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.

Mozzarella Sticks with French Onion Dip

I don't know how many times I found myself staring at mozzarella stick pictures on the internet. They look so good with all that melty cheese and crispy bread crumbs around it. I can't tell you how happy I am that I finally made them myself! For some reason, it often takes so much time for me when I decide to make something yummy that I've been craving for a long time.

Enough about these mozzarella sticks. You probably already know that they are amazing.

But this French onion dip...

This is MORE than amazing. Basically it seems like a simple dip. But these c a r a m e l i z e d onions change everything. It adds sweetness to a sour/salty dip. Actually I think that onions make every meal taste much better, they are my favourite ingredient. Especially when they are caramelized.

I hope you're already checking if you have all the ingredients and are preparing to make this right now. If you're too lazy to make mozzarella sticks, do make this dip because it's so good with everything. Really, so good.

Mozzarella Sticks

12 sticks of mozzarella string cheese
1/2 cup flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 - 2 cups bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika flakes
1 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp dried oregano*
oil for frying

*You may use/omit any seasoning you like. For example, I also like it with dried basil.
**The amount of the ingredients may vary here: it depends how much you flour the sticks or how much bread crumbs stick to your cheese so be ready to add some more ingredients if needed.


1) Place flour in a small dish. In another bowl, combine together eggs and milk. In a third bowl, combine bread crumbs with garlic powder, sweet smoked paprika flakes, pepper and oregano. Cut mozzarella sticks into halves.

2) Roll a half of mozzarella in flour, dip into egg-milk mixture, and roll in bread crumb mixture. Press crumbs in place so mozzarella stick is fully coated. Continue with remaining pieces. Place coated mozzarella sticks on a baking sheet and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

3) Heat oil in a heavy saucepan. Remove frozen mozzarella sticks and fry a few pieces at a time. Fry about 30 seconds - 1 minute (depending on the heat), turning sticks until they are golden brown, and drain on paper towels. Continue with remaining sticks. Serve with french onion dip. Avocado-garlic dip and garlic-dill dip is also fine!! Eat these while hot!

French Onion Dip
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
200g sour cream
2 tbsp mayonnaise
large pinch salt
large pinch white pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cumin

1) Place onions and oil into a small saucepan and cook until onions are dark brown color, stiring occasionaly.

2) Drain any liquid off the onions and let cool completely. Combine onions with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Add salt to taste.

Coffee Eclairs

I think I have already told you how much I like eclairs. (I know, I keep saying that every time I post a new recipe.) I've been craving eclairs for a long time. It's probably not a surprise that I made them coffee-flavoured. 
So at first I had some difficulties with the filling. It came out too thick. Maybe 2tbsp of cornflour were too much but instead of decreasing the amount of cornflour I added more milk and slightly more sugar (the recipe below is already modified) and finally it turned out well. 



Coffee Eclairs

Pastry 
65ml milk
65ml water
50g unsalted butter, softened
½ tsp sugar
pinch of salt
75g flour
2 eggs, beaten

Coffee custard filling
350ml whole milk
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
80g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 tbsp cornflour
25g butter, diced into small cubes

Coffee glaze
                              100g icing sugar
                              2 tbsp strong coffee
 

1) Preheat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with parchment paper. Place the milk, water, butter, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a large pot, and bring to the boil over a high heat. Remove from the heat, add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Return to a medium heat and cook for 1 minute until the mixture comes away from the sides and forms into a ball.


2) Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the eggs till you have a smooth batter. Leave the mixture to cool.

3) Fit a large piping bag with a 1cm nozzle, fill with the cooled mixture and pipe 12 éclairs onto the baking tray, spaced 5cm apart. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool.

4) Meanwhile for the custard filling, place the milk, coffee powder, sugar, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt in a pot and heat to just under the boil. Remove the milk mixture from the heat, cover, and leave for 10–15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the egg and cornflour in a small bowl and set aside.

5) Strain the milk mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Return the mixture to the pot and heat again to just under the boil. Whisk 2 tablespoonsful into the egg mixture. Pour this back into the pan and whisk constantly over a low heat until you have a thick custard.

6) Strain the custard and stir in the butter cubes. Leave to cool.

7) Cut each eclair lenghtwise and fill with custard.

8) For the coffee glaze, sift the icing sugar into a small bowl and whisk in the coffee. Spoon the glaze over the éclairs. Let them set at least for an hour before serving.

Croissants

Croissants

·                                 500g plain flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting

·                                 7g sachet or 1 tsp dry yeast

·                                 1 tbs lukewarm full cream milk

·                                 310-330ml cold water

·                                 25g unsalted butter, melted

·                                 1 1/2 tsp salt

·                                 1/4 cup caster sugar

·                                 250g unsalted butter, softened

Egg Wash

·                                 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 1/2 tbs milk

Croissants

1.                              This recipe is best made over two days to allow the dough to rest.

2.                              Place the flour in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the yeast and milk, stirring to dissolve. Wait a few minutes until the yeast mixture begins to bubble. Slowly add the water and melted butter and combine the ingredients gently with your fingertips. Add the salt and sugar and keep mixing with your fingers until the dough becomes very sticky. (You may need to add a little more water if the dough is not sticky enough.)

3.                              On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough with the palm of your hand, rolling it away from your body, for eight to ten minutes. Do not add any flour during the kneading. Place the dough in a bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. It will double in size in the fridge.

4.                              Roll the dough into a rectangle about five millimetres thick that is three times longer than it is wide. Spread half the softened butter over the centre third of the sheet. Fold the top third of the dough over the centre buttered section. Spread the remaining butter over the folded section, then fold the bottom third over the top.

5.                              Turn the dough 90 degrees so that the folded seams are at the sides. Roll the pastry again to form a large rectangular sheet and fold it in three. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

6.                              Repeat the process of folding and refrigerating another three times - a total of four times.

7.                              Heat the oven to 220°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

8.                              Roll the dough into a large five millimetre thick rectangle. (If you find the dough hard to manage, divide it into half.) Trim the edges, then cut into triangles 6-8cm wide x 12-15cm tall. Make a small triangular incision in the centre at the base of each triangle to allow the dough to stretch when being shaped. Starting from the widest end, roll the triangles up and shape into a crescent.

9.                              Space the croissants out on the baking tray and leave them to rise by about one-third in a draft-free, warm room (21°C is ideal) for about an hour.

10.                          When the croissant have risen, brush them with the egg wash and bake for ten minutes, or until golden. Do not open the oven door during cooking time. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.