The Gluten Bigot: Gluten Free Croissants (Crescent Rolls)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Gluten Free Croissants (Crescent Rolls)

Gluten Free Croissant
Gluten Free Chocolate Croissant
Since going 100% gluten free there has only been one thing which I have missed which I have not been able to find a GF version of - croissants. These were actually my favorite pastry, nothing could beat a cafe au lait with a croissant (preferably chocolate) on the side. 

Since my quest has never returned a GF croissant did not yield any I could buy in a store I turned to my google machine for a recipe, which I found here. Despite the amount of effort to be put in I decided this weekend it was going to happen.

The first step is to add all flours together. In typical gluten bigot style I subbed for what I had on hand:

  • 1 cup sorghum flour
  • ½ cup chickpea flour
  • ½ cup millet four
  • 1 cup white rice flour
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 4 teaspoons xanthan gum
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
I scooped out one cup of the dry ingredients into a smaller bowl and added one cup of warm water and 1 egg and 3 tbsp egg whites (again, working with what I had) and beat those with my handheld mixer. Then I added one stick of melted butter and mixed some more until it was all nicely blended. 

Gluten Free Croissant
That brought me back to the dry ingredients where I cut in one stick of cold butter used my pastry blender until the butter was pea sized. 
Gluten Free CroissantThe next step was easy, add liquid ingredients into dry and mix. I attempted this with my handheld mixer but abandoned that effort and used a spatula due to the amount of dough. 

Once it was all mixed I formed the dough into one big ball and covered my mixing bowl. Then I covered it with saran wrap and refrigerated it over night.

Gluten Free CroissantIn the morning I cut the bit ball into three equal parts. One at a time I rolled of the third into a circle and cut into eight equal pieces (tip: a pizza cutter does a nice job here). The original recipe said to flour the surface, etc but I didn't as the dough was not very sticky and when I did flour the surface I found the dough became too dry.
Gluten Free Croissant
Once cut, I simply rolled the dough. Most I left plain, but for a select few I decided to add Ghiradelli chocolate chips t some to create the above noted chocolate croissant. Once they were rolled I placed them directly onto a baking sheet where they remained for about 90 minutes as they rose. Then 15 minutes in a 350F oven and they were ready to eat. 

Gluten Free Croissant
I know you're dying to hear the results... as I was to see/taste them. Honestly, I was disappointed as they are not the nice flaky croissant I miss. Instead I would describe them as being like Pilsbury crescent rolls. This isn't a bad thing, I do quite enjoy the result, but if you go through the trouble you definitely have to have the right expectation. Both the normal and the chocolate one meet my and my hubby's approval. The yield is 24 croissants so I have some to freeze so my day+ journey to make them seems worth it.

Gluten Free Croissant

1 comment :

  1. Hi there!

    I recently came across your blog and have been taking notes re: GF bakeries in NYC. Just wanted to let you know that the next time you're in Paris, go to a Carrefour supermarket. They have a large GF section which includes GF croissants and baguettes that are simply brillant!!!

    Thanks for sharing!

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