Vegan Croissants

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January 28, 2011

Vegan Croissant Recipe

I have this theory that thosewho don't care for croissantsjust haven't experienced the thereal thing: the flaky outer crustshattering as you sink yourteeth in, releasing a butteryaroma and uncovering aheavenly tender, fluffy, richinterior. At the end of theexperience you might have toget up and shake yourself off.Many croissants start out thisway but after about a day they

turn into croisoggies as theyquickly stale and don't havequite the same effect on thepalate.

A croissant is a variation of puff pastry that starts out as dough wrapped around a buttery core.Samurai swords are made in a much similar way with molten metal being wrapped around a redhot iron core. Coincidence? I think not! This laminated dough is folded and wrapped around itselfto the point of where there are several dozen layers of fat and dough. When baked, steam isreleased and trapped between the layers which provides a leavening lift as well as flakygoodness. These vegan croissants feature a mix of stick margarine and shortening to mimic thesimilar fat content of butter. Do not use tub margarine for croissants if you don't want to wasteyour time. It's all about having a high-fat margarine so there's more distinction between the fatand dough layers.

Making croissants is much easier than it looks but does take about six hours in the kitchen due tohaving to work with the dough at specific intervals. I recommend tackling these when you'regoing to be around the house anyway doing chores, wash, cleaning your guns, etc. That way youcan just duck into the kitchen from time to time to get to the next step. You'll be rewarded with

some of the finest vegan croissants this side of the Atlantic.

Dough3 cups all-purpose flour1 Tablespoon active-dry yeast¼ cup sugar1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 ¼ cups non-dairy milk

2 Tablespoons margarine

Margarine Square2 ½ sticks vegan margarine, cut into 1 Tablespoon-size pieces and cold (do not use tubmargarine)¼ cup shortening (½ stick), cut into 1 Tablespoon-size pieces and cold2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

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Dough Wash1 Tablespoon soy milk1 Tablespoon amber agave syrup

Prepare the dough

1) In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 2 ¾ cups of the all-purpose flour, yeast, sugar andsalt.

If using an electric mixerAdd the non-dairy milk to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the flourmixture and knead until the dough forms a sticky ball, about 5 minutes. Add the 2 Tablespoons ofmargarine, one Teaspoon at a time and mix the dough as you did above for another 5 minutes oruntil the dough forms a smooth sticky ball. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come away fromthe sides of the bowl, add the remaining ¼ cup of all-purpose flour in 1 Tablespoon incrementsuntil you get the desired texture.

If mixing by handAdd the non-dairy milk to a medium mixing bowl. Add the flour mixture and knead on a lightlyfloured surface for about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture back to the medium mixing bowl, addthe margarine in ½ Tablespoon pieces and use a mixing spoon to stir the dough in a circularmotion. Switch stirring directions a couple times to thoroughly develop the gluten until the mixtureforms a sticky ball, about 5 more minutes. If the dough is too wet and doesn't come away fromthe sides of the bowl, add the remaining ¼ cup of all-purpose flour in 1 Tablespoon incrementsuntil you get the desired texture.

2)Flatten the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Prepare the margarine square

3) Place the 2 ½ sticks of margarine pieces and the half stick of shortening pieces in a foodprocessor and process until the fats are just mixed. Place the margarine on a sheet of plasticwrap and use a bench scraper to shape to a rough 7 inch square (or a 5 inch square if you'remaking Danish). Wrap the margarine in the plastic wrap and shape it to a more accurate square.Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Make Turns

4) Place the dough on a lightlyfloured surface and roll out to11 inches square (9 inch squarefor Danish). Remove themargarine from the plastic wrapand place it diagonally on top ofthe dough.

Fold the corners of the doughover the margarine as if you'rewrapping it like a gift. Pinch thedough ends together to seal.


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5)Use a rolling pin to lightly hitthe dough, starting from thecenter and working your waytowards the edges until thesquare becomes bigger. Thishelps make the fat pliable so itcan be rolled with the dough.

Carefully roll the dough out to14 inches square (11 inchessquare for Danish). Feel free todust the dough with flour if itbegins to stick to anything.

Fold the dough in three foldslike a tri-fold business letter.This is known as a “turn” in thepuff pastry world.


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Now turn the dough 180degrees and fold it in threefolds again so it turns into asquare. This counts as anotherturn.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrapand refrigerate for 2 hours.

6)Repeat Step 5 again so youhave a total of four turns.

Shape the Croissants

7) Line two baking sheets withparchment paper. Roll out ontoa liberally floured surface to a20 inch square. Using a pizzacutter, cut the dough into 2rectangles then cut eachrectangle into thirds so youhave 6 small rectangles. Cuteach small rectangle diagonallyto make 12 triangles.


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8)Pick one of the dough trianglesup with one hand holding theshort side and the other handholding the sharp tip. Carefullystretch the triangle so it's aboutone inch longer than it wasoriginally so it's sides aresymmetrical. Flip the triangleupside-down when placing itback on the countertop. Do thiswith the remaining triangles.Note: the side of the doughfacing up will be smoother thanthe side that's facing down andwill have a lesser tendency tostick to your countertop whileforming. This will result incroissants that look as perfectas possible.

9)Cut a 1 inch slit into the middleof the short side of a doughtriangle. Fold the dough awayfrom the slit outwards. Thismakes it easier to form thecroissant into a crescent shape.Do this with the remainingtriangles.


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10)Roll the triangle from it's shortside along it's length using bothhands pushing away from you.Leave ¼ of dough tip unrolled.Transfer the croissant to thebaking sheet making sure theunrolled tip is facing downward,pointing to the baking sheet.Shape the ends of the croissantinward to form a crescentshape. Do this with theremaining triangles.

11)Preheat your oven to 400F(204C). Loosely cover thecroissants with plastic wrap andallow them to rise until barelypuffy which should take about60 minutes. They are notintended to double in size.

Prepare the Dough

Wash

12) In a small mixing bowl whisktogether the soy milk and agavesyrup until smooth. This doughwash will enable your croissantsto have a dark, crispy exterior.

Bake

13) Brush the croissants andbake until they're golden brown,about 20 minutes. Rotate the

baking sheets on the racks and front to back halfway through the baking duration. Cool thecroissants on a wire rack and serve warm. Croissants can be stored at room temperature for 2days or 2 weeks in the freezer if thoroughly wrapped in plastic. Makes about 12 VeganCroissants.

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Vegan Croissants