Kronut - baking partner challenge september
I have tried making Kronuts (something I have never heard of before). The original is from New York, the man who invented it has even trademarked the original name "Cronut"
I did the recipe suggested to me (with help from my mum - because I didn't have the time to make all the steps on my own)
Kronuts
Makes around 16 big ones, we made about 30 smaller ones
Ingredients
For dough
510grams all purpose flour more for dusting the work table
7g salt
100g sugar
150g milk (I used 1.5% milk)
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 jumbo eggs (If you are using large eggs use 3)
50g butter
For butter layer
300grams butter
For frying
Canola oil: 2-4 cups
Water: 200 g for brushing on the top
Cinnamon sugar (400g sugar and 100 g cinnamon)
Directions
Make the dough on day number ONE
Incorporate the butter into the dough on day number TWO
Fry the dough on day number THREE
DAY ONE
Making the dough:
30 minutes before starting making the dough, take out butter and eggs from the fridge, in order to make them room temperature. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt, instant active yeast) in a mixer bowl.
Microwave the milk on high for 30 seconds and add butter in order to make the butter melt properly.
Add the butter-milk mixture to the dry mixture. Mix on low speed for about 3 minutes, and then on higher speed for another 8 minutes
(don't do like I did, use the proper dough "whisk", which I forgot :S)Then to the dry mixture add butter milk mixture and eggs. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes, or until everything is incorporated. Mix on higher speed for another 8 minutes.
Remove the dough from the mixer bowl form a ball by tucking the edges on the dough. Coat another bowl with any oil of your choice and place the dough in it with seams down. Use a knife to cut a cross into top surface (this will help the dough relax). Cover tightly with clear plastic wrap on top the bowl, making sure it is in not contact with the dough (spray the inside of the plastic wrap with oil too, just in case :)).
Place dough in a warm area and allow it to double in size. This takes about 60 minutes. Once dough has doubled in size transfer the bowl to refrigerator overnight.
DAY TWO
Start incorporating the butter into the dough.
Cut the cold butter 295g lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Arrange the pieces on a piece of parchment or waxed paper, so they can form a 5- to 6-inch square (when you are done rolling), cutting the butter crosswise as necessary to fit. Top with another piece of parchment or waxed paper. With a rolling pin, pound the butter with light, even strokes. As the pieces begin to adhere, use more force. Pound the butter until it’s about 4 x 6 inches square and then trim the edges of the butter. Put the trimmings on top of the square and pound them in lightly with the rolling pin. Place in refrigerator to cool for at least 2 hours.
Laminate the dough
Unwrap and lay the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 10-1/2-inch square. Brush excess flour off the dough. Remove the butter from the refrigerator. If it's not cold enough, refrigerate a bit longer. Unwrap and place the butter on the dough so that the points of the butter square are centered along the sides of the dough. Fold one flap of dough over the butter toward you, stretching it slightly so that the point just reaches the center of the butter. Repeat with the other flaps. Then press the edges together to completely seal the butter inside the dough. (A complete seal ensures butter won’t escape.).
1st turn
Lightly flour the top and bottom of the dough. With the rolling pin, firmly press the dough to elongate it slightly and then begin rolling instead of pressing, focusing on lengthening rather than widening the dough and keeping the edges straight. Turn the dough so that a shorter end faces you. Roll to expand the length of the dough, making sure that the dough doesn’t stick to the table. Add flour if needed. When you have a rectangle about 21 x 9 inches, fold the top third of the rectangle down and fold the bottom third up to cover it. Turn the dough 90 degrees so that the opening resembles a book.
2nd 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. Repeat rolling, just like the first turn, then turn 90 degrees and gently press two fingers into the lower right corner to mark the number of turns. (Marking the dough allows you to track your progress, and ensure that the orientation of the dough is correct when you remove it from the refrigerator.) Cover the dough in a parchment paper and then again with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3rd Turn.
The dough will be hard, so gently pound the dough to warm the butter. If it is too cold the butter will separate and not spread as it should. Repeat the previous steps, and turn again, marking the corner with three fingerprints. Cover dough with parchment paper and plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4th Turn.
Make the final turn, repeating the steps from turns 1-3. Refrigerate overnight
DAY THREE
Frying
Roll out the Dough. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out the dough to approximately the size of a sheet pan, 1/2 inch thick. 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. Transfer to a sheet pan with parchment paper, film and chill before use.
Punching out Kronuts. Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper, sprayed with PAM or oil . Remove dough from fridge and take two ring molds, approximately outer molds should be 3 ½ inch and inner should be 1 ½ inch
(I made them a lot smaller though) Only start punching if the dough is very cold. Otherwise, your Kronut won’t fry like you want it to.
Transfer half of the punched Kronuts to the sheet pan, leaving room for kronuts to raise a bit.
Brush tops of the Kronut with water and set aside. Place Kronut holes on the same sheet tray, leaving enough space for them to raise without sticking to each other. Leave in a warm area until they have raised, about 30 min.
Once it is raised, 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.
Now is a good time to prepare the Glaze
Once it is no longer shiny transfer to a container with sugar and cinnamon and toss.
Enjoy
(I stuffed the Kronuts with vanilla custard and did not use a Glaze (but I will the next time))
Next time I will also try this with the dough that is used to make "danish pastry" - because that dough only takes one day to prepare :)
Important notes to Remember
Don’t overwork the dough with too much kneading,
Don’t overwork the butter, if butter starts to leaking, try to put it back in the refrigerator.
Flour the area well so that the dough won’t stick
Heat oil in medium temperature and fry the Kronuts in low temperature otherwise the outside becomes too dark to soon and the inside won’t cook properly.
Filling and glaze -
find your favourite :)
For pastry cream and filling, suggested by
Cinnamon spice and everything nice
Pastry cream is one of the building blocks of a great dessert. Delicious as is, it can also be flavored in an almost infinite number of ways to create the perfect touch for your cake, pie, or pastry. Make sure you have all of your ingredients and equipment on hand before you begin; once the egg yolks begin to cook, they won't wait for you to find your strainer! This base recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar, which makes a pastry cream that's just barely sweet. If you're planning to use the pastry cream for a pie filling and you want it to be sweeter, increase the sugar to 3/4 cup.
Pastry Cream
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or Vanilla Crush; or 1/2 vanilla bean, slit lengthwise
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
Directions
1) In a medium-sized saucepan, stir together 2 1/2 cups of the milk, the sugar, salt, and the vanilla bean. (If you're using vanilla extract or Vanilla Crush, add it at the end.) Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
2) Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch, flour, and egg yolks with the remaining 1/2 cup milk.
3) Whisk some of the hot milk mixture with the egg yolks to temper them. This keeps the yolks from turning to scrambled eggs when you add them to the simmering milk.
4) Pour the egg/milk mixture back into the remaining simmering milk. Doing this through a strainer will help prevent lumps later. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture thickens.
5) Remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract (if you're using it). If you're going to flavor the pastry cream with chocolate or some other flavor, this is the time to do it (see variations below).
6) Rub a piece of butter over the surface of the cream, top with a piece of plastic wrap (make sure it touches the top of the pastry cream so it doesn't develop a skin), then refrigerate until cool.
7) To complete, fold the whipped cream into the cooled pastry cream.
Variations:
Butterscotch Pastry Cream: Add 1/4 teaspoon butter-rum flavor and/or 1 cup (6 ounces) butterscotch chips to the pastry cream after straining, stirring until the chips have melted.
Caramel Pastry Cream: Add 3/4 cup chopped caramel (7 1/2 ounces, or 21 to 23 unwrapped individual caramels) to the hot, strained pastry cream, stirring until melted and the mixture is smooth.
Chocolate Pastry Cream: Add 1 cup (6 ounces) chopped chocolate to the hot, strained pastry cream, stirring until melted and the mixture is smooth.
Hazelnut Pastry Cream: Omit the butter and increase the sugar to 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces). Add 3/4 cup (8 1/4 ounces) praline paste to the hot, strained pastry cream, stirring until combined.
Orange Pastry Cream: Increase the sugar to 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces). Add 1 teaspoon orange extract; 1/4 teaspoon orange oil; or 3 tablespoons orange zest to the hot, strained pastry cream.
Peanut Butter Pastry Cream: Add 3/4 cup (7 1/4 ounces) smooth peanut butter to the hot pastry cream, stirring until melted and the mixture is smooth. If you're using a natural or freshly-made peanut butter, omit the butter from the recipe, or the pastry cream will be greasy.
Pistachio Pastry Cream: Omit the butter and increase the sugar to 3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces). Add 3/4 cup (8 1/4 ounces) pistachio paste, or blanched pureed pistachio meats.
Glazes from King Arthur Flour
Easy Vanilla Glaze
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar, sifted to remove any lumps
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 to 2 tablespoons milk or water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Apple Cider Glaze
2 tablespoons bottled boiled cider
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup confectioners' or glazing sugar
Directions
1) To make the vanilla glaze: Stir the ingredients together, adding extra liquid or confectioners' sugar to adjust the consistency as needed. Yield: about 1/2 cup glaze.
2) To make chocolate glaze: Melt the ingredients together over low heat or in the microwave, stirring often. Add extra corn syrup if needed to make a smooth, shiny glaze. Yield: about 1/2 cup glaze.
3) To make apple cider glaze: Stir all of the ingredients together, adding additional sugar or cream if needed to make the glaze the consistency of molasses. Dip top of doughnuts in glaze, or drizzle glaze over doughnuts. Yield: about 1/2 cup glaze.
