I read the info that Roxanne sent in and that Lynn sent about the
Panera Egg Souffles. I thought maybe I could contribute my 2 cents.
Lynn had mentioned the difficulty of making Croissant dough. I have
used a recipe put out by the Cuisinart Co. when they had a
publication, that utilizes their food processor in making the dough,
I have done it a number of times, and it really does work well, and
saves a lot of the work--it doesn't eliminate it, but cuts down on
the steps and effort. Since their publication is no longer available,
I will give the recipe. I would say that a larger size, heavy duty
processor would work best--such as the Cuisinart or the Kitchen Aid.
A less sturdy machine might have the motor overloaded.
Croissants
Dough
1 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup hot water
1 1/4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Put in a 2 cup glass measure. Stir in
1 package active dry yeast (or 1 Tablespoon)
Set aside---whisk it well before using as directed.
2 1/4 cups bread flour (11 1/4 oz)
1 Tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
Stir together and set aside.
1 1/2 sticks frozen unsalted butter
Cut the frozen butter into 12 pieces and return to freezer.
Place metal blade in workbowl. Add dry ingredients. Pulse twice.
Whisk liquids and while machine is running, pour in through the small
feed tube in a slow steady stream. Continue until mixture forms a
ball. Process for an additional 30 seconds.
Remove dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten to a disc about
1/2" thick. Wrap with the plastic wrap and place in the freezer until
the dough has become chilled throughout, about 1 hour. The dough
should be stiff, but not frozen. Set a large bowl in refrigerator to
chill also.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Remove dough and cut it into 3 equal portions. Cut each portion into
4 pieces. Keep portions in separate piles. Remove butter from freezer
and divide into 3 piles. Handle as little as possible to keep all cold.
Place metal blade in processor. Put 1 pile of the dough pieces into
processor and scatter one pile of the butter on top. Pulse quickly 25
times--until dough and butter are cut together into rough pieces.
Empty into chilled bowl. Repeat with the other 2 portions of dough
and butter, emptying into bowl after each time.
Lightly flour work area. Empty dough out and with your hands, shape
it into a rough rectangle about 4x6x2". Make the ends as square as
you can. Lightly flour rolling pin. Get a ruler.
Do next section as quickly as possible. If interrupted, transfer to
cookie sheet and refrigerate.
Lightly flour top of dough mass. Roll into a rectangle about 16x6",
keeping ends as square as you can. Using ruler, find the center of
the 16" side. Pick up one of the ends of the dough (use dough scraper
if needed) and fold this end to the center. Repeat with the other
end. Now fold in half. Pick up the folded dough, lightly flour work
area and rolling pin and place dough so the last fold is to your
left. Lightly flour top of dough. This is the 1st double turn.
Roll the dough again to a 6x16" rectangle. Fold as before. This is
your 2nd double turn.
Repeat a third time, keeping ends as square as you can. This is the
3rd double turn. You now have a package of dough with 64 leaves.
Place this into a bag and put into your freezer for about 30 minutes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
After the 30 minutes, this is where you would shape the dough into
the squares and fit into the souffle molds to make the Panera Egg Souffles.
To make Croissants, continue:
Remove dough from freezer and cut in half, crosswise. Return one half
to the freezer.
Lightly flour work surface and rolling pin. Roll dough into an 8x18"
rectangle. With ruler and sharp knife, trim the very edge of the
dough off all the way around, making square corners.
With knife and ruler, cut the dough crosswise at the 6" and 12"
measures. Cut each of these pieces diagonally in half. You now have 6
triangles. Move one triangle away to work on, with the square corner
to your left. Pull on the square corner so it is somewhat like the
bottom right corner. Beginning with the bottom, roll toward the top
point. Lay on baking sheet, curving the croissant into a slight
"smile". Be certain that the "tail" is tucked under the croissant.
Repeat with the remaining triangles, and the roll out the piece in
the freezer and repeat above steps. Cover croissants with plastic
wrap, loosely laying it on the dough.
Let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. When dough is almost
doubled, preheat oven to 350 F, oven rack in upper third.
Stir 1 whole egg with 1 Tablespoon water. Brush over the croissants
just before baking. Place a second baking sheet under your pan (or
use an insulated baking sheet.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown. You have created a work of art!
(Resist the idea of doubling the recipe. It is too much to work with
at one time. If more croissants are wanted, repeat process a second time.)