolling pin, roll the butter into an 8-inch square. (I used my plastic pastry mat and marked an 8 inch square for a guide. I cut all the squares of butter in half to make it easier to roll the butter out.)


















The flour –yeast mixture will look something like this after 1 hour.











To the flour-yeast mixture, add the remaining flour, cream, and salt and knead the mixture for 1 minute. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes.

Knead the mixture by hand for 10 minutes OR in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (on low speed) for about 20 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic by the time you finish kneading. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and on a lightly floured surface, roll it into a 9 x 17-inch rectangle. Place the square of butter on the bottom half of the rectangle.









Fold the top half of the rectangle of dough down over the bottom half so the square of butter is now enclosed. Press together the edges of the square to seal in the butter.









Gently roll the dough with a rolling pin to stretch the dough and the butter in it. Roll the dough into a 9 x 18-inch rectangle. Next, you want to fold the rectangle into thirds like a letter - start with a narrow end facing you.



















Then fold the top third down... You've now completed one "turn!"

Turn the dough so the single fold (like the spine of a book) is on your left.

You're now ready to start the second turn. Repeat the process shown above ..rolling the dough into a 9 x 18-inch rectangle, then folding the rectangle into thirds.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Once the dough has been refrigerated, remove it and repeat the above two "turns" - that will make for a total of four turns in all.
At this point, the dough is ready to be rolled out and used.
OR you can wrap in plastic and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before you shape and proof.
(note, 12-24 hours in the fridge before proofing improves the flavor of the dough).

Before you begin to shape the dough, line two large baking sheets with parchment.

Cut the dough in half. Look at all the layers you have created when you turned and rolled the dough!











On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of the dough into a 6 1/2 x 20-inch rectangle. The dough should be about 1/8 - 1/4-inch thick and look something like this:




Transfer each large rectangle onto one of the prepared baking sheets and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.


Remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer it back to your work surface with one of the long ends facing you. The next step is to measure and cut the triangles from the dough that will be formed into individual croissants.

Start on the left side of the bottom edge of the rectangle, measure 5 inches from the end and make a tiny notch to mark the base of the first triangle. Measure another 5 inches from that notch and make a second notch to mark the base of the second triangle.
Finally, repeat one more time - measure another 5 inches and make a notch. You should now have marked off three 5-inch sections. There will be about a 2 inch waste piece on the right end. Turn the dough and repeat the process of measuring on the other side of the dough (note, that the 2 inch waste pieces are on opposite ends when you finish.)











Now you will cut the croissants triangles to form the rolls. Use a large knife to cut the triangles by connecting the notches on the near and far sides. Like this…










Repeat this measuring and cutting process with your second rectangle so you have a total of 12 triangles.

Make a small slit in the base of the center of each triangle. Begin to roll the triangles to form the croissants by curling the two sides of the triangle on each side of the slit away from each other. You want to roll tightly. Using both hands, continue to roll the base of the triangle - one hand working with the dough on each side of the slit. Point your hands away from each other - at about 45 degree angles from center - as you roll. Rolling in this manner will help make the classic croissant shape.































Roll each triangle so the tip is underneath and then bend the 2 ends toward each other to form a shape like a little crab. You can see 3 distinct layers as the dough curls to form the croissant.
Arrange the croissants on a sheet pan and cover them with plastic wrap to proof.

You have several options for proofing: overnight in the fridge,
~3 hours in a cool place or
~1 hour in a warm place. I
It is recommended that overnight proofing is best because the croissants develop more flavor due to the slow rising time. (I proofed by shaping the rolls and placing them on parchment lined cooking sheet and refrigerated them overnight. I then removed them from the refrigerator and let them set at room temperature for 3 hours, coated them with the egg mixture and then baked them at 375 F. for 35 minutes. (one pan at a time) They turned out perfect.)

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Combine 1 egg with a splash of cream to form an egg wash and brush the proofed croissants. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the croissants are puffed and golden brown. Remove them to a wire rack to cool to room temperature before serving.

These are rolls ready for the egg wash. (Sorry, I did not get a picture of them with the egg wash before baking.)











Here are the same two rolls after baking 30 minutes. The rolls at the top of the post were baked for 35 minutes.