Chocolates & Dreams

It was just a few days back when we were all celebrating Christmas and waiting eagerly to welcome a New Year. Suddenly a month of that New Year has passed us by. How time flies. And, with its flight it has left me a little in disarray. With a lot of travelling and other things that have occupied most of the month I had almost let this month’s Daring Bakers Challenge pass. But, how could I let pass an opportunity to bake Scones, especially those that had been remade 16 times and were at a point of complete perfection.
This month’s Daring Bakers Challenge was hosted by Audax from Audax Artifex. A beautiful blogger and a lady who so particular in her quest for perfection that she had 288 recipes of scones bookmarked and made them 16 times till she was happy enough to hand over the recipe to us. Who can say no to such an easy task? A simple recipe; simpler steps, and the output, a delicious, ‘flaky or moist’ scones.
Scones :
Notes :
1. Triple sift the dry ingredients –It is recommended to sift the dry ingredients thrice from a height as it help incorporate air into the mix leading to lightness of the scones and equal distribution of the leavening agents.
2. Rubbing in the fat – When the fat is rubbed in to form a fine grain the dough is tender. On the other hand, the larger the fat pieces the flakier the scones. But, what is most important is to rub in the frozen fat as quickly as possible.
3. Moistening and bringing the dough together - Add all the liquid at once to the rubbed-in dry ingredients. When mixing the dough, stir vigorously from bottom to top and mix just until the dough is well-moistened and begins to come together. It should be wet & sticky.
4. Handling the dough – It is important not to overwork the dough but under-working is also a common mistake. Overworking leads to tough, dry and heavy scones while under-working leads to crumbly ones.
5. Kneading or folding/turning the dough – This is where you decide whether your scones has distinct layers or not. When the dough is simply kneaded by 1) only kneading the dough will create an even tender crumb while only turning and folding the dough will be flaky and have a layered effect.
6. Pat or roll out the dough –It is best to use your fingers to gently pat out the dough once it has been kneaded or folded and turned. Use a very light touch with little pressure and forming the dough into a rectangle to be cut into rounds for the scones.
7. Cutting out your scones – Use a well-floured cutter. You can use a sharp knife to cut out shapes. The knife should be floured before each cut.
8. Baking your scones – Always preheat the oven.
9. Extra comments about resting the dough – In her researches Audax found that resting the dough in various stages in the recipe had different effects on the scones. If you rested the mixed dough (in the fridge) for 20 minutes there is a huge improvement in the dough's handling qualities and the final scones height, lightness and crumb are outstanding. Also she found that if the patted dough was rested, covered in plastic for 10 minutes in the fridge that the rounds were easier to stamp out and the baked goods raise higher and have a better crumb.
All purpose flour 1 cup
Fresh baking powder 2 tsp
Salt ¼ tsp                                                                                                                                                       Frozen grated butter 2 tbsp
Cold milk ½ cup                                                                                                                                                 Milk 1 tbsp, for glazing the tops of the scones
•Preheat oven at 240°C for 10 minutes.
•Triple sieve the dry ingredients in a large bowl. (If your room temperature is very hot refrigerate the ingredients until cold.)
•Rub the frozen grated butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles very coarse bread crumbs with some pea-sized pieces if you want flaky scones or until it resembles coarse beach sand if you want tender scones.
•Add all the liquid at once into the rubbed-in flour/fat mixture and mix until it just forms a sticky dough. The wetter the dough the lighter the scones (biscuits) will be.
•Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, lightly flour the top of the dough. To achieve an even homogeneous crumb to your scones knead very gently about 4 or 5 times (do not press too firmly) the dough until it is smooth.
•To achieve a layered effect in your scones knead very gently once (do not press too firmly) then fold and turn the kneaded dough about 3 or 4 times until the dough has formed a smooth texture.
•Pat or roll out the dough into a 6” by 4”rectangle by about ¾” thick. Using a well-floured scone cutter, stamp out without twisting the scones or just cut squares or wedges.
•Place the rounds just touching on a baking dish if you wish to have soft-sided scones or place the rounds spaced widely apart on the baking dish if you wish to have crisp-sided scones. Glaze the tops with milk if you want a golden colour on your scones or lightly flour if you want a more traditional look to your scones.
•Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes until the scones are well risen and are lightly coloured on the tops. The scones are ready when the sides are set.
•Immediately place onto cooling rack to stop the cooking process, serve while still warm.
Serves: 8, 2” scones or 5, 3” scones or 8 squares and wedges.Delicious with Black Current Preserve or Orange Marmalade.

Enjoy ! ! !

To see all the other amazing scones go HERE.

After a chocolate filled challenge last month the Daring Bakers presented an equally alluring challenge in September. Sarah challenged us to make Croissants this month. Buttery, flaky & filled with sweet or savory treats Daring Bakers gets better with every passing month.
Sourced from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 2 by Julia Child and Simone Beck this recipe was a dream come true for me. I had always dreamt of making croissants at home but had never had the motivation or the courage to give it a try, after having said that I have already made 2 batches this month & there is more to come.
The only challenge is that these take a very long time to make. The hand on time is limited to less than 2 hours but the resting is time consuming & necessary. This can be made over a period of 12 hours, 2 days or even 3 days. So give it your time & patience once and the second time will be like a breeze.You can go HERE to see all the beautiful creations this month. Here is a small but helpful chart of the minimum time required as given to us by Sarah.
Preparation time: In total, 12 hours.
Making dough, 10 minutes
First rise, 3 hours
Kneading and folding, 10 minutes
Second rise, 1.5 hours (or overnight in the fridge)
Rolling in the butter (turns one and two), 25 minutes
First rest, 2 hours
Turns three and four, 20 minutes
Second rest, 2 hours (or overnight in the fridge)
Forming croissants, 30 minutes
Final rise, 1 hour (or longer in the fridge)
Baking, 15 minutes 

Croissants :-
Notes :
•Be very particular about the kind of yeast that you use. It is best to buy fresh yeast as it makes a lot of difference to the dough.
•While rolling you will need to keep using flour, do not hesitate, it is important to keep the butter inside the layers and for that you will need flour.
•Sarah highly recommended that the recipe be made as it is once. I completely agree with her. The buttery, flaky croissant can be had plain with a cup of tea or coffee. The flavours are perfect and what I would suggest for fun is to use flavoured butter.
•Go wild with your filling. Sweet or savory, the choice is yours & the options are limitless.
•Baked Croissants are best eaten the day they are made. They will survive till the next day in a sealed container. If they seem a little stale, quickly refreshed by warming them in the oven.
•Unbaked Croissants should be frozen after shaped and before the last rise. Shape them, put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze. Once frozen, you can put them into a freezer Ziplock bag or other freezer container. When you want to bake them, take them out, place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and allow them to thaw completely and proof one more time – meaning, don’t bake them when they hit room temp., wait until they have risen again before baking. Bake them as you would normally.

Fresh yeast 1 ¾ tsp or Dry-active yeast 1 ¼ tsp (I used dry-active)
Warm water 3 tbsp (10 seconds in the microwave)
Sugar 1tsp
Flour 1 ¾ cup (I used maida)
Sugar 2 tsp
Salt 1 ½ tsp
Milk ½ cup
Refined oil 2 tbsp
Butter, chilled 100 grams
Egg 1 + 1 tsp water (for egg wash)
•Mix the yeast, warm water, and first teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for the yeast and sugar to dissolve and the yeast to foam up a little. I usually put it back in the microwave for the warmth.
•Heat the milk until lukewarm, and dissolve in the salt and remaining sugar.
•Place the flour in a large bowl.
•Add the oil, yeast mixture, and milk mixture to the flour. Using a rubber spatula mix just until all the flour is incorporated.
•Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and let it rest a minute.
•Knead the dough eight to ten times only. The best way is as Julia Child does it in the video.
•Place the dough back in the bowl, and place the bowl in the plastic bag.

•Leave the bowl at approximately 75°F/24°C for three hours, or until the dough has tripled in size. 

• After the dough has tripled in size, remove it gently from the bowl, place the dough on a lightly floured surface, and use your hands to press it out into a rectangle about 8"X12".

•Fold the dough rectangle in three, like a letter, pull the top third down, and then the bottom third up.
•Place the dough letter back in the bowl, and the bowl back in the plastic bag and leave it to rise for 1 ½ hours or until it has doubled in size. This second rise can be done overnight in the fridge.

•Place the double-risen dough onto a plate and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the plate in the fridge while you prepare the butter. This is where I forgot all about the pictures and got engrossed in making the dough. These pictures I will add the next time I make croissants.
•Once the dough has doubled, incorporate the butter. Place the block of chilled butter on a plain surface. Using the rolling pin beat the butter down a little, till it is quite flat. Use the heel of your hand to continue to spread the butter until it is smooth. The butter should stay cool, but spread easily.
•Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Let rest for a minute or two. Spread the dough using your hands into a rectangle about 14”X8”. Remove the butter from the board and spread the butter all across the top 2/3 of the dough rectangle, keep a ¼” distance from the edges.
•Fold the top third of the dough down, and the bottom third of the dough up as earlier.
•Turn the dough 90 degrees. Roll out the dough gently so you do not push out the butter until it is again about 14”X8”.
•Again, fold the top third down and the bottom third up.  
•Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.
•After 2 hours, take the dough out and place on a lightly floured surface.  Tap the dough with the rolling pin, to deflate it a little and let it rest for 10 minutes.
•Now roll the dough out to 14”X8” again and fold in three as before.
•Turn 90 degrees, and roll out again to 14”X8”. Fold in three for the last time, wrap in plastic, and return the dough to the fridge for 2 hours. This rise can also be done over night, and in that case place something heavy on top of the dough to stop it from rising.
•Now cut the dough and shape the croissants.
•First, lightly butter your baking sheet so that it is ready.
•Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface.

•Roll the dough out to 20”X5” rectangle. Cut it into half creating two rectangles each of 10”X5”.
•Place one of the rectangles in the fridge, to keep the butter cold.
•Roll the second rectangle out until it is 15”X5”. Now cut it into 3 equal pieces of 5”X5” each.
•Place 2 of the squares in the fridge. The remaining square may have shrunk up a little bit. Roll it out again till it is a rectangle. Cut the rectangle diagonally into two triangles.
 

•Stretch 2 sides of the triangle out a little, so that it is more of an isosceles.
•Starting at the wide end, roll the triangle towards the point, and curve into a crescent shape. At this point add in any filling that you desire. I used sausages, chocolate, brown sugar & cinnamon and mushrooms & onions sauteed in salt and pepper as filling. When adding filling be certain to seal the ends while forming the crescent. Place the croissant on the baking sheet.
 

•Repeat the process with the remaining squares of dough, creating 12 croissants.
.Leave the tray of croissants, covered lightly with plastic wrap, to rise for 1 hour, the final rise.
•Preheat the oven to 475°F/240°C/gas mark 9.
•Mix the egg with a teaspoon of water. Spread the egg wash across the tops of the croissants.
•Put the croissants in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are browned nicely.
•Take the croissants out of the oven, and place them on a rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Makes : 12 croissants.
Here are a few more interesting links that Sarah provided:
Vegan Croissants
Gluten-free Croissants