Jam Filled Croissants

Recently we had a freshly baked croissants on our holiday. Me and My husband is very much fond of it and thus i wanted to try the same at home. Came across so many recipes, but was finding it little complex to work on as i was unable to understand the procedure. But few picture inscrutable for shaping croissants made little easy to understand..Here i have tried my best to make all you viewers to get proper understanding.
As this summer i stored mango jam in a large qty so thought to make Jam filled Croissants for breakfast...
But to be honest, i was little disappointed with the color crust as i myself forgot to Egg wash the Croissants that gives a nice glaze and golden crust.
Please be careful and don't forget to egg wash before baking...I have mentioned below for the same.

Ingredients:

For Dough:
3 cups Maida / All purpose flour
3/4 cup warm milk
1/2 cup water
1 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp Instant dry yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 cup cold grated butter

1 beaten egg for egg washing the croissants.

For Filling:
1 cup home made or store bought Mango Jam (Click on the link for the jam recipe)

Note: I used mango jam but feel free to use Jams or preserves of your choice. For filling Per croissant, you will need 1 tsp of jams/preserve that you will use. Best part is,  you can play with the fillings inside and create your own version...Dough measurements will remains same.
Try the one Savoury croissants.


Recipe:

• In a small bowl, pour milk and sprinkle sugar and yeast. Let the yeast mixture stand until frothy, about 15 minutes.
•  In a large bowl, Mix Maida / All purpose flour with salt and olive oil. Now pour frothy yeast milk mixture in to it, pour water and accumulate all into a sticky dough mixture. (You may need extra flour for dusting and kneading the dough to form a smooth, soft and elastic dough)
• Keep Kneading for 5 minutes until smooth, soft and elastic. Grease the dough with olive oil, cover it with a plastic cling film and allow it rise until doubles in volume, about 30-35 minutes. 
• 
  
• Mean while tear a cling film and grate cold butter on to it. Disperse a little and cover it with the cling film. Refrigerate the butter in a cling film about 40 minutes or an hour, until again hard and stiff. 

(see the picture below)

• Once the dough rises, deflate it by punching down. 
• Again tear a cling film and place it on a work surface, sprinkle it with some flour and bring the dough on the dusted cling film, knead the dough for 2 minutes. Roll the dough with a rolling pin in a rectangular shape.

Bring out the dispersed chilled butter from fridge. Unwrap it and place it on the rolled dough and make 2 folds of the dough. Roll it again with a rolling pin and again make 2-3 folds out of it. Wrap the dough with the film and refrigerate for atleast 30 minutes.
(see the picture below)

• After 30 minutes bring the dough out, unwrap the dough and roll. Fold it as shown above, Re-wrap and refrigerate again for 30 minutes. Repeat the procedure for total 4 times. (i know its little time consuming but for achieving something good and best it does takes time and the end seeing the results you will feel worth doing this, infact i enjoyed the whole process and i am sure you too will)
• Now once you finish the rolling and wrapping procedure four times, its time for making croissants and its filling...( Alas Finallyy...;) 

For shaping Croissants:

(Follow the step-by-step pic below)

• Unwrap the dough, roll it in a large rectangular shape about 16"x7"
• Cut the rectangular dough in half diagonally forming 7-8 triangle. 
• Take one triangle of the dough, pull on the corners of  a triangle unlike a little stretching. 
• Take a tsp of Mango jam or preserves of your choice and place it on a triangle dough, fold it till the end carefully..Like wise make croissants of each triangle and line it on a greased baking tray.
• Cover the tray with a tea towel and allow the croissants to rise for about an hour.
• Once it rises, egg wash the top of all the croissants before baking. 
• Pre-heat oven at 180 degree Celsius.
• Bake the rised croissants for 20 minutes and after that reduce the temperature at 160 degree Celsius and allow to bake more for 15 minutes, or until you get nice golden crust on top. (place a bowl of water in lower rack of oven and croissants on top rack, keep a check on the crust to avoid over baking and burning)
• Once Baked allow all the croissants to cool on wire rack.

Here you are ready with your freshly baked Jam Filled Croissants for breakfast..
Enjoy...:)

Apricot And Walnut Delight Step-by-Step

Apricot And Walnut Delight

Ingredients:

Dough:

250 gms Maida

2 tbsp of Sugar

Pinch of Salt

2 1/2  tbsp  Melted Butter

1 large egg

11 gms of Active dry yeast

1 tsp of Sugar

100 ml Warm milk

Filling:

1 Cup Dried Apricot

1/2 cup Roughly small chopped walnut

3 tbsp Roughly chopped Pistachios

3 tbsp Roughly chopped Cashews

3 tbsp Roughly chopped almonds

50 gms Butter

50 gms Dark Brown Sugar (If you don't have Brown sugar than you can use caster sugar as well)

1/2 tsp grounded Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder

Recipe:

For dough:

In a bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in warm milk. Let it Stand for 5-10 minutes or until frothy.

Now in a large bowl mix flour with pinch of salt, sugar, butter and beaten large egg. Mix all. Add that Frothy Yeast Mixture in to it. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, but not sticky. For a minute.

Cover dough with a plastic cling film. Allow it to prove for about 1 hr or until doubles in volume. 

For Filling:

In a pan, melt butter with dark brown sugar. Now add small and finely chopped dry apricot, walnut, cashews, pistachios, almonds, grounded nutmeg and cinnamon powder. Keep stirring for about 3-4 minutes on medium-low flame.

Allow it to cool completely at room temperature.

Uncover and Punch down the Raised Dough and knead only for few seconds. Dust the work surface with little flour. Roll Dough into a 15 x 30 cms rectangle shape.

Spread Apricot and walnut filling on top of rolled dough.

 Start folding from its sides till end as shown in the picture below.

Once rolled till end, shape and give a desire shape you like and place the dough on a baking tray. Cover it with a tea towel, allow it to rest for about half an hour or until it rises again. Check the shape below that i gave and made a criss cross pattern on top.

Mean while Preheat your oven at 220 degree Celsius. Once bread rises, uncover and bake it in preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until done (till upper crust turns nice light golden brown and crisp, tapping gives hollow sound).

And here it is ready.

Vegetable and Herbed Cheese Cake

When it comes to cheese cake, first thought that comes is sweet and delicious creamy heavy dessert. But here is a twist, I used veggies along with few dried herbs. This veggie Cheese cake is made up of three cheeses. For more details see the recipe below :)...and you too can enjoy this easy delicious veggie cake.

Vegetable & Herbed Cheese Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup finely grated carrot

2 1/2 cup finely grated zuchhini (Tori/Turai)

1/2 cup finely grated brocolli

1 cup finelly chopped onion

1 medium tomato sliced in rings

1 tsp garlic paste (I used garlic chunks)

3 tbsp Butter

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp basil

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 to 1 1/2 tsp grounded black pepper

3 tbsp Maida/all pupose flour

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt to taste

2 1/2 cup Italian Ricotta Cheese (Click on the links for the recipe of ricotta cheese that I shared earlier)

1 cup Grated mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated processed cheese

4 large eggs

1 cup bread crumbs

Recipe:

1) Grease spring form pan with butter or olive oil and spread bread crumbs all over. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Mean while, grate zuchhini (Tori/turai), salt lightly and let its excess moisture strained ( keep aside for about 15 minutes).

2) In a pan saute chopped onions in  butter with pinch of salt, until translucent.

3) Now add Grated carrots, brocooli, zuchhini(Tori/turai), garlic paste, oregano, parsley, basil, Mixed herbs, lemon juice and flour. Stir for 8-10 minutes. Let it cool and come to room temperature.

4) Beat eggs, and slowly  fold in all grated chesses (I use mixer for this) . Keep beating in mixer until all is mixed well and bit fluffy.

5) Now in this cheese mixture, fold all veggie mixture (make sure, veggies are cooled down, else eggs in cheese mixture will scramble).

6) Add grounded black pepper and salt to taste. Pour this whole mixture in spring form pan.

Now bake this for 30 minutes at 200 degree Celsius in preheated oven.

7) After 30 minutes bring out for a minute and decorate cheese cake's top with tomatoes sliced in rings. Sprinkle bread crumbs on it.

8) Now reduce oven temperature to 180 degree Celsius and again bake for 30 minutes.

9) Once baked, let it stand for 15 minutes in oven. Than after Remove out and let it stand for further 10 minutes before serving. 

Cheesy-Herbed Pizza Pull Apart Bread (Eggless)

Cheesy-Herbed Pizza Pull Apart Bread (Eggless)

Ingredients:

For Dough:
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour / maida
1 tsp garlic chunks or paste (i used chunks)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
20-25 gms olive oil
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm milk
3/4 cup milk at room temperature

For Filling:
15-20 gms olive oil (for brushing rolled dough)
2 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp oregano
1/2-1 tsp red chilly flakes
1 1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese

Recipe:

In a small bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/2 cup warm milk. Keep aside for 5 minutes till it dissolves and yeast mixture bubbles up. Mean time in a large bowl, mix maida / all purpose flour with salt, olive oil, and garlic chunks or paste (I used garlic chunks). 

Once yeast mixture dissolved in 1/2 cup warm milk bubbles up, add the same into the flour mixture. Now start gathering flour and use 3/4 cup milk more to form a non-sticky, soft and elastic dough. If its sticky take extra flour but only as per the requirement. Now cover the dough with tea towel or plastic cling film. Now allow it to prove for 1 to 1 1/2 hour or until it doubles in volume. Once doubles in size, punch down.

On your working surface sprinkle some dry flour for further workout. Place dough here and start rolling in to large rectangle shape that is about 12' by 12'.

Brush rolled dough with olive oil, sprinkle mixed herb, cumin powder, red chilly flakes, oregano flakes all over. Now spread finely grated cheddar cheese on top. And roll slightly again to lightly press all the toppings.

Cut the Dough in to 6 long strips by pizza cutter or with a knife. And lift all strips and lay all over other, with topping facing upwards. 

Now start cutting those layered strips  into 7-8 square stacks unevenly and not neatly. Out of this stacks you can cut some of them diagonally in to two parts. Now grease a baking tray or any loaf pan with olive oil. And start placing and layering all stacks of the strips as shown in the picture below, in a baking tray or loaf pan that you are using. (That shouldn't be much even). Cover with a tea towel and let it rise for another 1 hour or more.

Once rises, brush the dough with little olive oil. Bake the dough in an 180 degree Celsius preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until it forms light golden brown crust on top with a hollow sound on tapping.

Eggless Almond Cookies

Eggless Almond cookies

Ingredients:
2 Cups Maida
1/2 cup Powdered almond
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Cup whole Almond (sliced into two parts from middle)
1/4 Cup Butter
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1 tbsp milk

Recipe:
Preheat oven at 180 degree Celsius.
In a large bowl Mix all dry ingredients, maida with powdered sugar, powdered almond and baking powder. In another small bowl accommodate all wet ingredients, melted butter with milk and vanilla essence and mix properly.
Now slowly add the wet mixture to a large bowl having all dry ingredients and knead it to make a dough. Cover Baking tray with a baking sheet and grease with a little olive oil. Take a small portion of the dough and roll into a round ball keeping between your palm and gently press from middle. Fix the sliced almond in its middle as you see in picture above and place all of them in a baking tray, make sure to keep distance between every cookies as their size increases on getting baked.
Now in a preheated oven, bake this cookies for 15 minutes at 180 degree Celsius or until its crust turns brown. Once done let all cookies come to room temperature and store in an air tight container