Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Vegan Croissants

This is my veganized, whole-wheatified version of a recipe from The Fannie Farmer Baking Book. My husband called these "uncommonly good", and promised to gain weight if I would make them more often.

makes 16


1 ¼ cups plain soy milk, warmed
2 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast
1 TB sugar
1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 cup whole wheat flour (preferably graham flour)
¾ cup Earth Balance or other non-hydrogenated tub margarine, cold

Put the milk into a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and yeast and whisk to dissolve. Let the yeast mixture sit for a few minutes until foamy.

Mix together the flour, whole wheat flour, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and stir until a sticky dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a liberally floured surface and knead for a few strokes, just long enough to form a smooth dough. Add flour as needed.

Roll the dough out with a floured rolling pin into a rectangle, about 9 x 14 inches.

Put the margarine between two sheets of wax paper and roll out into a 6 x 8 rectangle. Peel off the wax paper and place the margarine on the bottom half of the dough. Fold the bottom, sides, and top half over the margarine, encasing it completely. Sprinkle the dough with flour, cover with plastic or place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

First turn: place the dough on a liberally floured work surface and roll out with a floured rolling pin using firm, smooth strokes. Roll out to 9 x 14, then fold the bottom and top halves in towards the center (like folding up a letter). Sprinkle with flour, cover with plastic again, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Second turn:
repeat as above, refrigerating for 45 minutes.

Third turn:
repeat as above, refrigerating for 45 minutes.

Shape the croissants:
Line a baking sheet with parchment and spray with nonstick spray and set aside. Roll the dough out on a well-floured surface to about 10 x 20. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut into eight squares. Cut each square in half diagonally to form 16 triangles.

Pull the top triangle point out a little to lengthen, then start at the bottom of the triangle and roll it up tightly. Tuck the tip under and curve the edges in a bit to form a croissant shape (I give each one a little squish at the end to help hold the shape). Repeat with the remaining croissants, placing them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Spray the croissants with nonstick spray, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for about 1 ½ hours, until light and puffy.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425º.

Bake the croissants for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375º and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

Holy cow! These sound fantastic, but they also sound like a lot of work! I'll have to try making these on a weekend when I have nothing else to do :)

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, yeah. That is a lot of work. Or rather, time. Still, I'll try them this weekend. I can't wait for veganized croissants!

Anonymous said...

I'm confused about what to do with the margarine. You put it between 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll it out into a rectangle? How do you get it off the waxed paper to put on the dough? Sorry if I seem a little dense, I'm not much of a baker ;-)

Jennifershmoo said...

The margarine is cold, so it holds its shape and doesn't stick to the wax paper. You put it between two pieces of wax paper so you can shape it without having it stick to your rolling pin or hands. After you press it and shape it into a rectangle, you peel off both pieces of wax paper and place the margarine slab on top of the dough. Hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

Jeffifer, is there ANYway you can post pictures of the folding....maybe with a piece of paper? I'd LOVE to make these this weekend, but don't really under stand the folding process (I'm a visual learner :)).

The folding with the margarine, as well as the other fold.

Thanks so much!!!!

Anonymous said...

These look great! And the process sounds very similar to the puff pastry dough we made for our Thanksgiving feast. It's a little time-consuming, but most of that time is just letting it sit in the fridge.

jin said...

I absolutely can't wait to make these. Thanks for sharing!

Jennifershmoo said...

The "Fannie Farmer Baking Book" has some good photos (perhaps your library might carry it?). Here's the closest thing I could find on the web:

http://www.twinning.org.uk/croissants.htm#table

Instead of pats of butter, imagine one bigger slab on the dough.

And I agree, Chris, it's not so much lots of work as it is lots of waiting.

Patty said...

I am so excited you posted this recipe. We love croissants but never eat them any more due to the ingredients. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I am going to make them tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I saw a link to these from your Vegan Lanchbox site. Thank you for posting this!

Anonymous said...

mmmmmmmm I guess this recipe could be used to make pain au chocolat, those French rectangular croissants with two little bars of semisweet chocolate running through them... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm sugar and fat overload....

Anonymous said...

Do you think parchment paper would work as well as waxed paper? These look and sound fantastic, and i may have to try them very soon!

Anonymous said...

I seem to have trouble using soy milk in savory recipes. Its just too sweet. Do you use unsweetened soy milk and if so, can you recommend a brand?

Thanks! I love your blogs!!!

Anonymous said...

Heather--I like the plain Silk, which is still a little sweet. I also keep Soya powder on hand to mix up a little plain soy milk when I need it, since we normally have vanilla soy on hand.

Do you think this recipe would work with all white flour? I mostly use whole wheat, but have a vegan friend who is not into the healthy eating aspects of vegan eating ;-) and would love a white version of croissants.

Jennifershmoo said...

Hi, Heather!

Yes, Silk makes an unsweetened soy milk good for baking and savory recipes.

>>Do you think parchment paper would work as well as waxed paper?

You could give it a try; I think you may have a harder time peeling it off the margarine, though.

>>Do you think this recipe would work with all white flour?

Absolutely. Just substitute white for the wholewheat.

Anonymous said...

I was the anon soymilk and white flour poster, and am back to say I just made them (I took a mental health day) and they are really wonderful! I made them with whole wheat flour as directed, and the only problem I had was the EB stuck a bit to the wax paper. I ended up just kinda smooshing some of it on the dough and it worked out just fine. Less fatty tasting than regular croissants but still really great!

Now, on to my eggplant-tomato strata. DH loves when I stay home :-)

Thanks so much for this recipe (and your blog!) Your response to my post made me feel like a rock star was talking to me :-)

Anonymous said...

In response to the non-sweet soy milk inquiry, just wanted to pipe in that Trader Joe's sells an organic non-sweetened soy milk. It's now the only soy milk that I buy (great price, and can keep for a while). Can be found in Trader Joe's non-refridgerated milk section, along with other soy milks, rice/almond milks, etc. Hope that helps.

Anonymous said...

These are awesome. I will have to practice to get the perfect croissant shape, but they taste fantastic. I also used some of the dough to make pain au chocolats.

Oh, and a tip on the chilling--instead of putting it in the fridge for 45 minutes, I tried popping it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, and it worked pretty well. :) I also froze the margarine, which helped it keep its shape better.

Anonymous said...

wow! I have been searching for a vegan croisant recipe now for forever!! You are *such* my hero for posting this (and heck everything else too!)

Anonymous said...

Cutting a little notch in the base of the triangle helps them roll into the croissant shape naturally.

And I used parchment paper instead of waxed, and I didn't have a problem getting the butter off. I froze it before hand, and refrigerated it again after I rolled it out, though. Just to keep it firm.

Anonymous said...

My daughter is allergic to soy. Do you think that Rice Milk would work in this recipe?

Anonymous said...

Hello Jennifer,

I made the croissants over the weekend. The kids loved them. However, I have a question. Were your baking instructions for an electric oven? We have a gas oven and I took them out several minutes before the suggested time as they were a little scorced on the bottom. Yes, even with the parchment paper. Just wondering as I plan on making them many times. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!!!

Carin

Vegan Chef said...

Sounds good I will get baking sharpish.

Please can you have a go at fanny veganising farmers choux pastry - you know like proffiteroles.

I nearly got there with coconut fat and xantham gum and they were looking good then collapsed.

This is the last thing on my list (once I find that meringue recipe i had ten years ago and then lost)

Tony - www.vegan-cookbook.com

Liz Woodbury said...

these are SO GOOD. dangerously good. well worth the repeated rolling/refrigerating! i made smaller ones with pieces of veggie hot dog inside for my son's lunch and had to guard them from my family to keep them from all being eaten immediately.

Jennifershmoo said...

Hi, Carin! Yes, I have an electric oven. I would suggest putting the baking pan on top of another baking pan to insulate the bottoms of the croissants -- see if that helps. :-)

Anonymous said...

I think that they are deliciously scrumptious and I will eat them other and other again, I hope I don't get fatty though

Anonymous said...

Hi everybody. We're wheat free. Any suggestions on how to de-wheatify these? Oh and did anybody find out if the rice milk/almond milk works? These sound DEELISH. Can't wait to try them.

Anonymous said...

crikey! took all afternoon to make but turned out pretty good (even though i skipped the waxed paper bit and just spread the margarine onto the dough). need to practice the rolling/folding part though! totally awesome.

Sarah said...

Thanks for the recipe- I'll have to give it a try.

Anonymous said...

i accidently put the croissants in the fridge for an hour and 1/2
rather than letting them warm.

:(

are they gonna be okay ?

i'm letting them rise and get all puffy out in the kitchen .

Jennifershmoo said...

Oh, they will probably be fine! Just let them rise and proceed with the recipe. Good luck! :-)

Anonymous said...

I am going to try making these today. I remember having chocolate ones as a kid, and will try and get some chocolate to put in the middle.. MMM sounds good :D

Anonymous said...

how can i send this recipe to a friend??

Anonymous said...

Hiya! Thank you so much for this recipe. I ave made them 2 times now and they are fantastic. I love them!

Anonymous said...

I have made croissants with real butter that turned out with layers of flakes. Now vegan; I tried this recipe but they did not turn out flaky; rather more like a cresent roll. I'm confused. Did anyone else get a flakey result? Or, did I make a mistake somehow? Help.

Jennifershmoo said...

My best guess is that the margarine and dough got too soft and smooshed together instead of staying in separate layers. Perhaps you could try again in a cooler kitchen or chill the dough more often as you go.

Hope that helps!

Unknown said...

Who doesn't love bread?! Although I haven't yet tried this recipe I have made croissants in the past. Another little trick I used right before cutting was to roll out the dough like it was a pizza. Then I took my pizza cutter and cut across the dough and...voila! I had all the sections ready to roll.

Anonymous said...

I know that the margarine is needed to make the croissants flaky, but do you think it is possible to still get a good result with less fat? I see that the recipe makes 16 but I have a total mental block at the thought of putting 3/4 cup of fat in anything!

Jennifershmoo said...

>>I have a total mental block at the thought of putting 3/4 cup of fat in anything!

Then don't make croissants. That's what they are, little bundles of fat.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jennifer,
thanks for putting these up, they look amazing!

I do have one question though - could I make the dough, follow through with all the folding and leave it in the fridge for the final rolling/shaping of the croissants? I want to do most of the work thursday, but want make them fresh on friday morning.

Also can I all the flour be whole wheat (pastry flour), or is it necessary for 1 1/2 cups to be unbleached flour?

Thank you!

Jennifershmoo said...

I'm sure it would be no problem to refrigerate them. As for using all whole wheat, I fear the croissants will not be as light and flaky, but you can always give it a try. :-)

Unknown said...

Is there such a thing as making these in advance and still having them taste good and not lose their flakiness? Like making them on the weekend to have on hand for the whole week?

administration said...

These look amazing - I have a recipe from my Aunt that is decidedly *not* vegan and I've been sorely missing them! I can't wait to try these :D

Rose said...

I made some of these recently, except with rice milk instead of soy.
They were so nice and my non-vegan family loved them also...need i say they didnt last long!

Rose said...

p.s. heres a photo of how mine turned out :)

http://rosesrred85.blogspot.com/

Cherry said...

I'm just having a go at these now - wanted to wait until I had a full day to give my attention to them - being the first time making them. It's always a bit akward being in the UK as ingredients all have different names. I've used Vitalite margarine and wholemeal flour (as I think they are the closest I can get).
Just completed first step - will let you know how they turn out!

Cherry said...

Well all went well! They were not quite as flakey as I expected - but they still had a nice flaky and light texture. I made them up and cooked them in two batches and all I can say is that shaping them gets better with practice!
Check them out on my blog - http://matryoshkavegan.blogspot.com

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jessienour said...

Hey everyone! First of all I want to say thanks so much for posting an easy vegan croissant recipe! I just recently turned vegan and it's been a little hard to give up all my favorite sweets... :( I am literally waiting for my dough to cool now. Anyways, I noticed a lot of people were worried about shaping the croissants. So I looked it up on google and found this video. Hope it helps!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a-Re9w_RMA

CraftyVeggie said...

WOW WOW WOW I'm making these for the second time. Got rave reviews the first time 'round, they are FANTASTIC! Amazing and really easy to make. I prepare the dough doing just the first two turns the day before. The next day before work I do the third turn. When I come home I complete them. Thank you for this great, no fail and really easy vegan croissant recipe!!

NYCtexan said...

I don't care for soy milk therefore used Almond milk and it worked out famously! I've made classic croissants in the past so i am familiar with the technique...saw this recipe and tried it at once. Thank you, one greatful health nut here!