Bread Machine (183 page)
How to Freeze and Thaw Croissants
To Freeze Baked Croissants
As soon as they have completely cooled, freeze croissants in plastic freezer bags. To serve, place the frozen croissants on a baking sheet and heat in a preheated 350ºF oven, uncovered, for about 10 minutes to thaw, warm, and restore flakiness.
To Bake Frozen Raw Formed Croissants
As mentioned in Step 9 of the croissant recipe, you can freeze raw, formed croissants for up to 2 months. Put the raw croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or on stiff plastic lids if your freezer is small. Cover them with plastic wrap or slide them into freezer bags, and place in the freezer for 4 hours or until frozen. Once the croissants are frozen, transfer them into freezer bags. When you are ready to bake the croissants, remove them from the freezer and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let them defrost in the refrigerator for 12 to 18 hours, or overnight at room temperature. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature for about 1 hour, until puffy and no longer chilled, and bake in a preheated oven as directed in the recipe.
Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
When the croissants are light and springy to the touch, and have just lost their chill, they are ready to bake. Brush with the egg glaze if you like a shiny glaze. If you are using parchment paper, place another baking sheet of the same dimension under the pan with the croissants to “double pan” and protect the bottoms from burning. Bake, one pan at a time, for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for an additional 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on racks for at least 15 minutes before eating.
VARIATION
Almond-Filled Croissants
Makes 6 croissants
For the almond filling:
1 cup (one 8-ounce can) almond paste, at room temperature
1 large egg white, beaten
1
/
4
teaspoon vanilla extract
1
/
4
teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon flour
1
/
2
recipe croissant dough, chilled overnight and cut into triangles
Sifted confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Beat the filling ingredients together in a medium bowl until light and fluffy. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the center of the base of each triangle before rolling in Step 9. Roll up, let rise, and bake as for croissants. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving. If you have any leftover filling, it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
SWEET CHEESE PUFF CROISSANTS
Makes about 24 puffs
N
atural cream cheese, unlike most packaged cream cheeses, contains no stabilizers, like vegetable gum, so it is very soft. It sort of melts in your mouth. This is the type of cream cheese called for here, but the packaged variety will also work fine. You will also need miniature muffin tins 2
1
/
4
inches in diameter for this two-bite pastry. Good for breakfast or on the tea table.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound natural, preferably, or packaged cream cheese
2
/
3
cup sugar
1 large egg
1
1
/
2
teaspoons vanilla extract or grated zest of 1 large orange
1
/
2
recipe
Bread Machine French Butter Croissant dough
, chilled overnight
Sifted confectioners’ sugar or vanilla confectioners’ sugar (see
Vanilla Powder
), for dusting
Using an electric mixer or food processor, cream the cheese and sugar until smooth; add the egg and vanilla or zest. Chill for 1 hour.
Roll out the chilled croissant dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 16-by-16-inch square that is
1
/
4
inch thick. Sprinkle some flour on top so that the rolling pin will not stick. Using a ruler, cut the dough with a pastry wheel into 3-inch squares. You will have about 24 squares.
Place a tablespoon of the cream cheese filling in the center of each square. Bring the 4 corners together into the center and pinch in a knot to close and form a square puff. Set the puffs in ungreased 2
1
/
4
-inch diameter muffin cups. Let rise, uncovered, at room temperature until puffy, about 30 minutes.
Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Bake the puffs for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown and the filling is set. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to a cooling rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
C
hocolate comes from the seeds of the cacao tree indigenous to Central and South America. Cacao beans C were accepted as taxes and used for currency and were a royal food among the Aztecs and Mayans for centuries before the Spanish conquest. Chocolate was shipped back to Europe with the plunder of the Aztec civilization, and quickly became a rich drink for continental royalty and high society. In the sixteenth century, it was the top luxury export from the New World.