For the Italian version click here!!!
OMG....I have completely abandoned this blog.....I'm so behind with the translations! Luckily I didn't post too much in Italian during the summer, so probably it won't take me too long to update the recipes. I'll try to catch up immediately with the recipe of these great whole wheat croissants by a recipe of Luca Montersino, an Italian pastry chef. They are not perfect, but really happy about the result....I made them in August when in Italy was already really hot, so it wasn't really an easy experience as the butter was melting quickly and had to work really fast with the pastry.
But no more talks...I'll leave you the recipe of these whole wheat croissants before it takes me another 3 weeks for translating it ;-)




WHOLE WHEAT CROISSANT

INGREDIENTS

Starter

• 56g water
• 125g strong flour
• 10g fresh yeast

Dough

• 250g organic whole wheat flour
• 75g sugar
• 37g butter
• 112,5g eggs (2 and 1/2 eggs)
• 75g milk
• 4g powder malt
• 7g salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 185g butter ( to make the puff pastry)

Prepare the starter by mixing the yeast in the water, add the flour and mix well. Knead until you have a smooth and compact dough. 

Fill up a large bowl with warm water  (it should be about 37/38ºC ) and leave the starter inside the bowl to ferment until it floats at the top and it's all bubbly (see photo below). It will take approximately 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the ingredients for the dough. 

Drain the starter with your hand, squeeze it until you remove the most of the water. In the kneading machine bowl mix the flour with the drained starter, sugar, malt and half of the milk. Knead at a low speed with the flat beater for 1 minute. Add the remaining milk, salt and vanilla paste, knead over low speed and add the eggs a bit at a time.  When the dough is all around the flat beater change to the dough hook and knead for 4 minutes at the minimum speed. Add the butter in three times and increase the speed. Knead for 5 minutes at speed 2. If the dough it's getting to warm stop the machine for a few minutes, the keep kneading until the dough forms a bowl and begins to clear the sides of the bowl , about 12 minutes more. Transfer dough in a well floured surface, make a bowl and transfer it to a large bowl. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge overnight (about 12 hours). 

Prepare also the butter to make the puff pastry. Leave the cold butter at room temperature for 10/15 minutes. Place it between two sheets of oven paper and flatten it with a rolling pin. It should be as large as the pastry dough and 1/3 of its length  (once rolled...see step by step picture below) . Wrap butter in cling film and chill until ready to use.

After the 12 hours rising time in the fridge, bring the dough to room temperature for about 30 minutes.  Bring also the butter at room temperature. 

Dust the surface with flour, roll out the pastry to a 2c thickness and place the butter in the centre. 

Fold the butter with the sides of the dough. Seal the dough over the butter (see step by step picture below). Roll out the pastry from the centre to the top and from the centre to the bottom. 

Fold dough into thirds to form a rectangle. Wrap the dough with cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Roll out the pastry, fold into thirds again and chill for 30 minutes. Repeat the folding process times. As it was too hot in my house on the last two foldings I chilled the pastry for 20 minutes and then I place it the freezer for 10 minutes. Roll out the pastry to a long and thin rectangle , about 3mm thick. and cut into long triangles 

Cut one slit in the base of the triangle. Fold the two corners of the slit outwards and began to roll gently up, stretching the dough as you roll. At this stage I frizzed some croissants. Placed the rest into a baking tray and allow to rise until doubled in size. Brush the top with a lightly beaten egg with a drop of milk. Bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes or until golden brown.