Pain au Chocolat

This is the easiest version of croissant dough I've ever made. What I really like about this is that you use room temperature butter which is really easy to spread and fold. It's not the same as working with cold butter which I find very time-consuming. I actually was a little worried about the outcome, but the result surprised me! The dough was very flaky. I think the amount of butter is also reduced a little bit in this recipe. So these weren't as buttery as traditional croissant/pain au chocolat, but I definitely can't complain. Next time I think I would do a few additional folds to create even more layers! Anyway, if you do not want to make croissants three days, wait until the dough rests in the fridge overnight and so on, this recipe is exactly what you need.

Pain au Chocolat

2 tsp (7g)  instant yeast
100g granulated sugar
250 ml warm milk
500g all-purpose flour*
½ tsp salt

150g unsalted butter (room temperature)
100g dark chocolate

1) Add yeast, sugar and warm milk in a large bowl and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Add half of the flour, salt and mix to combine. Add the rest of the flour (I had a lot of extra flour which I didn't need to use. Stop adding flour as soon as you get a soft but not sticky dough). 

2) Transfer the dough to the floured counter and knead for about 10 minutes until elastic. Lightly oil the dough and place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until doubled in size, from 1 to 2 hours.

3) Divide butter into 3 equal parts. Punch the dough down and shape into a rectangle (0.5cm/1/4 inch) thick, the longer side facing you. Spread 1/3 of the butter onto two right thirds of the rectangle, fold the left third over the buttered middle third, and then the remaining uncovered third over the other two folds. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

4) Repeat the process two more times, for the total of three folds. Shape the dough into a rectangle and cut strips (5cm/2 inch wide and 10cm/4 inch long). 

5) Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.


6) Place a chocolate piece on the end of the strip and fold into a roll. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and flatten a little bit. (I would recommend brushing the tops with egg wash at this step, this would give a shiny top. I missed this step. If you do not use egg wash, you can dust the baked rolls with some powdered sugar instead).

7) Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden on top. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from here.

Dulce de Leche Roll

Dulce de Leche Roll

50g milk
50g oil
4 eggs, separated
70g sugar, 20g and 50g separated
80g all purpose flour
pinch salt
1 can dulce de leche
coconut flakes and icing sugar, to decorate

1) Preheat oven to 160C (325F). Cover the baking tray with parchment paper.

2) In a medium bowl, mix egg yolks, 20g of sugar, milk, oil and flour. Whisk until combined.

3) In another bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form. Add the remaining sugar and beat until well incorporated and stiff.

4) With a metal spoon, gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray. Spread in an even layer.

5) Bake for 15-18 minutes.

6) Remove from the oven and turn onto another sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the hot paper and roll using the new paper. Allow to cool.

7) When cool, unroll and spread the dulce de leche covering the entire cake. 

8) Roll back and sprinkle with powdered sugar and coconut. Slice and serve.

Recipe adapted from here.

Poppy Seed Rolls

During the Easter holidays I always make desserts with poppy seeds. I couldn't imagine my Easter table without poppy seed rolls, filled buns, swirl breads, cakes and so on. These rolls are soft and pillowy and there's a sweet poppy seed filling in every bite thanks to the heart shape. I have made similar rolls before, only with ground poppy seeds which I didn't have to cook with milk. Even though I was quite sceptical about this method, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. The filling was moist and poppy seeds were soft, but I wonder if the filling worked with ground poppy seeds. That would be faster. So I think I'm gonna try it soon. However, these are not very difficult to make and all the work is definitely worth the effort. Do make these and enjoy warm, soft rolls during the holidays. Happy Easter!

Recipe found here.

Dough
300ml/1 1/4 cups milk
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1/3 - 1/2 cup sugar
28g/1/4 cup butter, room temperature
440-500g/3 1/2 - 4 cups flour
1 egg yolk (for brushing the tops)

Poppy Seed filling
1 cup poppy seeds
1 qt. milk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Make the dough:

1) Heat milk until lukewarm and add yeast. Mix. Leave to rise, about 15 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, in a bowl of an electric mixer combine egg, salt and sugar. Sift the flour in and add the risen milk mixture. With a hook attachment on low speed combine flour and milk mixture, then increase the speed and continue kneading the dough until it completely stops sticking to the bowl, looks very smooth and gluey, about 15 minutes (I kneaded the dough with my hands so it took more time for me. I also added some more flour because my dough was a little bit too sticky).

3) Add room temperature butter and kneed the dough some more, until butter is fully incorporated into the dough and no traces of it are left on the bowl, about 5 minutes.

4) Shape the dough into a ball. Place into a well greased bowl and oil the outside of the dough. Cover the bowl with clean kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm place (I preheated my oven to 40 degrees and left the dough inside). Allow the dough to double in size, about 1.5 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling.

1) Place the poppy seeds into a medium size pot, pour in the milk and bring to a boil, watching the milk so that it does not run over. Once at a boil, lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer for about 30 minutes. You can let it sit covered off the heat, for another 30 minutes.

2) Drain through a fine mesh sieve. Put the poppy seeds through grinder twice. Then mix with sugar and vanilla extract.

Assemble:

1) Punch down the dough. Shape a round ball and then a log. With a rolling pin, roll out the log to about 76cm (30 inches) long and 30cm (12 inches) wide. 

2) Spread the filling all over the dough, leaving about 5cm (2 inches) at the other end. Roll roulade. With a sharp knife, cut the roulade about every 4-5cm (1.5-2 inches).

3) Cut in the middle of each piece, leaving the two pieces attached by about 1cm (1/2 inch) of dough. Take the two ends, separate them and lay them inside part out facing up, side by side, making it look like a heart.

4) Transfer to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Continue with the rest of the dough, placing each piece about 7cm (3 inches) apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm place, allowing the pastries double in size, about 40 minutes. 

5) Preheat the oven on to 180C. 

6) Whisk the egg yolk and using a pastry brush, brush pastries with egg yolk mixture right before placing them in the oven. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. (Do check the rolls earlier - mine were done after 10 minutes.)

Best eaten still warm!

Sticky Coconut Rolls

 

 

I've always been making the same cinnamon rolls but this time I decided to experiment with the filling. I love coconut desserts so rolls with coconut filling seemed divine to me. I wasn't wrong! They were super delicious, fluffy, soft, moist and sweet. I especially love the glaze which caramelizes when baking and makes the edges crispy. I called these "sticky", and they really are sticky rolls, but next time I think I will make more glaze :P.

Sticky Coconut Rolls

 

55g sugar

½ tsp salt

50g butter

1 small egg

300g flour

1 ½ tsp instant yeast

¾ cup milk

¼ cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

70g butter

2 tbsp honey

100g desiccated coconut

¾ cup icing sugar

~2-3 tbsp milk

1. make the rolls: cream together the sugar, salt, and butter on medium-high speed in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a large metal spoon and mixing bowl and do it by hand). whip in the egg until smooth. add the flour, yeast, and milk.

2. mix on low speed (or stir by hand) until the dough forms a ball. switch to the dough hook and increase the speed to medium, mixing for approximately 10 minutes (or knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes), or until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. you may have to add a little flour or water while mixing to achieve this texture. lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. cover the bowl with plastic wrap. let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours.

3. mist the counter with spray oil and transfer the dough to the counter. roll out the dough with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the top with flour to keep it from sticking to the pin, into a rectangle about 2/3 inch thick and 14 inches wide by 12 inches long for larger rolls, or 18 inches wide by 9 inches long for smaller rolls. Spread some of the glaze (see recipe below) and sprinkle the coconut over the surface of the dough and roll the dough up into a cigar-shaped log (starting at the long end). with the seam side down, cut the dough into 8 to 12 pieces each about 1 3/4 inches thick for larger rolls, or 12 to 16 pieces each 1 1/4 inch thick for smaller rolls.

4. make the glaze: in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, salt, and butter, at room temperature. cream together for 2 minutes on high speed with the paddle attachment. Add the honey. continue to cream for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Pour half of the glaze onto the bottom of your pan.

5. in your glazed pan, lay the pieces of dough on top of the glaze, spiral side up, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart. mist the dough with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap or a food-grade plastic bag. let rise for 75 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces have grown into one another and nearly doubled. preheat the oven to 180 C (350 ) with a rack on the lowest shelf.

6. bake them for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown. 

7. cool the rolls in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. wait at least 20 minutes before serving.

8. Mix the icing sugar with milk and pour the glaze over the rolls.