On Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:45:00 -0700 (PDT), Jerry Avins
arranged random neurons and said:
It's the one from the link that Ranee posted the other day, but here's
the way it got put into my recipe software (Reads long, but it's just
a series of kneading, resting, kneading fiddling):
@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format
Croissants
breads
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup water barely warm
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Salt
1 3/4 cup unsalted butter (3 1/2 sticks); cold
In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour with the water and yeast just
until the lumps of flour are broken up. Set the bowl aside and let
rise for 1 hour.
Add the remaining flour, the cream and salt and knead mixture for 1
minute. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest 20 mins.
Knead the mixture by hand for 10 mins. or in a standard mixer fitted
with the dough hook (on low speed) for about 20 mins. The dough
should be smooth and elastic by the time you finish kneading. Wrap in
plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 mins.
Place the butter between two sheets of plastic wrap and using a
rolling pin, poud the butter into an 8" square.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and on a lightly floured
surface, roll it into a 9" x 17" rectangle. Place the square of
butter on the bottom half of the rectangle. You can use your hands to
align the dough and the sides of the butter square.
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. Use your hands to even out the
square.
Gently pound the square with a rolling pin to stretch the dough and
the butter in it. Roll the dough into a 9" x 18" rectangle. Next you
want to fold the rectangle into thirds like a letter - start with the
narrow end facing you. Fold the bottom third up.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.
Repeat the process shown above of rolling the dough into a 9" x 18"
rectangle, then fold the rectangle into thirds by brining the borrom
up and the top down over it.. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and
refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Once the dough has been refrigerated, remove it and complete two more
"turns" - for a total of four turns. At this point, the dough is
ready to be rolled out and used. Alternatively, you can wrap in
plastic and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before you shape and
proof (in fact, 12 - 243 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. Also, make sure you have a ruler handy. Cut the dough in
half lengthwise.
On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of the dough into a 6
1/2" x 20" rectangle. The dough will be about 1/8" - 1/4" thick.
Transfer each rectangle onto one of the prepared baking sheets and
refrigerate for about 20 minutes. You want the dough firm, but not
brittle.
When the first rectangle is ready to work with, transfer it back to
your work surface with one of the long ends facing you. The next step
is to cut the triangles from the dough that will be formed into
individual croissants. Starting on the left side of the bottom edge
of the rectangle, measure 5" from the end and make a tiny notch to
mark the base of the first triangle. Measure another 5" from that
notch and make a second notch to mark the base of the second triangle.
Repeat one more time. You should now have marked off four 5" sections.
Turn the rectangles 180? so the opposite long side (the one that
hasn't been notched) is facing you. Starting on the left side, make a
notch 2 1/2" from the end. Measure 5" from the first notch and make a
second notch. Repeat. The second side of the triangle should not be
marked into 5 sections - the 2 sections at the end will each be 2 1/2"
long and the ones in the middle, 5" long.
Leave the rectangles as is - so the second side you notched is closest
to you. The notches on the far side are for the bases of the
triangles and the notches on the near side form the tips of the
triangles. Uswe a large knife to cut the triangles by connecting the
notches on the near and far sides. You should end up with 6 full
triangles. Repeat the process with the second rectangle. 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? from the
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. Arrange the
croissants on the prepared pans and cover them with plastic wrap to
proof overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 375 ?F. Adjust your oven racks so one is in the
top third and one is in the bottom third of the oven. Combine 1 egg
with a splash of cream to form an egg wash and brush the proofed
croissants. Bake about 35 mins. or until the croissants are puffed
and golden brown. Remove them to a wire rack to cool to room
temperature before serving.
Notes: Ranee@RFC from Tracey's Culinary Adventures Blog
Yield: 12 - 14
Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
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