SOURDOUGH CROISSANTS RECIPE

You need to be keen to make sourdough croissants on a regular basis as they are a lot work, but once you have made them a few times at least you can say that you have done it.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 3.

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1/4 cup sourdough starter
• 1 cup Kefir (cold)
• 125 gm butter (cold)
• 1 tablespoon malt extract
• 1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS
Mix the flour and salt, then mix in the malt extract and sourdough starter. Add enough cold Kefir to make a bread dough. Knead just long enough to mix all the ingredients then roll out the dough into a rectangle about 5mm thick. Place on a metal tray in a refrigerator for 30 minutes to cool.

Remove from the fridge. Using a vegetable peeler, cut slices of half the quantity of butter and spread over 2/3 of the dough. Fold the end of the dough which has not been covered with butter down over 1/3 of the buttered dough, then fold down again. Pinch the ends to form a seal and roll out the dough into a rectangle until it is about 5mm thick. Fold into thirds and once again roll out the dough until it is about 5mm thick, then return it to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Once again remove the dough from the refrigerator, cover 2/3 of the dough with slices of the other half of the butter. Fold down the dough, roll, then fold down and roll for the last time so that it forms a rectangle about 15cm x 30cm and 5mm thick.

Cut the dough into 3 triangles. Fold the triangles back towards you, fold the ends over to resemble a croissant shape, and turn the croissants over so the tip is underneath. Place on a greased and floured baking tray. Allow to rise in warm place (28-32C) until they have nearly trebled in size.

Bake at 180C for 20-30 minutes, keeping a careful eye on the sourdough croissants to prevent burning. They are cooked when a knife comes out clean and are golden brown in colour.

NOTES
1. You may replace some of the Kefir with Kefir whey or water if you wish.
2. Some recipes for croissants call for leaving the dough in the fridge for 2 hours at a time in between buttering and rolling. The main purpose of the cooling is so that the butter does not melt but instead becomes laminated within layers of dough, the dough also becomes easier to roll. Do what works for you.
3. Flour the bench top as required to prevent the dough from sticking.
4. Glaze the croissants with milk before baking, if you wish.
5. This croissant pastry may also be used to make sourdough French and Danish pastries.

MEASUREMENTS 1 teaspoon = 5 ml / 5 gm. 1 tablespoon = 15 ml / 15 gm. 15 tablespoons = 1 cup / 225 ml. 1 cup = 8 fluid oz / 225 ml. 1 US gallon = 3.6 litres. 1 lb = 16 oz / 454 gm. Temperature 20C = 68F. Conversion from Fahrenheit to Celsius: °C = (°F - 32) / 1.8. Conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit: °F = °C × 1.8 + 32 Post your comments at the Rejoice Newsgroup. Exchange recipes and experiences with others interested in traditional food preparation at the Rejoice-In-Life News Group. Sign up at rejoiceinlife newsgroup MORE RECIPES MAKE FRIENDS WITH GoodBugs Simple recipes - great results. Culture: probiotic sauerkraut. Make: kefir and simple cheese. Bake: Sourdough bread, cakes, Christmas cakes and puddings. - Easy sourdough starter recipes. Brew: Refreshing probiotic ginger beer type beverages made with a probiotic starter culture that you can buy at your health food shop. Get Abby's recipe for low alcoholic real beer. It is easy to make; just brew it in the bottle and ready to drink in 5 days. .