One More a Time, Please, Sandra Alicante!!

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One More a Time, Please, Sandra Alicante!! posted by: Mrs Cindy on January 02, 2014 at 10:51 pm

Dear Sandra Alicante, I have, once again, lost your recipe and directions for croissants. I have made them, using your eloquently descriptive instructions, in the past, but would like to try again.


I have acquired a real honest to goodness croissant roller/cutter. I can't wait to use it. But, without that recipe, I am not even going to try. My biggest problem, in the past, has been with the dough 'shrinking' while trying to roll it out. A couple of years ago, working with a baking friend, we developed a recipe for cinnamon rolls. We've been making them year 'round since then. I just made ten batches of cinnamon rolls to give as Christmas morning breakfast for friends . While rolling the dough I noticed the dough never did that shrinkie- dink thing. Huh?!?! What was the difference?

KAF's Easy Roll Dough Improver!! That was the difference! I could roll that dough to less than 1/4" thickness with no shrinking.

So, the question becomes; is there any reason not to add 2 tablespoons of the dough improver to your recipe? Of course, I would need the recipe.

If you would be so kind as to tell me where I can find said recipe, I promise not to lose it again. But........didn't I say that last time?

~Cindy, who is sitting here with her head hanging and a pleading look on her face....... ? ? (Shame faced)

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 05, 2014 at 12:36 pm
Yay! I got it. I've seen all her videos. She's a great instructor, isn't she! Thanks, everyone, for all your help!
~Cindy

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 05, 2014 at 12:55 pm
Sorry Ladies!

Have not checked in for a couple of days, been distracted with other things.. too many crafts to choose from! I have emailed a reply to Mrscindy.

For anyone else wondering, I see no reason why you should not add a dough enhancer if you wish. I habitually add a squirt of vinegar to all my doughs these days, to guard against bad flour. Believe me, it makes a difference!

Making the dough in the Zo is fine, as the dough is chilled for several hours after making anyway, the heating in the Zo will not be a problem.

It is important to note that the dough, when being laminated, does not need to be rolled thinly, half an inch / 1cm thick is as much as it should be down to in a single layer. Even when rolling and shaping, you don't want to make it too thin or you will destroy all those lovely layers.

http://www.sandrascookbook.com/recipe.php?id=117
bakeinspain youtube channel

Worth noting, I seldom look at the channel so any questions are better directed here! 🙂

Sandra

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 09, 2014 at 6:09 pm
Sandra, you are going to be so disappointed in me. ? the croissant dough, complete
I'm not disappointed, I'm disgusted. In myself! I'm not sure what went wrong, but the dough wasn't right from the beginning.......

So, from the beginning; I used the instant yeast technique as you described. Everything went into the Zo, including 2 Tbsp of KAF easy roll dough improver. I measured everything with my scale. One thing I noticed, as soon as the Zo started mixing, was it seemed very dry. After mixing for 2-3 minutes, I could tell there was going to be a problem. The dough was very dry and crumbly. I began adding water, one tablespoon at a time. I added 4 tablespoons of slightly warm water.

When it had finished kneading, I still thought the dough felt dry. Not supple and soft, but I proceeded to put it on the floured plate, cover with two layers of cling wrap and chill. The next morning it was very hard to roll out, even after sitting for an hour at room temperature. I was barely able to roll it out enough to get it large enough to wrap around the butter block.

As an aside: the part that hurt the most, when I threw it away, was throwing away the 10 ounce Plugra butter block! Plugra isn't cheap! Man, I almost cried!!

Returning to saga; I managed to roll it out enough to do the first letter fold, but the dough was stiff and hard. After chilling, then letting it sit on the counter for 30 minutes, I attempted to roll it out for the first book fold. I just barely got that done, but it had several small breaks where butter oozed out. I sprinkled with flour and after the book fold, put it back in the fridge to chill.

When I got it out to do the next fold, it was impossible to roll out. The dough broke open completely, the butter block was oozing from every possible corner.

Then, the darn thing had the audacity to leave large sheets of dough attached to the floured counter when I tried to roll it. At that point there was no saving it. It went into the trash.

End of croissant saga. At least for today. Tomorrow is another day. I will try again. First, a trip to the store is beckoning to me. I need some more European butter.

The problem is the hydration of the dough. It never looked like the dough in your video. Should I be adding more milk? Or was water the right choice? I hate, hate, HATE to throw something away. It makes my skin crawl. I just hate it. Maybe after sleeping on it things will look brighter. I'm tired and mad right now. I'll let you know how things look in the morning!

~Cindy

reply by: frick on January 09, 2014 at 9:41 pm
Cindy,What a shame. I haven't made any laminated dough in so many years I can't remember.

How much is Plugra in Houston? I've never bought any but found it lately at Smart and Final for only about $4.00. Can't remember exactly except that it was only about $1.00 more than regular butter. I'm afraid if I start to use it, I might get addicted. What kills me is the price of Gruyere.

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 10, 2014 at 1:58 am
Cindy, I am not disappointed in you!

I can't understand why your dough was so dry though. If you go over the recipe again and decide that you didn't mis read it and leave something out, then it would have to be the type of flour absorbing more liquid. Please note..
*******Milk in my recipe is 10 fl oz Imperial ******** just over .6 US pints **** 285ml******* Is that where you went wrong?

Use your bread making experience with your Zo to get the texture right, please don't waste any more of the expensive butter until you do. Using milk or water is unlikely to make a great difference, I have noticed that some recipes use water.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed!

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 10, 2014 at 1:11 pm
Yes! I think the problem was in the difference between US and Imperial measure.

Here's what I did this morning: I re-made the dough, but only used approximately 2-1/2 cups of flour. Instead of weighing, I measured only because I was 'looking' it into the Zo until it looked right. This time the dough came out feeling and looking much better. It is in the fridge, on it's little plate, chilling away. I have some Challenge butter I will use for the butter block. It's not their European butter, but is a higher grade than most butters. I'll save the Plugra for another try after this has been perfected.

We shall see what happens next!

My only regret was that I was so mad I threw all that dough and butter in the trash. If I had taken a few minutes to think about it, I would have thrown it in the Zo instead and kneaded the bejabbers out of it and made a loaf of very rich, buttery bread.

If this one doesn't work, that's what I'll do before just tossing it. It would probably make a really good loaf of bread with all that expensive, European butter kneaded in.

Wish me luck. By Monday I should be baking French croissants!
~Cindy

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 10, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Frick, I think this Plugra was about $5/8 oz block. That equates to $10/pound! Yikes! Since I used 10 ounces that came to about $7 worth of butter in the trash.........killed my soul!
~Cindy

reply by: frick on January 10, 2014 at 1:39 pm
I should look and see if the Plugra at S&F was for 8 ounces. I may not have found a bargain after all.

That is the way I feel about Gruyere. At about $18-20 per pound, the Gruyere bread costs $11.25-$12.50 for the cheese alone. Fortunately, Trader Joe's sells it for less, but
Yes, it's a shame you threw away your schizophrenic dough, but we have all done that. You will get it right the next time. They will be awesome, I'm sure.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 10, 2014 at 5:55 pm
Yay! The butter block went in without a single hitch and the first letter fold is done! Everything feels and looks different this time. Only used 2 tsp instant yeast and much less flour. I think I'm on the right track. It's chilling in the fridge. Tomorrow the book fold and final letter fold.

I'll ieep you updated! I'm beginning to drool....... I saved a block of Kerry Gold to slather on that first, hot, gem from the oven!

~Cindy

reply by: kathyd on January 11, 2014 at 12:03 am
I'm drooling. I'll have to take a look at this recipe for sure!

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 11, 2014 at 3:28 am
Sounds like it's going much better this time ! :)
I'm keeping an eye on you, just to make sure. When you do your rolling and folding, go gently and don't roll too thin, It should not be like a pie crust. Even when rolling for cutting out, it needs to have some bulk in it.

I never add butter to a baked croissant, just jam or occasionally Nutella. Hubby likes them with almond butter. When I first started making them, I started off with more butter in the block but gradually reduced it. Partly because I didn't want them to be overly greasy and also to keep the cost down. While my butter is nowhere near your price, it has gone up by 25% recently!

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 11, 2014 at 1:04 pm
I just finished the book fold and it went sooooooo smoothly. Just like on your YouTube video! So far, so good. It's back in the fridge, chilling for the final fold. I'm going to do the final letter fold tonight and chill overnight. We will have fresh, hot croissants for breakfast in the morning. Life could not be sweeter!

~Cindy

p.s. I have a small jar of Bourbon Cherry preserves we goot at a distillery in Kentucky. I thought it might be good on hot croissants. ? ~C

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 11, 2014 at 3:49 pm
I'm getting excited for you Cindy!

It will be a late breakfast by the time everything is shaped and rested but should be well worth the wait! Cherry preserves it deserves!

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 11, 2014 at 5:48 pm
Frick, I just got a beautiful piece of Gruyere at Sam's Club. It weighed in a just over .8 ounces for $10.78. I think that made it about $12.35/lb. expensive, but so worth it for a good Gruyere. My brain is going 90 miles an hour thinking of how I'm going to use it.

I know there are cheese biscuits for dinner tomorrow. I'm thinking some grated Gruyere, grated parm and some Vermont cheese powder from KAF, with some garlic and onion powder, or maybe finely grated garlic, freshly ground black pepper. See, this is what happens when my mind starts down certain roads.

Tomorrow is the Black Mountain Truffle Chestnut Biscotti. And.........as long as I'm doing biscotti.........a multi-cheese biscotti with pecans. Kind of like those old fashioned cheese balls that were rolled in nuts. Hhhhuuuummmmm....... There I go!

~Cindy

reply by: frick on January 11, 2014 at 8:54 pm
Cindy, something about your math didn't compute. I bet you meant .8 pound? Unfortunately, Sam's is too far away for us to have a membership. Boohoo.

I highly recommend KAF's Crusty Gruyere bread. I promise, make it once & you'll see what I mean. If you try it, remember to squish the rolls as you put them on the parchment. It makes the cheese bubble up and they are as impressive looking as they are delicious. It would be a premium bakery item. You will tear them apart, warm, wanting nothing more than a cold plate of salad-y things. Sliced cold meat, beets, and other good veggies. A meal made in Heaven. I would make that tomorrow myself except we'll be gone all day.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 11, 2014 at 10:04 pm
You're right, I was at dinner, eating a wonderful Samurai burger (HEAVEN) and mis-typed. It should have been .8 pounds.

OMG!! FRICK, how could you!?!? You started this Gruyere thing and now, NOW you throw in that recipe for the Crusty Gruyere bread. Oh, tomorrow is going to be a totally high calorie, blow-your-diet-out-of-the- water, day. Croissants with bourbon cherry preserves, Black Mountain Truffle Chestnut Biscotti, Old Bay Cheese Biscuits, somewhere in there robinwaban threw down the KAF cream filled coffee cake gauntlet, I WAS thinking about conjuring up a recipe for a biscotti using my newly acquired Vermont cheese powder. .

Oh, man, Frick. You have really thrown a monkey wrench in my perfectly ordered day. Huh! The only good thing about that bread is the beautiful, cold veggie plate that would serve as dinner! ?

~Cindy

p.s. Do you think sleeping late would work as an excuse for not getting everything done I had planned? No? Huh!
~C

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 12, 2014 at 1:05 am
No sleeping late if you want croissants for breakfast! 🙂

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: omaria on January 12, 2014 at 10:02 am
It is now 9.00 a.m. at your house. How was breakfast. ? Or is it going to be brunch ?

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 12, 2014 at 3:24 pm
I think it's still a bit early.....:)
I look forward to getting up tomorrow and finding out how it went!

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 12, 2014 at 7:37 pm
Okay, it was all frick's fault. I swear, I had everything set for croissants for breakfast and Frick threw a monkey wrench into the works.

You see, she mentioned the high price of Gruyere. I happened to be at Sam's Club. There was a beautiful block of Gruyere for $10.37. I couldn't resist. Bought it and told her about it. Then she said she makes KAF's Crusty Gruyere bread with it and it is fabulous! Gauntlet down!! I made the starter last night and left it on the counter to proof overnight.


I popped out of bed early this morning, took the croissant dough out, put it on the counter.........and there was that starter. OMG!! It looked beautiful. All puffed up and smelling glorious! Quick. There isn't much to it. I'll throw everything into the Zo and get that started.

Three hours later I was pulling four gorgeous loaves of Gruyere bread out of the oven.......and there was the croissant dough, still wrapped in plastic, sitting on the counter, untouched! The size of a football!

So, I did a quick, very gentle roll out (it was VERY soft), and letter fold and back into the fridge it went. Several baked goods later, I decided to wait until tomorrow morning. Besides, my trainer comes in the morning. I don't think she can hurt me too much with her mouth full of fresh, hot, croissants. Right?

So, instead of croissants, we have Black Mountain Truffle/Chestnut Biscotti, Old Bay Cheddar Biscuits and Four loaves of Crusty Gruyere Bread. Somewhere in there robinwaban mentioned PJ's filled coffee cake. That was weighing (preying?) on my mind all day, too. What to do, what to do....... I love when a Monday holds so much promise.......


~Cindy

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 13, 2014 at 1:54 am
Tut,tut Cindy (shakes head sadly!) I hope that dough didn't get too warm!

sandrascookbook.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 13, 2014 at 4:08 pm
We have achieved nirvana! They may not be beautiful, but they taste great!



I was absolutely correct in my assessment of my shortfall in making croissants. Standing up to roll and fold.



I'm simply not strong enough to stand and roll the dough when it's properly chilled. It requires strength I do not have. I must allow the dough to warm to the point where it can be rolled easily. This warms the butter and I end up with leakage/breakthroughs.



This morning I tried to roll the chilled dough to no avail. Could not do it. Finally, after 45 minutes of struggling to roll it out and having a rectangle of approx 9"x13", my trainer showed up. She finished rolling it out for me. The dough was fairly warm, probably close to room temp by then, but with sprinklings of flour and flipping it over several times, we were able to get 7 croissants, 4 Danishes, and several little nibblers.



Bless her heart, she did the best she could, but the whole concept was a little outside her grasp. They certainly weren't pretty, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the taste was outstanding. She was quite excited that she was able to help me. Of course, she went home with something for lunch, :-)) as well as a loaf of KAF's Crusty Gruyere Bread. Now that's worth any price you might have to pay for it. Thank you, Frick!



I think I'm on the right road with this recipe. I used less yeast, 2 tsp, and got 'out of the world' rise every time! I'm more comfortable with the process and, with practice, I think I can tweak the technique so I can do most of the rolling and folding myself. The key, for me, is allowing the dough to warm for just a bit before trying to roll it, but not so much that I end up with a big mess. Timing will be the key.



Will I make these again? You bet your booty I will! Sandra's recipe is outstanding and her technique is clear and concise. Follow her YouTube videos and you can't go wrong. Through the whole process I could hear her calm voice telling what to do and what to look for. Worth every second of watching those videos......over and........over and.........over!



Thank you, Sandra! If I could figure out a way to turn Coach into a floatation device, I would come for a nice long visit and spend time in Sandra's Kitchen!
~Cindy

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 13, 2014 at 5:27 pm
My heavens Cindy, you're making me blush! 🙂

If you have a problem with the dough getting too warm on shaping, pop the shaped pieces back in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up again. That should decrease the butter leakage.

Glad your trainer turned up in the nick of time and that she didn't insist you through out all that buttery dough!
sandrascookbook.com

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 13, 2014 at 10:29 pm
My trainer is a true foodie. She is tiny and thin, now, but had a weight problem before she lost weight and became a certified trainer. She still loves really good food and knows you can eat good food in moderation. She left here with a Danish, a croissant, several nibblers and a loaf of Gruyere bread.

She texted me about 2 hours later to tell me she had stopped at the grocery store and picked up a bunch of fresh veggies and some thin sliced deli turkey. She heated up the loaf of Gruyere bread, sliced it and made sandwiches. The croissant was being saved for dinner. The Danish will be breakfast tomorrow. Just because you have all of it, doesn't mean you have to eat it all at one seating. Also, she splits everything with her husband.

Trust me, Sandra, she left here with a huge smile on her face and the text that started with OMG, OMG, ? OMG!!!!! that said everything!

Again, thank you, so very much, for everything. I'm not intimidated by croissants or laminated dough any more. However, I do have one question. In watching the videos, I noticed your dough doesn't rise nearly as much as mine. Mine literally turned into a huge football in the fridge. Yours stayed fairly flat, with a small rise, when you had it on the plate and, later, when wrapped in cling wrap. Mine was easily twice to three times the size of yours.

Like I said, I decreased the yeast to 2 tsp and the flour to 2-1/2 cups. It made the dough more workable, but it was still a very poofey dough which made rolling it out difficult because of the deflating factor. By the time you get it deflated, it is starting to break apart.

The question is this, should I decrease the yeast even further? Would decreasing it hurt the dough in any way? The Gruyere bread I made had 1/2 tsp in the starter and 1/2 tsp added to the dough. It had lots of rise. What do you think about decreasing the yeast in the croissants? How much rise is there supposed to be in the croissant dough? Doesn't the majority of the rise come from the butter layer?

~Cindy

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 14, 2014 at 2:10 am

So glad everyone is happy! No need to be scared of laminated dough!

Re the rising. A couple of things come to mind. Whenever I do a chilled dough I get more of a rise if I am using Fresh yeast. Don't know why but the instant stuff I get seems to lose oomph in the fridge. It is possible that your yeast is stronger. Maybe the grains are finer. You are using cups of flour, not weighing so the proportions may be different. It is possible my fridge is colder. I have no idea how cold it is! I do wrap tightly. Different air, altitude, air born yeasts, temperature.... You already know the effects these can cause. The main thing is that you are now comfortable with the method and that was the aim of the video.

Congratulations!

As for using less yeast? The only thing I can say, is try it and see. As you say, much of the rise should occur because of the layers of butter. There is of course Puff Pastry, very similar but with no yeast at all.

The world is your oyster now Cindy!

reply by: KIDPIZZA on January 15, 2014 at 11:35 am
MRSCINDY:
Good morning my friend. Cynthia, my imagination tells me after I read your post. Is there anyway that you can roll out this cold dough in a "PASTA" machine....?????

I am not familiar with these machines. I have only seen them in ads.
Anyway just a thought.

Take care my friend

~CASS.

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 15, 2014 at 12:47 pm
Haha! I think I did suggest that at one time but I don't know if it would roll it too thinly. After all, the bakeries use a large version!

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 16, 2014 at 10:25 pm
Cass, I have one of those pasta rollers, but they don't open wide enough to allow the dough to feed through. Sandra did suggest it, at one point, and I tried it, but.....no go. It was a good thought, but the pasta roller isn't big enough.

I have looked at sheeters, but they start at about $2,000. For me to make croissants only once a year, that seemed a little excessive! ?

I will say this, though. My trainer was here this morning (remember she went home with a croissant, a Danish and some nibblers) and couldn't stop raving about both the croissants and the Gruyere bread. She said she had eaten croissants in France and these were better than any she had eaten there! I was sooooo happy with them. Truly, truly the best!

Sandra, you are a true gem! I'm not intimidated by laminated dough anymore. In fact, this weekend I'm experimenting with your recipe using less yeast. I'd like to be able to get it through the last fold and freeze it. That way I will have it ready to thaw, cut, proof and bake! I'll let you know how that works for me.

~Cindy
p.s. I don't plan on using the really good European butter until I've perfected the process. ~C

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 17, 2014 at 7:32 am
Cindy, I often freeze the dough. What I do is do the last fold, rest in fridge over 6 hours say, then bag and freeze. I cut the block in half first though, so I don't have to bake many at a time.

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 19, 2014 at 7:19 pm
Sandra!! Yay!! I'm getting more and more confident. Maybe too confident, but here's what I did. After the last fold I let it chill in the fridge then rolled it out as thin as I could get it, which wasn't very much, but, still pretty good. Problem was there was some breakthrough of butter. But.......

Used parchment to keep the layers from sticking together and folded it into about quarters, wrapped it securely in cling wrap then into a ZipLoc bag and into the freezer.

One thing I did this time was decrease the yeast to 1 tsp. I got great rise each time between folds and after the last rolling out, I trimmed the edges off and those pieces proofed then baked. Beautiful! I sprinkled them with sparkling sugar and they are sitting here calling my name.

So, results: 1 tsp yeast does the trick for me and after the final fold and chilling, it can go into the freezer. .
The only reason I didn't cut it in half, was because it was already getting too warm and difficult to handle. Maybe next time.

Yay!! I'm so happy. This croissant stuff isn't as hard as I was afraid it was going to be. THANK YOU, SANDRA!! You're the best!!

~Cindy

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 20, 2014 at 1:53 am
See Cindy, nothing scary really! ! Glad you have success at last. As for the trimmings, Chef perks!
The butter break through (in lumps) is either caused by the butter being too hard at the time of rolling (too cold) or the dough being rolled too thin.

My reward is your success.

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 20, 2014 at 10:24 pm
I think the butter was too cold. I could see the lumps of butter through the dough while trying to roll it. I was ATTEMPTING to roll it by myself, which is a huge undertaking and quite disastrous! ? I know better than to do something like that by myself. T.S. Is much better at that than I am. I finally have him trained. He has become quite the expert at rolling dough. Who would have thought?!?!

But, I'm much more comfortable about making laminated dough, so you did a great job. Soon I will have a freezer full of laminated dough that I can whip out, thaw, make into croissants, proof and bake! Yay! I'll be a hero!

BTW, my trainer was here this morning. She is STILL talking about the croissants and Danish I sent home with her. She was at a football party this weekend and told me she was telling EVERYBODY that she had helped with TRUE FRENCH CROISSANTS and they were better than anything she had ever tasted in the US! Quite happy with 'her' accomplishments! ?

~Cindy

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 21, 2014 at 1:55 am
TS is wonderful to have learned so well. My hubby can't even roll out pizza dough without yelling for help! Your butter block must have been a bit too cold when you put it in, so that the butter tore into chunks, rather that rolled out evenly. Next time you will know that it has to be a bit softer.

I really recommend you to try the Raspberry Danish.
http://www.sandrascookbook.com/recipe.php?id=170

They are heavenly. I don't think it will be long before you suddenly find you are getting a great many more visitors around 11 am....:)
snadrascookbook.com

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 21, 2014 at 5:04 pm
While the raspberry Danish does look very good, you have to take one small bite of the bourbon cherry danish. It was sublime....... Of course, bourbon first thing, before 11a.m. isn't the best thing for you, but it certainly starts your day off on a high note! ?

I knew I was in trouble when those things hit the oven and I could smell the bourbon back in the bedroom. Heehee! I have several more small jars of wine infused jams and jellies. I can't wait to try them all……

~Cindy

reply by: sandra Alicante on January 22, 2014 at 2:55 pm

Alcohol - can't stand it. I can smell it when anyone has been drinking and loathe the taste of it! So I'll take your word on the sublime qualities of bourbon cherry preserves..:)

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: frick on January 22, 2014 at 4:12 pm
Cindy: You said "I was ATTEMPTING to roll it by myself, . . . T.S. Is much better at that than I am. I finally have him trained. He has become quite the expert at rolling dough."

Does that make him a Holy Roller?

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 22, 2014 at 4:57 pm
YES, a Holy Roller, TWICE OVER. Teeheehee. I'm going to tell on you, Frick! When we meet up in February, if he looks at you and asks if that's the lady that called him a Holy roller, you know you deserve it.......

~Cindy

reply by: frick on January 23, 2014 at 2:14 am
Guilty as charged. I bet he's never been called that before. 🙂

reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 23, 2014 at 5:49 pm
OMG, Frick, we have laughed so hard. I told everyone at my ladies group about the Holy Roller yesterday ........we were on the floor. Of course, I don't think 'he' understood why we were laughing so hard....

~Cindy

reply by: Mrs Cindy on February 18, 2014 at 1:31 pm
Frick, this is a follow up to your Crusty Gruyere Bread. I've made it 2-3 times, according to the recipe. OMG! Is this bread ever the very best!

So, last night I was planning on Tuscan Kale Soup for dinner and decided the Gruyere bread would be fabulous with it. Problem......I hadn't made the starter the night before. So, made the starter at about 3:00 and stuck it under a very warm lamp. It was bubbly at 4:00 so started the bread in the Zo. When it finished kneading, before it proofed, I stretched it out and sprinkled with cheese, rolled it up and cut them into 1" wide rolls. Got a total of 15 rolls. Put them all in a half sheet pan and let them rise until 6:30. Then put them in a 375 F oven for 25 minutes.

They were beautiful! As you can see on my page, I hope. I'll try to post the picture there. They turned out fabulous. And tasted even better. Crispy on the outside, soft, cheesy and pillowy on the inside.


Thank you, Frick, for telling me about this recipe. As usual, I HAVE TO TWEAK anything I get my hands on and this recipe was no exception. I just wanted everyone to know it doesn't have to be made into loaves or mini-loaves. Rolls are great. And sliced horizontally they will be the best sandwich rolls!
~Cindy

reply by: frick on February 18, 2014 at 9:58 pm
The pleasure was all mine. And thanks to KAF for a superlative recipe.

Methinks you are developing an affinity for Rolls of all kinds, Holy or not. .
With that rolled up log, you could also pinch the ends together, forming a circle. Then slice on the outside edge and fan them out. Our leave it in the log, slice on alternating sides, pulling each out with a twist for a spectacular long craggy cheesy oozy delirious 'gator of goodness', French of course.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on February 28, 2014 at 2:27 pm
Frick, I ended up with 15 individual rolls. Now, let me tell you what happened to those rolls.

We sliced them like a hamburger bun, filled them with thinly sliced meat and lots of crunchy veggies, then into a panini press it went. The cheese in the bread got all gooey again, the outside was crisp and the inside delectable.

I will never make these as loaves again. From now on these will be rolls. They were outstanding!

~Cindy

reply by: frick on February 28, 2014 at 8:26 pm
Wow, I just got home and all we have are bbq pork shoulder, pinto beans and cornbread. Now I have to decide between gruyere rolls or kolaches for the weekend. Are you a kolache baker?

All the cookies have a funny way of disappearing also, so a cake is on the menu tomorrow. And I have to work in the AM. Argggg.

So far we have had only about 2 1/2 to 3/4 inches rain from a promised four to eight inches. (Inject four letter word of your choice here).

reply by: Mrs Cindy on March 03, 2014 at 4:49 pm
Frick, sorry, I'm just now seeing this. It's been a long, difficult weekend.

Kolaches? Oh, yes, ma'am! I've made and devoured more kolaches than I would ever admit to. So, what did you end up baking?

~Cindy

reply by: Mrs Cindy on March 03, 2014 at 5:04 pm
An addendum to this thread: Sandra, I made tiny, about 3" across, croissants just a few days ago. They ended up being about three bites each. In the middle of each one I put a small piece of Sharffenberger's 83% very dark, bittersweet cocoa.

OMG!!!! Those were so stinking good. I'm not sure if anyone else got to taste them, now that I think about it. Nope, I think I ate every single one of them......but, they were small.......very small........it's okay that I didn't share........quality control, you know. Next time I'll know they are good enough to share........maybe.....

~Cindy

p.s. Might have to make some real size croissants for dinner tonight. Huuuuuummmmmmm....... ~C

reply by: frick on March 04, 2014 at 2:04 am
Cindy, I'm back to the day of liquid fasting prep for little jaunt to the doctor tomorrow. Should not even be thinking of food. When I logged on I saw something about croissants that was a different thread & I had a question. Did you see that? About the gal who was trying to speed up her production by reducing the number of folds? I really had a thought about the butter but am loopy now with fatigue & freezing . . . will get back to the croissant issue in a couple of days.

Will you share your kolache recipe? I have never been truly satisfied with the ones I have tried. I can't even remember the town that had the best since it was a few years back. Now that I find out my medical procedures are on Mardi Gras has made me completely bummed out.

Remind me about the butter idea I had later this week.

reply by: Mrs Cindy on March 04, 2014 at 9:39 am
No, Frick, I had not seen that thread. I'll go looking for it.

I'll see if I can dig up my recipe for those kolaches. They were really quite good. I know the town and bakery your talking about and the whole name thing escapes me. I'm sure the second I post this response the name will come to me. We pass through it every time we go to Dallas.

I'll remind you about all this when you are no longer loopy.

~Cindy

reply by: sandra Alicante on March 04, 2014 at 11:54 pm

What small things you didn't share? I didn't see anything, did you? Nope. Nothing at all. It's a make up stain just above your lip, just there..:)

Have done no baking at all for a week, flu. Could barely lift my head from the pillow. Yuck. Don't like being sick.

sandrascookbook.com

reply by: frick on March 05, 2014 at 12:41 pm
Poor Sandra, the dreaded flu. I hope your DH brought you wonderful soup. Your area sounds like their soups would be a home run. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Butter idea coming up later.

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• This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by cwcdesign.
• This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by cwcdesign.

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