croissants

  Who doesn't love those Pillsbury croissants already made in the can. It can be scary to pop that open for some people. he he! You know me I need to be crafty and figure out to make my own. When i was pregnant with my first baby 18 years ago I made homemade croissants all the time and let them rise by our fire place. Its so nice to bake when its cold outside. Me  and my second Daughter, she is 9, We attempted to make our one croissants to enjoy at home on a cold Sunday night. Spring please come soon!

 I start with dough from my bread machine. Its alot similar to the dough for rolls or cinnamon rolls.
One cup water plus two tblspoons of water
two Tblspoons butter softened
One egg
 Three cups of flour
one tsp of salt
one Tblspoon of sugar
Three tsp of yeast
My bread machine has a dough setting on it I put the ingredients in that order. I turn it on and press 6 dough setting. I says one hour thirty minutes. It mixes and rises then kneads and rises again. If you dont have a bread machine Im sure hand kneading then letting rise in a bowl with a towel covering , punch after a half n hour and let double in size.Once your dough has doubled in size roll it out on a floured surface into a large rectangle.

 I had my daughter slice butter that isnt too soft its easier to handle somewhat chilled. Slice as thin as you can to make those layers of butter.

  We put rows of butter next to each other and fold the dough over.

 Repeat this process and rolling down each layer a bit  make it easier to roll for the next row of butter. We cant subsitute with margarine or crisco here its all about the Butter baby!

 Once you have folded each row of butter in and folded it over flatening again continually, I fold the entire dough strip in  half and roll into a rectangle again continue once again layering with rows of butter and folding over.

 Once the second layer of butter rows are rolled in roll the long roll of dough  out flat and cut diagonally into large triangles. Roll each triangle just as you would the dough in the can. I place my croissants on a foil covered pan and let rise under a towel again. Before baking your oven can preheat to 350 degree F. I do like baking in a glass pan I think it cooks better. Before baking your croissants brush the tops gently with  egg that has been whisked well. I use a rubber pastry brush. bake for 20 min look for brown crispy edges.

 We made some a bit small . I bet they could have risen more.

Croissants! Hope they work out for you too! Enjoy!

History of the Croissant

Everyone is familiar with the croissant as a staple of French cuisine. The word croissant brings to mind a flaky, buttery pastry often served with coffee, or perhaps filled with cheeses or meats in its savory incarnation.



However, the history of the croissant is a much disputed mystery. Scholars offer several different versions of how the croissant came into existence.



The earliest story dates to 1683, during the Ottoman Turks siege of Vienna. Legend has it that a baker working late at night heard the Turks tunneling under the walls of the city and alerted the military.



The military collapsed the tunnel in on the Turks and eliminated the threat, saving the city. The baker baked a crescent shaped pastry in the shape of the Turk’s Islamic emblem, the crescent moon, so that when his fellow Austrians bit into the croissant, they would be symbolically devouring the Turks.



This exact same legend is told years later, but instead of being set in Vienna, it is set in Budapest, Hungary. All the details are the same except for the nationality of the baker and his city.



Another legend tells that Marie Antoinette popularized the croissant in France by requesting the royal bakers replicate her favorite treat from her homeland, Austria.




King Louis the XVI of France had brought her to France as a young princess at age 15 and she must have been missing a pastry called the "kipfel", an Austrian staple. The legend goes that the royal bakers copied the croissant from her description of the kipfel, and the new pastry was so popular in France that it became a French culinary institution.



The last and most likely true story concerns an Austrian artillery officer who opened up a bakery in France and popularized many Austrian foods, including the kripfel. This story takes place about fifty years later than the Marie Antoinette legend, so it would seem that if anything, Austrian kipfel pastry was being brought to France and refurbished as the croissant by the early 1800’s.




If you are interested in further reading about the history of the croissant,The Food Timeline has a good summary and a recipe from the mid-19th century for almond croissants.




OChef has a great croissant recipe if you would like to try your hand at baking croissants at home.




The Hungarian Girl blog has a more detailed telling of the legends summarized here.

I would like to try some scones or biscotti to dip in coffee.
here are some recipes I found
scone

Meyer Lemon Scones
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into 10-12 small pieces
8-10 tbsp fresh meyer lemon juice
1-2 tsp meyer lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add butter and toss to coat. Using your finger tips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse sand. A few large bits are ok, but most should be smaller than a pea.
Add 5-6 tablespoons of orange juice and zest and stir dought with a fork. Add remaining juice until dough comes together into a not-too-moist ball. Divide dough in to two balls and flatten onto baking sheet to for discs about 1-inch thick. Divide each disc into quarters and separate slightly.
Bake for 20-22 minutes, until scones are a light golden color. A toothpick should come out clean, but color is a reliable indicator for these.
Makes 8.For the “glaze”: Mix together a few tablespoonfuls of white sugar with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to make a paste. Drizzle on scones when hot out of the oven.
Let scones cool before eating

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