Gluten Free Croissants

Gluten Free Croissant Cheddar & Turkey Pockets

I could not wait to share these with you all!  It has been a while since I made gluten free croissants and so I forgot how wonderful they really are.  From the amazing aroma when they are baking… to the flakey, delicate soft pastry goodness once they have cooled enough to enjoy… these treats are really worth the effort!  Each time I make them, I tend to set aside enough time to bake a lot with different fillings.  Once baked and cooled, the croissants freeze really well.  So that helps us enjoy gluten free pastries for a while.  The dough is easy enough to make, and it needs time to rest in your refrigerator so that it is really cold.  Therefore, it is possible to break up the process into separate steps over two days.

GF Flakey Cinnamon Sugar Croissants

Our oldest child loves to help with these as well and has lots of very creative “filling ideas” each time as we work.  We usually end up with some traditional cinnamon/sugar crescents, savory cheddar/turkey “pockets”, dessert fancy mini chocolate chip filled croissants, and (my favorite) cherry preserve and goat cheese croissants.  Some other winning ideas that we have tried are:  strawberry preserves, butter and herbs for a savory roll, bacon and minced green onion, and fresh/frozen wild blueberries!

Some notes on how to get the Gluten Free Croissants  just right:

• Make sure you chill the dough until it is very cold!  Keep it cold while working with it as well.  If it gets too warm, put it back in the refrigerator and let it chill for 15 minutes again.  This is important to your success!
• Use cold butter in the dough where it says to.  Again, cold is very important so that you achieve the flaky texture you desire.
• When rolling out the dough, work with a small amount and make sure to liberally flour your work surface with some gluten free all purpose flour blend.  This will keep them from sticking.  If the dough sticks too much while trying to roll, try rolling it between two pieces of saran wrap if you are sure your dough is cold enough.
• Work quickly when assembling the filling and rolling out the dough.  Have everything you want already prepared and ready.
• Make sure to let the croissants rise!  They should begin to puff a bit before you put them in the oven.  It helps to have your oven preheating during this time to keep your kitchen warm.  If your kitchen is too cold, it will take them a lot longer to rise.
• You can make these egg and dairy free.  They will not be as flakey without the eggs, but it does work with the Egg Replacer powder.  In addition, if you need them to be completely dairy free, I suggest using either all coconut oil or Palm Oil Shortening in place of the butter.
  

  GF Croissant Hot Pockets

Gluten Free Croissants

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 3 cups My GF Blend (* I have included this at the bottom of the recipe as well, or click the link)
• 4 tsp xanthan gum
• 1½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 4 tsp yeast
• 1 cup warm milk of choice or water
• 2 eggs (you can use egg replacer)
• 4 Tbls melted butter + 4 Tbls soft or liquid coconut oil (or all of either)
• 8 Tbls butter, cold
• 4 Tbls Toffuti cream cheese (or regular cream cheese), cold
• Filling ingredients, prepare ahead and set aside
• Extra milk of choice for brushing on top

Method:

Croissant Dough Preparation

1. Combine first five ingredients into medium size bowl and mix well with a fork or whisk. Set aside.
2. In a large mixer bowl, stir 1 tsp sugar, yeast and warm milk/water. Proof yeast until bubbly.
3. Once yeast is bubbly, add melted butter/coconut oil and stir with paddle attachment. Add eggs and stir again until well combined.
4. Then add the Toffuti cream cheese and stir on medium speed until combined. It might look a little curdled.
5. In the bowl with the dry ingredients, cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until butter pieces are the size of large peas. You can do this with your hand or a fork.
6. Add dry mixture to liquid mixture in the mixer and beat until moistened throughout. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Rolling and Shaping

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Once completely chilled, remove dough from refrigerator and separate into 4 equal parts. Return three parts, well wrapped in saran wrap, to the refrigerator.
3. Lightly flour work surface and roll out one segment of dough into a large circle about ⅛” thick.
4. Working quickly, cut into triangle shaped pieces, dot with extra butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
5. Roll the long side of the triangle toward the point. Shape into a crescent by curling the edges. Set on baking sheet and repeat until all the dough has been shaped. Work fast to keep the dough cold. If it gets too warm, return to the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes before trying again.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and a light towel and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees while croissants are rising. Brush each croissant with milk of choice. Place croissants in oven and immediately lower temperature to 350 degrees. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden for crescent shaped croissants. Larger pocket style croissants take longer to bake, about 25-30 minutes depending on size. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack completely before storing in an airtight container or freezing.

Here is My GF Flour Blend in case you need that:  2 cups Brown Rice Flour, 1/3 cup Millet Flour, 1/2 cup + 1/8 cup Tapioca Starch, 3/4 cup Sweet Rice Flour

I just cannot help but to give you another picture to entice you to make these!  Gluten Free Croissants… they are SO worth it!  What would be your favorite filling?!

GF Goodness… Cinnamon Sugar Croissants!