Kronut

This month the Baking Partners challenge was Kronuts. Kronuts is a cross between croissants and doughnuts. The whole process of making these takes 3 days and is quite laborious. But the end result was really good. It is very rich and high in calories. I made the dough eggless but substituting the eggs with applesauce.

Recipe Source: Bootleg Cronut

For the dough

1. 1 1/2 tbsp dry yeast
2. 1/4 cup water
3. 1 1/2 cups warm milk
4. 1/2 cup sugar
5. 1 tsp salt
6. 1/2 cup applesauce
7. 1/3 cup butter
8. 5 cups all purpose flour

For laminating

1. 295 gms of cold butter
2. vegetable oil (for frying)

For the Chocolate Glaze

1. Chocolate chips – ½ cup
2. Butter – 2 tbsp
3. Milk – 1 tbsp

 Method

Day 1

1. In a wide bowl add milk, sugar, salt, applesauce, shortening, yeast and flour.
2. Mix everything with hand or use a processor and make into smooth dough.
3. Allow this to rise for 1 hour or until double the size.
4. Transfer to refrigerator overnight.

Day 2

1. The next day, cut the cold butter lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Arrange the pieces on a piece of parchment or waxed paper to form a 5- to 6-inch square, cutting the butter crosswise as necessary to fit.
2. 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.
3.  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

1. Unwrap and lay the dough on a
2. lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 10-1/2-inch square. Brush excess
3. flour off the dough.
4. Remove the butter from the refrigerator.
5. Unwrap and place the butter on the dough so that the points of the butter square are centered along the sides of the dough.
6. Fold one flap of dough over the butter toward you, stretching it slightly so that the point just reaches the centre 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.).
7. 1st Turn. Lightly flour the top and bottom of the dough.
8. With the rolling pin, firmly press the dough to elongate it slightly and then
9. begin rolling instead of pressing, focusing on lengthening rather than widening
10. the dough and keeping the edges straight.
11.  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.
12. 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.
13. Turn the dough 90 degrees so that the opening resembles a book
14. 2nd Turn. Try to do this turn right away, but if the dough
15. is too warm, wrap in film and place in the refrigerator until it cools. Repeat
16. rolling, just like the first turn, then turn 90 degrees and gently press two
17. fingers into the lower right corner to mark the number of turns. (Marking the
18. dough allows you to track your progress, and ensure that the orientation of the
19. dough is correct when you remove it from the refrigerator.) Cover the dough in
20. a parchment paper and then again with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least
21. 1 hour.
22. 3rd Turn. The dough will be hard, so gently pound the dough
23. to warm the butter. If it is too cold the butter will separate and not spread
24. as it should. Repeat the previous steps, and turn again, marking the corner
25. with three fingerprints. Cover dough with parchment paper and plastic wrap and
26. refrigerate for 1 hour.
27. 4th Turn. Make the final turn, repeating the steps from
28. turns 1-3. Refrigerate overnight

Day 3

1. Rolling out the Dough. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll
2. out the dough to approximately the size of a sheet pan, 1/2 inch thick. Make
3. sure the dough stays cold, without sticking to the surface. If it starts to
4. stick, place in the refrigerator and roll again when cool. Transfer to a sheet
5. pan with parchment paper, film and chill before use.
6. Punching out cronuts. Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper, sprayed
7. with oil . Remove dough from fridge and take two ring moulds, approximately
8. outer molds should be 3 ½ inch and inner should be 1 ½ inch
9. Only start punching if the dough is very cold. Otherwise, your Kronut won’t fry straight.
10. Transfer punched kronuts to the sheet pan, leaving room for kronuts to “poof.”
11. 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.
12. Once it is proofed keep it in the refrigerator for 1 hour or in the freezer for 15 minutes before frying.
13. Once golden brown throughout, test one to see if it is cooked all the way through. Remove and place on paper towels.

Chocolate Glaze

1. In a microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips and butter for a minute.
2. Remove and mix well with a spoon. Keep for another 30 secs if chocolate is not completely melted.
3. Add a tbsp of milk and adjust the consistency.
4. Dip the crounuts face down into the glaze and set aside. Top with colored sprinkles.