Who doesn’t love a good croissant? The flakiness of croissant dough is something you can’t find in just any dough. The best part about these croissants is they not only have the light, buttery texture every good croissant needs, they are also stuffed. You can never go wrong when you stuff a croissant. These croissants are stuffed with prosciutto and brie.
Croissants with Prosciutto and Brie
Ingredients: Pastry Dough Source- Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess
1/4 cup (60 ml) warm water
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk at room temperature
1 large egg at room temperature
2 1/4 cups (10 1/8 oz | 286g) all-purpose flour
1 package (2.25 tsp. | 1/4 oz | 7g) rapid rise yeast or 1 tablespoon fresh yeast
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon (1 oz. | 25g) sugar
1 cup (8 oz | 250g) unsalted butter, cold, cut into thin slices
Filling:
8 to 16 thin slices prosciutto di Parma or smoked ham (depending on how many croissants you are making)
Brie cheese, about 1/2 oz per croissant, cut into matchstick-sized pieces
Egg wash:
1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons of milk
Note: You will have a lot of leftover glaze if you are only making 8 pastries, but if you are prompt about putting it back in the fridge, you can save it until you get around to making the remaining 8 pastries.
Directions:
1. If you are using rapid-rise yeast or fresh yeast and have planned ahead such that you know you will be refrigerating the dough overnight: Pour the water and milk into a measuring cup and add the egg, beating with a fork to mix. Set aside. If you need to speed up your dough-making process or want to make sure your yeast is alive and well: Sprinkle yeast over the warm water and milk with a little bit of the sugar (I took 1/2 teaspoon from the 1 tablespoon) and let stand until the mixture starts to foam a little bit. Then beat egg with a fork until broken up and add to milk-yeast mixture. Beat mixture with fork again until just combined. Set aside.
- One thing I have come to realize is that it’s important to use what you know, that is, when it comes to yeast. Use what you’re comfortable with. Being comfortable with yeast will help you get over a huge hurdle not only with this recipe, but with all breads.
- A trick I learned is to put the yeast in a clear cup or bowl. This way you can see the foam it creates so you know when it is ready.
2. Place a large bowl near your food processor. Then put the flour, yeast (if you haven’t mixed it with the milk), salt and sugar in the processor, and give it one quick whizz just to mix. Add the cold slices of butter and process briefly so that the butter is cut up a little. You still want visible chunks of butter, at least 1/2 inch in size, so do about 10 to 15 short pulses.
3. Empty the contents of the food processor into the large bowl, then add in the milk-egg mixture. Use your hands or a rubber spatula to mix the ingredients together, but don’t overdo it: expect to have a gooey mess with some butter lumps pebbling it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, put in the refrigerator, and leave overnight or up to 4 days.
- I left the dough in for a few hours and it worked out fine. Just like most doughs, you want yours to rise roughly double the size.
4. To turn the dough into pastry, take it out of the refrigerator, let it get to room temperature and roll the dough out into a 20-inch square. Fold the dough square into thirds, like a business letter, turning it afterward so that the closed fold is on your left, like the spine of a book. Roll the dough out again into a large square, repeating the steps above 3 times.
- You want to be gentle with the dough at this stage. If you are too hard with it, the layers won’t form.
Croissants with Prosciutto and Brie
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, or refrigerate half to use now and put the other half in the freezer to use later.
6. Roll the dough out again into a large square or rectangle. Cut the dough in half lengthwise and crosswise. Then cut each of the four pieces created in half diagonally.
7. Lay a piece of prosciutto or smoked ham over two-thirds (or more) of each triangle, leaving the pointed tip uncovered. Scatter the batons of Brie over the top. Starting with the wide base of each triangle, carefully roll up each croissant, encasing the ham and cheese as you go.
- I know we tend to over-stuff everything, but with this you want to go easy. Prosciutto is pork and tends to be salty, so you don’t want too much or it will overpower the croissant.
Croissants with Prosciutto and Brie
8. Place the rolled croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with the egg wash. Leave them to rise until they double in size, about 1 1/2 hours. They should then feel like marshmallow.
- Wherever you leave them, make sure it’s not too humid or it will take longer to rise.
Croissants with Prosciutto and Brie
9. Meanwhile, about 30 minutes before they’re ready to be cooked, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until puffy and golden brown.
Croissants with Prosciutto and Brie
I decided to make half the batch in the morning to see how they came out. Boy, was I in for a treat! I didn’t even have to make anything else for breakfast; my husband and I just ate croissants. That night I made the rest. They heated up great the next morning. I think next time I might try stuffing them with chocolate and make them for dessert.
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Croissants with Prosciutto and Brie
