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Welcome to our fourth episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This post takes us to Andorra. Andorra is a very small country, described as a tiny independent principality, in Europe. It is between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains. I had not heard about it till I started this project. So far, this has proven to be the a difficult one to choose a recipe from, because there are just a handful of recipes that are called out as traditional Andorran foods. Of those, the majority of them are meat dishes and include delicacies like snails. Also, I really wasn't able to find a blog which was written by a person from Andorra. As I researched vegetarian recipes, I kept coming across just 2-3 recipes which were common across travel sites, blogs and even books. One of them was Pa amb Tomaquet, which is bread rubbed with garlic and tomatoes, and another was spinach with pine nuts and raisins. There was a third once called Trinxat which is potato and cabbage cake or like hash browns which is topped with bacon. I thought I could make all these (skipping the bacon) and make a small meal. However, they were all sides and given how meat heavy the entrees were, taking the meat away would not give the same experience.
So, I asked a friend who lives in France who suggested that I look for Catalan recipes. That was a great suggestion and that took me to menu cards of Andorran restaurants. Since I couldn't find a vegetarian entree, I started looking for desserts and breads. I found a mention of a bread called Coca de Massegada which was listed as a very traditional bread but I was unable to find an authentic recipe for it. I found a list of ingredient, but there were no measurements and I did not want to experiment a lot. Finally, I settled on two choices Bunyols de vent which sounded like doughnuts made from a pate choux dough and Torrijas which is a dessert French toast which has a Catalan/Spanish influence.
The plan was to make the Bunyols de vent, but I was inspired to make Torrijas for breakfast and the family absolutely loved it. So this is a delicious french toast, where the difference is that the bread is not soaked in an eggy batter like the traditional French toast. Instead the bread is soaked in milk and then dipped in whisked egg and pan fried. Then it is coated with cinnamon sugar and served with syrup. The milk can be boiled with fragrant spices to add more flavor. The end result is similar to churros. The outside gets crispy and the inside is soft and delicious. While this is meant to be a dessert, it is delicious as a brunch too and we have enjoyed this so much, that it has been added to the weekend brunch repertoire. This is a very simple and delicious recipe. Do give it a try!
Here is the video link to the Torrijas recipe
Ingredients
6 slices of Italian bread, stale (any type of bread which is cut into thicker slices than sandwich bread. Can also use sandwich bread bread but make sure it is a little stale and dry)
1 cup milk
4 tbsp sugar (adjust to taste)
1.5 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tbsp oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
Method
Mix the cinnamon and sugar together to create the cinnamon sugar.
Whisk the eggs and vanilla essence together. Warm up the milk till it is lukewarm. If you want to add more fragrant spices to the milk, boil them with the milk and then let the milk cool for a few mins till lukewarm. Add 2 tbsp of sugar to the milk. Pour the milk into a tray and lay the bread slices in the milk. Let it stay till the milk is absorbed, up to 30 mins. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and then dip the bread slices in the whisked egg and then place it in the pan. Fry the bread on both sides till golden brown at medium heat. Then place it in the cinnamon sugar and coat it on both sides with the cinnamon sugar. Add more oil and fry the rest of the breads.
Serve with syrup. It was delicious warm as well as cold. As a dessert, it is eaten cold per what I have been able to determine.
Tips
I add vanilla essence to the eggs so that there is no eggy smell. You can skip this or add the essence to the warm milk. Fragrant spices which can be added to the milk are cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, and lemon rind/zest.
Ambadichi chi bhaaji is one of my favorite greens. The English name of the plant is called Roselle Hibiscus and in Marathi it is called Ambadi and in Telugu it is known as Gongura. It is found in Asian/Indian stores as gongura leaves usually. The leaves are very sour and are great in curries, stir fries and chutneys or dips. As a child this was a rarity as it is not an easily available vegetable. And we usually only cooked it when we grew it ourselves. It goes great with jowar bhakri/jwarichi bhakri (sorghum unleavened flat bread).
Now that I am growing this in our yard, I am excited to cook this again and love that I can cook it whenever I want to. The fruit of roselle hibiscus can also be used for making jams and jellies. I will share the recipe of the jelly when we get fruit in a couple more months.
Here is the video link to the Roselle Hibiscus curry recipe
Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
30-40 roselle hibiscus leaves (4 cup of cooked leaves)
1/2 cup yellow or orange lentils or split pigeon peas (split masoor or tur dal)
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
dry red chilli, to taste (optional)
salt to taste
2 tbsp sugar (adjust to taste)
1/2 tbsp molasses
Seasoned oil
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
chilli powder, to taste (optional)
Method
In a large pot bring water to boil. There should enough water to submerge all the leaves. Then add the leaves to the water and boil them till they are wilted and soft. This will take about 5 mins. Drain the leaves, remove the stems and chop into bite sized pieces. Boil water and add the lentils to it. Boil the lentils till they start getting transparent. Drain and keep aside.
In a saucepan, heat the oil. Add the cumin and mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add the chilli and then add the onions and garlic. Stir these and cook for a few mins. Then add the cooked lentils and stir and cook for a minute or so. Then add the turmeric. Then add the cooked, chopped leaves and stir them with the rest of the ingredients. Next add the spices and the seasonings. Add the sugar, salt, molasses, cumin powder and coriander powder. Cook these together for a few minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Seasoned oil
Heat the oil and once hot, add the mustard and cumin seeds. Once they crackle turn the heat off. This is your seasoned oil. If you like you can add chilli powder and salt to it as well or dried chillies too.
To serve, pour a couple of tsps of oil over the curry and serve hot with bread or rice.
Tips
You can replace the sugar and molasses with brown sugar or jaggery.
Welcome to our third episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. This time we are headed to Algeria. Algeria is in Northern Africa. As I started researching Algerian food, I read that the cuisine is influenced by all the exchanges with different cultures and people over centuries. There is a heavy French influence (it was a French colony) and a common breakfast I observed was croissant and coffee. I saw a lot of delicious recipes including pastries. I have noted down quite a few recipes I would eventually like to try out. As I started reading more about the food and googling the traditional names, I came across several blogs and video which were mostly in French and some in what I think was Arabic. It was difficult to choose a recipe because there were so many choices!
Couscous and a stew would have been perfect but I thought I could make that any day and wanted to choose something new which I had not heard of. I almost chose a pizza recipe which is said to be over a 100 years old. I finally decided to go with a street food called Mhadjeb (singluar) or Mahdjouba (plural). In my experience, street food is usually something everyone enjoys and is very special to a place, so I thought it would be a good choice.
Mhadjeb can be best described as a flavorful savory pastry of layered semolina dough, with each layer as thin as a phyllo sheet, which is filled with a sweet and tart filling of caramelized onions and tomatoes. The recipe made me curious. I wondered how a simple filling of just onions and tomatoes would taste. Based on the description of the pastry cover, I deduced that it would be crispy and the covering would be delicious for sure.
I had some challenges with this recipe, as the recipes I found which seemed authentic were in French and Arabic. I was able to finally leverage the French I had studied in high school and with the help of google translate make enough sense of the recipes. The final result was delicious! I read that if this pastry is made without filling it is called Msemmen and is a delicious accompaniment with tea or coffee. So, one recipe with two uses. I am definitely going to make it again.
Our next country will be Andorra. This has been a particularly difficult one to find vegetarian recipes for, so if you have suggestions, please add that in the comments below.
You can find the link to all our previous episodes here and the Culinary Tour playlist will take you to all the videos.
Here is the video link to the Mhadjeb/Mahdjoba recipe.
Ingredients
For the cover
1.5 cups fine semolina or semolina flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2- 3/4 cup water (enough to knead a very soft dough)
oil
For the filling
2.5 tbsp oil
2 large or 1/2 kilo onions, finely sliced
2 large or 1/2 kilo tomatoes, pulp (see method)
1 tsp of garlic, finely minced
salt to taste
pepper to taste
Method
For the cover
Mix together the semolina, all purpose flour and salt and then add the water to make a soft dough. This dough needs to be kneaded really well. So if you have a stand mixer or food processor, knead it in the machine for about 15 mins. Else, if kneading by hand, after mixing it set it aside to autolyse for 15-20 mins and then knead by hand for 15 mins like you will knead bread. The resultant dough will be soft and sticky. Spread a little oil in a plate to coat the surface. Then divide the dough into 6-7 pieces and then roll each one into a smooth ball of dough. Place this on the oiled surface. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for a minimum of 30 mins to about a couple of hours. The dough (and gluten) should be really relaxed to be able to pat the dough out into a very thin sheet.
For the filling
Grate the tomatoes to separate the pulp from the peel. Discard the tomato peel. If you wish you can deseed the tomatoes before grating. In a big pan, add the oil and the onions and garlic and cook this on medium heat till the onions are caramelized. They will start turning brown. At this stage, add the tomatoes. Then cook the mixture till it has reduced and is dry enough to form the filling. Add the salt and pepper. You can also add 1 tbsp of tomato paste along with the tomatoes. Let this cool down.
Putting it together
Apply oil over the surface which you will use to flatten out the dough. I prefer to use a baking sheet/pan so that I don't get my countertop oily. Then place a piece of dough on the center and using the palm, flatten the dough. Use your palms and finger tips to stretch the dough. Then stretch each end of the dough to cover more of the pan. Do this till the entire pan is covered. One ball of dough (of 7) can be stretched thin enough to fill a 12 X 18 inches pan. Then place a ladle full of filling in the center and spread it into a rectangle. Fold the pastry around this filling. Place the bottom third of the dough over the center to cover the filling. Then overlap it with the top third. Then fold the right and left dough flaps over the center to create a rectangular pastry packet. (See the video for a visual demonstration).
Heat a pan or griddle till it is hot and then turn the heat to a low-medium setting. Since there are several layers, we need all of them to be cooked. So cook it on both sides on a low-medium heat till both sides are well browned.
Serve is hot with a side of harissa sauce or ketchup. For the harissa sauce, I blended one roasted, peeled red bell pepper, with store bought harissa spice mix and a some oil.
Tips
Apply oil to your palms and fingertips while handling the dough, so it does not stick to your fingers. To remove the tomato peel easily, you can also submerge the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute, till the peel starts to separate. Then take it out into a bowl of ice cold water. Then you can easily peel the tomatoes and puree the pulp.
Welcome to our second episode of the Culinary Tour of the World. The second country, in an alphabetical order is Albania. It is in Europe next to Greece and along the Mediterranean Sea. While I was researching the food of Albania, I came across so many recipes that it was really difficult to pick one. So with this episode, I am presenting three great Albanian recipes.
I decided that I would choose recipes that could together make a meal and then I wouldn't have to cook anything else. I love baking bread, so I picked Pitalka. I decided a stew or soup would be a great accompaniment and then a vegetable side. I chose "Feregese Tirane" as a vegetable side. Initially, I thought that Feregese Tirane would make a good meal with the Pitalka. But every recipe that I saw, stated that without adding liver or meat to it, it wouldn't be more than a side. So, I decided to keep it as a side, which was a good decision. The soup I chose was a white bean soup - "Jani Me Fasule" which was filling and went well with the Pitalka and Feregese Tirane.
Together, these 3 made a delicious and complete meal! We loved it. I even used the Pitalka bread the next day to make some pita sandwiches with falafel and hummus. I relied heavily on Google Translate for these recipes. As I started searching with the Albanian names, I came across blogs and videos in Albanian which I couldn't understand and so I used Google Translate extensively for translating the recipes, instructions as well for the pronunciations of the dishes.
As you will see in the video, these are fairly straightforward dishes to make. They are not overwhelmed with spices and the ingredients really shine. I made an honest effort to follow Google Translate's pronunciations, and realize that I may not have pronounced the names correctly. I hope you try these out and enjoy them as much as I did.
Our next country will be Algeria and do let me know if you have recommendations for Algerian vegetarian recipes. And if you missed our first episode, here is the link to it Episode 1: Afghanistan - Ashak. You can find the link to video recipes here. And for a listing of our episodes, visit Culinary World Tour Episodes.
Here is the link to the video demonstrating the detailed method.
Ingredients
For the Pitalka
4 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1.5 tsp yeast
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
3/4 - 1 cup water
For the Jane Me Fasule
1 cup of dry white/cannellini beans
water to soak the beans and cook the beans
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup diced bell peppers (mixture of green and orange)
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of red chilli flakes
For the Feregese Tirane
1 tbsp oil
2.5 cups roasted, diced bell peppers (mixture of red, yellow and green)
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 tbsp basil
salt to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups milk
1 tsp vinegar diluted with 1 tbsp water
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup cottage cheese (made using the milk and vinegar. If using store bought cottage cheese, milk and vinegar are not needed)
Method
For the Pitalka
Add the yeast and sugar to the milk and set it aside for 10 mins. The yeast will start getting frothy indicating that it is active and is fresh. Add salt to the flour and mix. Then add the milk and yeast mixture to the flour. Add a little water at a time and knead the dough till you get a firm but smooth dough. It can take about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of water. If you are kneading it in a mixer, knead it for 5-7 mins till smooth. If by hand, it will take about 15-20 mins. Then place it in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 hour or till it has doubled.
Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 475F. If you don't have a pizza stone, that is ok.
Then deflate the dough and cut it into 6 equal parts. Shape each dough piece into a ball. Place this on a floured surface or a parchment paper, such that you can easily shape it into a disc and then place it in the oven. Let the dough ball rest got 10-15 mins. Then, using your finger tips, spread the dough out into a thin disc, about 1/4th inch in thickness. Then, let this dough disc rest for 20 mins. Cover the dough ball and disc with a towel or plastic wrap to ensure that the dough does not dry out. Then place this disc into the oven. If baking on the pizza stone, place it with the parchment or directly onto the stone. If you are not using a pizza stone, place it on a baking sheet and then place the baking sheet into the oven. It will take about 8-12 mins for the bread to become golden brown in color and it will puff up as well. The bread is ready when golden brown.
For the Jani Me Fasule
Rinse and soak the white beans/cannellini in water for 3-4 hours. Then, discard the water and add the beans and salt to a pressure cooker. Add water to cover the beans and there should be half an inch water over the beans surface. Pressure cook the beans for 30 mins. Then, add the diced onions, tomatoes and bell peppers to the cooked beans, along with the oil, black pepper and chilli flakes. Cook under pressure again for 10 mins. Once the pressure is released, check the consistency of the soup and let it boil to thicken if it is watery. Serve hot. Pour a little olive oil on top of each bowl before serving.
For the Feregese Tirane
Roast the bell peppers on the stovetop or in the oven till the skin starts to char. Then deseed and dice the bell peppers. To make the cottage cheese, heat the milk and then add the vinegar and water mixture to it. That will separate the milk into the cottage cheese and whey water. Drain the cottage cheese and add salt to it.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, and add the onions. Cook till they start to soften and then add the tomatoes and bell peppers. Cook this mixture till the liquid from the vegetables has almost evaporated. Then, add the basil, and black pepper. Stir well.
To make the roux, heat the butter and then add the flour to it. Cook for a minute till the flour doesn't smell raw anymore. Do not brown it. Then, add the cottage cheese and yogurt to it. Mix well. Mix this into the vegetable mixture. Then ladle out individual portions into casserole dishes, or into a large baking dish. If you like, top with some cottage cheese and then bake in the oven at 350F for 20 mins. The casserole is ready to eat.
Tips
If you are roasting bell peppers in the oven, cook them at 400 F till the skin starts to char.
It has been a strange year thus far and it looks like we are in it for the long haul. One day is very much starting to blend into another. Tired of the same routine, I was thinking that I need a project. Something to look forward to or bring excitement. Usually, it is a special occasion or a party or a trip that we are looking forward to, but this year all those are very muted and parties and travel are out of the question. So, as I was pondering this state of being, and thinking of possible ways of safe travel, I had a wonderful idea.
I thought instead of stressing about how we could go away for the weekend and all the logistics associated with safe travel in the current situation, why don't I explore the world! Meld my passion for cooking with recipes from all over the world and I could do a culinary tour of the world! This project would have many benefits; we would learn something about the culinary traditions of each country, be able to identify them on the map and possibly learn something about the culture and the country as I researched the food. And the best result would be that we would cook and taste many dishes which we would never otherwise get to eat in our lifetime.
I didn't even know how many countries make the world, so that was my starting point. Now, given the very vast world to explore, I decided that to make it easy I had to choose a method. After some thought I decided I would go in an alphabetical order, starting with A and working my way through till Z. Second, I will look for vegetarian recipes, with minimal ingredient substitution. And third, wherever possible I will use produce from the garden. I plan to do video recording of the cooking process, so that I can remember and recreate the recipes that we love and be able to share with you all the process of cooking a dish when you know absolutely nothing about it!!
I am so excited to get started on this project. I have created a separate page on the blog menu to find all the recipes for this project and I will upload videos on my YouTube channel - "Gardening and Cooking Made Easy".
So to kick us off, I have selected Ashak (Aushak) from Afghanistan. I looked up the Afghani cuisine on the internet and some of the recipes that were called out were Bolani, Ashak, varieties of Palaw etc. I had also let my friends know about this project and requested that they provide suggestions for countries that begin with the alphabet "A" and surprisingly many of my friends provided a lot of Afghani food suggestions. I had never eaten or seen Afghani food, so I looked up many recipes on blog sites and youtube. Finally, I decided on making Ashak because it was described as a dish made on special occasions, it could be made vegetarian, was recommended by a friend who had eaten the authentic version as well as I was growing chives and scallions in the yard.
I must say that it was an excellent choice to begin with. Ashak is a chive filled dumpling served on a bed of yogurt sauce along with meat or lentil sauce. Through the various recipes that I read through and viewed, the filling should be of chives, but scallion greens and leeks are acceptable, split peas can be used for the vegetarian version of the recipe and if you want a shortcut, you can use store bought wonton wrappers for the dumpling covers. I, of course, opted to make the entire recipe from scratch including the dumpling dough and the end result was fabulous. I will definitely add this to my cooking repertoire as well as make the three separate components of the dish as separate recipes too. The lentil sauce will taste great with rice, roti or bread. The yogurt sauce makes a delicious dip and the dumplings will taste fantastic even in a pasta sauce. So without further ado, here is the recipe.
Here is the link to the video demonstrating the detailed method.
Ingredients
For the dumpling cover
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp oil
1 egg
1 tsp salt
water to knead a firm dough
For the filling
1.5 cups of finely chopped chives and scallion greens (leafy green part only)
salt to taste
1/8 tsp chilli flakes
1/8 tsp black pepper powder
2 tsp oil
water to cook the dumplings
For the lentil sauce
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup split pea (chana dal)
1 cup diced onions
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste
water, enough to have a sauce which flows easily but is thick to coat the dumplings
For the yogurt sauce
1 cup yogurt
1/4 tsp grated/finely minced garlic
salt to taste
mint powder, for garnish
Method
Rinse and soak the split peas/chana dal for 30 mins or so, till softened.
To make the dumpling covering
Mix together the all purpose flour, oil, salt, egg and adding a little water at a time, knead the mixture to form a firm, smooth dough. Keep it aside for 30 minutes so that the gluten can relax and it can be rolled out easily.
To make the dumpling stuffing
In a mixing bowl, add the chopped chives and scallion greens, add the oil, salt, chilli flakes and black pepper powder and mix well. Keep it aside.
To make the lentil sauce
Heat the oil and add onions to it. Fry this for a minute or two and then add the garlic. Fry this mixture till the onions start becoming translucent and then add the spices - turmeric, cumin seeds, coriander powder and chilli powder. Cook the spices for a minute or two and then add the tomato puree. Cook this till the raw tomato smell disappears and then add the soaked split peas. Stir well, add salt and water and then cook this till the chana dal is cooked through. You may need to add more water if you are cooking it in a saucepan. The dal should not be so mushy that it will lose its shape. I cooked it in the pressure cooker, for 2 whistles. After that, I adjusted the consistency of the sauce by adding water and boiling it. If you cook it in an instant pot, it will take about 8-10 mins at high pressure.
To make the yogurt sauce
Add the garlic and salt to the yogurt and mix well.
To mold and cook the dumplings
Roll out the dough into a thin sheet which is about 2-3 mm thick and starts to look slightly translucent. Then using a round cutter, cut it into circles. Place 1/2-1 tsp of filling in the center of this dough circle. Adjust the filling quantity depending on the size of the dough circle. Then fold the dough into a half, to form a semi cirlcle/half moon shape. Pinch the dough all along the edges, making sure that it is sealed well. Place this in a plate which is dusted with flour, so that the dumplings don't stick to the plate. Cover with a towel, so they don't dry as you form all the other dumplings.
Once all the dumplings are ready, boil water in a large saucepan. Once the water is at a rolling boil, keep the heat at medium high and add the dumplings into the water, one at a time. They will sink. Stir them gently with a slotted spoon, flipping them over. It will take a few minutes and then the dumplings will float to the surface. They are cooked through when they float and start looking translucent. Remove these from the water using a slotted spoon and place in a colander, so that excess water will drain off.
To serve
On a serving plate, spread a layer of the yogurt sauce. Then arrange the dumplings on this sauce layer. Spread another layer of the yogurt sauce. Then add a layer of the lentil sauce on top of the yogurt sauce. Finally, sprinkle some mint powder. Serve. Eat each dumpling with some of the yogurt and lentil sauce. The combination is a burst of flavors in every bite. Absolutely delicious!!
Tips
Chives and scallion greens, both have a mild onion flavor. So, if you don't have access to chives use the onion greens (scallion greens). Drain the leafy greens well after you wash them, so that the stuffing does not have a lot of water. If the stuffing is watery, it will make the dumpling mushy and difficult to handle. I had about 1/3rd of the dough remaining after forming all the dumplings. So you can double the amount of stuffing, keeping the dough ingredient quantities the same. If you are cooking the dal in a saucepan, cover it to quicken the cooking and stir frequently, adding water as needed. You can use a little water to seal the edges of the dumplings, if the rolled circle is dry or if you are using store bought wonton wrappers.
Laminated dough recipes are lengthy! That is important to remember as you start on this recipe. The first time I made a laminated dough was when I was in 6th grade. I made a puff pastry, under the watchful guidance of my mom who walked me through what each step meant. And the main thing I remember about that was that it took us the entire day to make it. So, I'd not been tempted to make such a pastry again till a few weeks ago.
I came across a video in which they showed a bakery processing dough and laminating it and then finally adding a layer of chocolate dough and baking beautiful chocolate filled croissants. That was motivation enough for me to attempt the croissants. The main difference between croissant dough and puff pastry is that the former is a yeasted dough. You still need a lot of butter, refrigeration between steps and a lot of patience. Now that I am older (and hopefully wiser) I had enough patience to spend a day and half in preparing these. The end result was fantastic! Beautiful lamination, very buttery and flaky!
I used the King Arthur Flour recipe and made modifications as I tried to attempt the beautiful technique I had seen in the video of making the chocolate croissants. I weighed out most of the ingredients and for some noted the volume measurements too which I have noted below in the recipe. I used only half the dough (the rest is in the freezer) and was able to shape 18 medium sized croissants out of these.
Watch the video to visualize the key steps which has the key techniques and tips that go along with the method described below.
Ingredients
2 Eggs
Water, room temperature (read method for quantity)
660 gms + 1 cup all purpose flour (this is about 7 cups of flour in total)
2 1/4 tsp yeast
32 tbsp (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry milk powder
2.5 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp of cocoa powder
2-3 tsp water
Method For the sponge
In a measuring cup which can hold 2 cups of water, add the two eggs. Then add enough water, so that the mixture measures a total of 2 cups. You will need about 1 and 3/4 cups of water for this. In a bowl of a stand mixer, mix together 1 tbsp sugar, 360 gms of all purpose flour and the yeast. And then add the water and egg mixture to this and mix well to create a sticky dough. Cover it and let it rest while you get the butter ready.
For the butter slab
Cut out the 2 tbsp of butter from the 1 of the sticks of butter, so that you have 30 tbsp butter. The butter should be at room temperature so that it is malleable. Mix together 60gm (1/2 cup) of all purpose flour with the butter. The easiest method is to use a stand mixer and use a paddle attachment to mix it till you cannot see the flour. Or you can cut the flour into the butter with a fork and then use a spatula to mix it together. Do not whisk it! Then place it on a plastic sheet and then shape it into a 8 inch square. Cover it well and place in the fridge till you work on the dough.
For the dough
Switch out the paddle with a dough hook on your stand mixer and in the same stand mixer bowl which has your sponge, add 2 tbsp of softened or melted butter. I added butter which was very soft and was easily mixed in. In a separate bowl, mix together 3 tbsp sugar, 300 gm of flour, dry milk and salt. Use a whisk to mix these thoroughly and then add the flour mix to the sponge and knead till a dough forms. Add the vanilla. Knead it for 5 minutes and if it is still sticky add more flour till the dough is no longer sticky but still soft. I used about 1/2 cup of flour for this. Once the dough is ready, place it onto a plastic wrap sheet and using your palms and fingers push it out into a 9 inch square. Don't worry if your corners are rounded. Cover it and place it in the fridge to rest for 30 mins. This is to relax the gluten before we start the lamination.
For the final chocolate dough layer, separate out about 1/4 cup (a fistful) of dough and mix in 2-3 tsp of cocoa powder into the dough. Add a couple of tsps of water as needed to make sure that the dough consistency remains the same. Refrigerate this till we are ready to start rolling out the croissants.
Lamination
Remove the butter after about 15 mins of refrigerating the dough. If you have been doing other tasks while getting these components ready, make sure that the butter is not so solid that it will be very hard compared to the dough. The idea is to have the two be of the similar stiffness so that when the dough is rolled out with the butter sandwiched, the butter will spread evenly. My butter was a little harder and I had to let it rest for a bit as I tried to roll it out, and the edges did not have a lot of butter, but after 4 folds, there was no impact to the lamination. If the butter is too soft in comparison to the dough, it will start to spill out. In that case, place it back in the fridge for 10-15 mins.
Turn 1
Roll out the 9 inch square dough into a 12 inch square. Place the slab of 9 inch square dough on the rolling surface which is well floured. Then, place the slab of butter at a 45 degree angle (so it looks like a diamond) and place it on the dough square. Now, there will be 4 triangular corners of the dough which can be seen. Now, bring each triangle of dough into the center of the butter and join all four corners to completely package the butter inside the dough. Use a little water if needed to seal the edges and pinch them so that they are well sealed. Now, flour the rolling surface well, flip over the package and then gently roll out the dough into a rectangle which is 20x10 inches, ensuring that the butter is getting spread. Flour the surface by picking up the dough as you roll it so that it does not stick to the surface and rip. Once the dough is rolled out into the desired size, bring 1/3rd of the dough and cover the center 1/3rd of the dough with it. Then fold the remaining 3rd onto the center to create a package. This will look similar to how a business letter is folded and is called a letter fold. Use some water to seal the edges so that the folds do not slip while rolling the dough. If the dough and butter have softened too much, refrigerate for 15 mins.
Turn 2
Now, turn this by 90 degrees and roll it out again into a 20x10 inch rectangle, rolling out the longer side to 20 inches and shorter one to 10 inches. Then do a letter fold again. This completes the second fold.
Turns 3 and 4
Now repeat steps 2 and 3 to complete a total of 4 turns. Refrigerate in between these steps, as needed.
Once 4 turns are completed cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate. Now refrigerate this for a few hours. I refrigerated it for 4 hours. The dough had started rising and created a dome in the center. Now, cut the dough into two equal halves. You can freeze haf for later use or refrigerate remaining half of the dough while you work on the first half, so that the butter does not melt.
Now, roll out the chocolate dough, which we had kept aside, to a thin sheet which is about 3-4 mm in thickness. Place it on as the final layer and make sure it adheres to the surface and then refrigerate if needed.
Now flour the rolling surface well and roll this out into a 12 inch by 18 inch rectangle. Trim the ends that are not open and are fold ends along the edges, so that the layers are revealed from all sides of the dough. The folded edges can impact the rise. Then cut it into 3 equal halves width wise to create strips that are about 4 inch by 18 inches. Then cut these strips into approximately 3 equal pieces to create a total of 9 rectangles. Now, you can cut each rectangle along the diagonal to make triangular pieces which can then be rolled into crescent shaped traditional croissants. Or you can cut them into smaller rectangles (length wise or width wise) and then shape into log shaped rectangular croissants.
About 1/2 of my dough had was laminated with a top chocolate layer and I used those pieces to make the log shaped chocolate croissants. The rest which had just a little bit of chocolate or no chocolate layer, I rolled into crescent croissants.
Shaping the croissants
For rectangular filled croissants, stretch out the dough a little (use a rolling pin to lightly roll it into a wider and longer piece, but not too thin) place chocolate chips in the center, along the width (shorter length) and then roll the dough similar to a letter fold and then score just the top chocolate layer with a knife to reveal the dough underneath. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet for final proofing.
For crescent shaped croissants, stretch out the dough a little (use a rolling pin to lightly roll it into a wider and longer piece, but not too thin). Now make 3/4th inch long slit in the center of the shortest base of the triangle. Then start rolling the croissant from the base to the tip, till completely rolled. Pull on the two ends, to shape into a crescent and place on a parchment lined baking sheet for final proofing.
Let this prove at room temperature and rise and get puffy for at least an hour to upto 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake this for 7 mins at 400F and then reduce the temperature and bake it for 5-10 mins at 350F till a deep brown.
Let the rest for 10 mins before serving warm!
These are delicious and flaky and perfect!!
Tips
If using salted butter, reduce the quantity of salt in the recipe to 1.5 tsp. I was only going to laminate 1/4th of the total dough with chocolate dough covering, and that is why I only separated out 1/2th cup or a fistful of dough.
I followed the steps of refrigerating the butter and then the dough and when I did the first fold, the butter was too hard. So, make sure that the butter and dough have a similar stiffness when you fold the butter in. For that you must bring out the butter at least 15 mins before you get the dough out. Dust the rolling surface with flour often and liberally to ensure that the dough does not stick to the surface. Dust off excess dough gently using a brush before folding.
Keep an eye on the croissants while baking to make sure they don't burn.
