Croissants

These flaky, tender, and perfectly crisp vegan croissants are utter perfection! They melt in your mouth and are worth every minute of the time it takes to make them. 

Ingredients

• 480g / 4 cups AP Flour
• 1/2 cup, 120 ml, water
• 1/2 cup, 120 ml, milk
• 7g / 1 packet yeast (We used active dry)
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 30g / 2 tbsp. vegan butter
• 1  cup/114g vegan butter
• 1 tbsp. plant milk + 1 tsp. maple syrup for brushing

Optional Filling

• Almond Filling:
• 1 cup plant milk
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. vanilla instant pudding mix (optional)
• Chocolate Filling:
• 1 bar of vegan chocolate

Instructions

Follow along with a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbK0Z8xnz8w

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Whisk to combine. 
2. Add the water, 2 tbsp. vegan butter, and milk to the flour mixture and use your hands to mix the liquid into the flour and break up the butter until a shaggy dough forms. 
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for a few minutes so all the flour is well incorporated. 
4. Lightly form the dough into a square like shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough overnight.
5. On a sheet of parchment paper, draw a 8" by 5" rectangle, and flip the parchment over to the unlined side.
6. Cut the cold butter into thick half inch slices and place in the center of the rectangle on the parchment.
7. Fold the sides of the parchment on top of the butter to form the rectangle drawn on the paper.
8. Beat the butter lightly into the rectangle shape and roll with a rolling pin until the surface is smooth. Place the butter back into the fridge to chill for half an hour
9. Remove the dough from the fridge and carefully roll the dough into a 16" by 5" rectangle.
10. Place the chilled slab of butter in the middle of the dough and carefully fold the dough on top of the butter, encasing it completely. Make sure to pinch the ends of the dough around the butter before refrigerating the dough again for 30 minutes, making sure to wrap in plastic wrap.
11. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll the dough into a 16" by 8" rectangle, making sure to avoid accidentally squeezing the butter out of the sides. 
12. Fold 1/3 of the dough on top of the middle, and fold the other piece on top of the previously folded slab, like if you were folding a paper into thirds. 
13. Lightly push down on the dough, and place it back into the fridge for 45 minutes. This is the first fold. 
14. Remove the dough from the fridge and repeat this process, making sure the previous seam of the dough is on the right side when you roll it and that you are rolling the dough lengthwise into a longer rectangle of the same dimensions as the first fold. 
15. Repeat the process 1 more time before placing the dough in the fridge for a minimum 1 hour, up to overnight. 
16. The next morning, remove the dough from the fridge and cut in 1/2 horizontally, with the seam on the right side.
17. Place the other 1/2 in the fridge and roll the dough into a 25cm by 26 cm rectangle, approx.. 10" by 10 1/2". on the shorter side of the dough, cut notches at 8 1/2cm, and 17cm. on the other side, vertically across from the side you just cut, place cuts at 4 1/4 cm, and place two more 8 1/2 inches apart from that incision, you should end up with 3 cuts on that side. 
18. Cut diagonally across the points until you have 5 even triangles, and set the end pieces to the side. 
19. Grab the top side of a triangle and carefully pull the triangle to the bottom, making sure not to accidentally tear it. 
20. Roll the croissant up like a crescent roll, from the larger end to the thinner end, and place on a baking sheet. 
21. Let the dough rise for 1-3 hours until almost doubled in size.
22. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
23. Coat the top of the croissants in the plant milk mixture and bake for 15 minutes.
24. For almond croissants, place sliced almonds on top of the plant milk mixture before baking. 
25. Let the croissants cool for 5 minutes before consuming, or 10 minutes before piping the almond filling into them. 
26. Enjoy!

For the Almond Filling: 

1. In a small sauce pan mix together all the ingredients for the almond pastry cream, bar the butter, and stir vigorously until no more clumps remain. 
2. Cook the mixture on low heat until a thick pudding like consistency is formed.
3. Add in the butter and quickly stir to combine. 
4. Remove the filling from the pot and place in a heat safe bowl until cool enough to touch. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool completely. When ready to use, place in a piping bag, or zip lock bag with a hole cut on the end. 

For the Chocolate Filling: 

1. Instead of cutting the laminated dough into triangles, cut each portion into 6 even squares. 
2. Gently stretch the dough slightly into a rectangle ad place a piece of the chocolate at one end. 
3. Roll the chocolate into the croissant and set to rise and bake as you would a regular croissant.