CrouKronuts/Kronuts-Baking Partners Challenge- 15

Kronuts

Baking partners challenge for this month is a very interesting recipe. Swathi suggested CrouKronut / Kronut a home made version of the newest and most popular pasty sensation. It was created by Dominique Ansel bakery owner in New York. If you want to know more about this pasty check Cronut 101 and you can see the original in all its glory. It is an innovative hybrid pastry,half croissant and half doughnut. Definitely these beauties are rich in calories as they are fried and then filled with pasty cream and glaze. But will you be tempted to try this at least once in a life time :). I do not know whether it is available hear in Ohio, so I too decided to try the home made version.

This pastry recipe is unique and trying to make it was a great learning experience for me. I have never tried making laminated dough or puff pastry. Laminated dough consists of alternative layers of dough with thin sheets of butter. There are different types of laminated dough from puff pasty to croissant dough and brioche. The richer the dough the more tender and flakier the result. The croissant dough is a flavorful yeast dough similar to the bread dough but laminated and enriched with butter. I tried the recipe suggested by Swathi. I also referred to Sherry Yard and Julie Child's cook book on how to make laminated dough.You can search Julia Child's Youtube video on how to make Croissants.

Ingredients
Recipe source : BootLeg Cronut
For dough
All purpose Flour- 3.75 cups/510 grams
( I used a combination of bread flour and all purpose flour
2 cups of bread flour and 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour)
Salt- 1 tsp
Egg-2
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Milk- 1/2+ 2 tbs milk
Yeast- 1 packet/2 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter- 3.5 tbs/50 g

For the butter layer
Unsalted butte- 1 1/4 cup+ 1/2 tbs- 295g/ 2 sticks+ 1/2 stick
Flour- 11/2 tbs

For frying
Canola oil: 2-3 cup
Water: 200 g for brushing on the top
Cinnamon sugar (400g sugar and 100 g cinnamon)

For pastry cream and filling
Suggested by Reeni of Cinnamon Spice and everything nice
Recipe source:Glazes from King Arthur Flour

Easy Rose flavor Glaze

Confectionery sugar/glazing sugar- 1 1/4 cups
Light corn syrup- 1 tbs
Melted butter- 1 tbs
Milk- 1 tbs
Rose water- 1 tbs
(I used rose water instead of vanilla essence)
Pink color- a few drops

To make the kronuts
This recipe has two components. The yeast dough and a butter block. It involves three stages and to yield best results divide the whole process into three days. The first day make the dough, second day laminating-putting in the butter block, rolling the dough and folding. Each fold is called a turn and you have to do a total of six turns. The third day is cutting into doughnut shape and frying.

Day 1
Bring 50 grams of butter and eggs to room temperature
Combine the dry ingredients, flour, salt, sugar, instant yeast, in the bowl of a stand mixer.

If using instant yeast, mix it with the dry ingredients and if using active yeast,mix in luke warm milk and set aside for 5-7 minutes to proof

Heat milk in microwave 30 seconds and add butter. Allow the butter to melt and mix well. Pour this into the dry mixture along with the eggs
Mix on low speed for1 minute or until everything is incorporated. Mix on higher speed for another 3-4 minutes. If you kneading with your hand mix till all the dough comes together and then on a working surface knead gently and until you get smooth shiny dough.
Note-Do not work the dough too much, it is best not to have too much elasticity in croissant dough

Roll the dough into a ball. Using a sharp knife cut an X extending half way through the dough. This will expand as the dough relaxes and will aid in rolling later. Cover tightly with clear plastic wrap, making sure it is not in contact with the dough. Allow this to proof to double its size ( keep in a warm area for about 1- 1 1/2 hour). Cover air tight in plastic wrap or cling wrap and refrigerate over night.

Day 2 Preparing the butter and Laminating

It is easy to slice butter when it is cold.Cut butter into half lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Place on a peice of lightly floured parchment paper and then dust the top with flour and then place another parchment paper on top. Using a rolling pin gently bang the butter to smooth it and make it workable.Gently press and flatten and make sure that the pieces adhere to each other and form a compact slab.Trim the edges and make a perfect square. You can smoothen this excess butter on top again using the rolling pin. Form the butter into a six inch square about 1 inch thick.Place in refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours.
Note-The flour will assist in breaking the butter and will make rolling easier. But do not add too much flour as it will inhibit the dough from puffing

Day 2 continued..
Laminate the dough after two hours

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and lightly dust work surface with flour and also the top of the dough. The dough should feel like firm clay. Using a rolling pin roll out from the center to each corner following the X shape. Roll in one direction, and then turn 180 degree and the roll the other side. Try to keep the center a little more thicker than the edges. The flattened dough will have a diamond shape. Place the square butter block in the center and the fold each corners over the butter like an envelop. Press and pinch the edges to completely seal the dough packet. Dust the work surface and using a rolling pin flatten and roll the dough moving from center to the corner to form a 12x 18 inch rectangle half inch thick.

1st Turn. Turn the dough so that it is horizontal with the longer edge nearest to you. Mark the rectangle into three equal columns. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. Fold the left third over the center third,just like a business letter. This is the first turn.

The second turn is to lock the first turn. Try to do this turn right away, but if the dough is too warm, wrap in film and place in the refrigerator until it cools. Place the rolling pin on an unsealed edge of the dough,gently press down to keep it in place and now repeat with the remaining two sides. Roll over the dough with four or five even strokes. Press the corners again to see it is perfectly locked. Dust off the excess flour,wrap in plastic film and gently press two fingers into the lower right corner to mark the number of turns (this will help you to keep track of the number of turns),refrigerate for 30-40 minutes.
Note: After each turn the dough needs to be chilled and rested to help re-solidify and the gluten to relax. Also brush off the excess flour with a pasty brush before folding and chilling.

3rd Turn. Place the rectangular dough lengthwise on a lightly floured work surface. The open ends should be towards your right and left. Roll again to from another horizontal rectangle. Fold the right third over the center and the left third over that. Cover and refrigerate for another 30 minutes. Repeat the fourth like the first one and fifth turns like the third and refrigerate over night.

3rd Day Frying the kronuts
Make the sixth turn on the third day. Refrigerate for half an hour.
Lightly dust the work surface with flour and roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thick rectangle sheet. Make sure the dough stays cold, without sticking to the surface. If it starts to stick, place in the refrigerator and roll again when cool.
To punch the kronuts. Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper and geese it . Remove dough from fridge and take two ring molds, or doughnut cutter. The circles will be approximately 3 ½ inch and inner should be 1 ½ inch. When punching make sure that the dough is very cold.

Transfer half of the punched kronuts to the sheet pan, leaving room for kronuts to “poof.”
Brush tops of the Kronut with water and set aside. Place Kronut holes on the same sheet tray, leaving enough space for them to poof without sticking to each other. Leave in a warm area until they have proofed, about 30 min.Once it is proofed keep it in the refrigerator for 1 hour or in the freezer for 15 minutes before frying.

Frying Kronuts. Heat canola oil in a pot, about 3 inches high. Test oil with a pinch of flour: if flour foams it is ready for deep frying. Turn heat to low and place Kronuts in oil, 1-2 at a time, in order to avoid overcrowding the pot. Turn and flip Kronuts often so that they brown evenly.Once golden brown throughout, test one to see if it is cooked all the way through. Remove and place on paper towels. When it is warm itself toss with sugar and cinnamon.

To make the glaze

To decorate you can use pastry as filling and any type of glaze. I used a rose flavored glaze. Both the white and the pink I used are rose flavored. For the pink I used a few drops of permitted food color. I used the same as filling. You can substitute it with pastry cream
Stir in all the ingredients together, adding extra liquid or confectioners' sugar to adjust the consistency as needed. Yield: about 1/2 cup glaze.