Gluten-Free Croissant Recipe
This recipe is from Bread & Butter: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes to Fill Your Bread Basket (Clarkson Potter) by Erin McKenna, founder of Erin McKenna’s Bakery in New York City and owner of a new location at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Photo: Davide Luciano and Clarke Tolton
Gluten-Free Croissants
Makes 12
Some of you may remember that very trippy era when sandwiches were served on croissants instead of bread and with sprouts instead of lettuce. It was the eighties, and the days were ripe with sun-dried tomatoes and the early lessons of California cuisine, which taught me that I dislike sprouts and sun-dried tomatoes. For that reason, I keep my croissants confined to the breakfast table. But of course you can do whatever you’d like with this recipe! Follow the instructions carefully on your way to flaky, buttery, sweetly salted bliss. Oui, I say! Oui!
1 1/2 cups (125 GRAMS) gluten-free oat flour
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon (123 GRAMS) arrowroot, plus more for dusting
3/4 cup (144 GRAMS) potato starch
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons (28 GRAMS) vegan sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 cup (169 GRAMS) room-temperature rice milk
1/2 cup (113 GRAMS) room-temperature coconut milk
1 cup (224 GRAMS) Butter (recipe below), chilled
1/4 cup (56 GRAMS) melted unscented coconut oil
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, arrowroot, potato starch, yeast, sugar, salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum. Pour in the milks and continue to whisk until the dough is silky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl easily. Add more arrowroot 1 tablespoon at a time if the batter is too wet. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Transfer the chilled dough to a food processor and crumble in the butter in large pieces with your hands. Pulse the dough until it is dotted with quarter-size pieces of butter. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator, unwrap it, and cut it in half. Between 2 sheets of parchment paper, roll out each portion into a rectangle that is about 8 by 6 inches. Trim off the rough edges of the dough to create 2 clean rectangles. Remove the parchment paper and, using a knife, cut the dough into 6-inch rectangles. Cut the squares diagonally to make triangles. Roll the two widest points toward the top of the triangle and curve the dough to create a crescent shape. Place the croissants on the reserved baking sheet, brush with coconut oil, cover with a dish towel, and let rise for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Bake the croissants for 12 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees and bake until golden brown, 6 minutes. Let cool on sheet for 10 minutes before serving.
Butter
Makes 3 1/2 cups
I’ve always thought that the our frosting tastes faintly like a sweet butter, but I was never so delusional as to think I could cook savory recipes with it. To manipulate it from its happy state as a cake-topper, I first omitted the agave nectar, hoping it would take us somewhere joyful. It was atrocious. So I decided to switch out the emulsifier, which was when I discovered sunflower lecithin (conveniently soy-free!). It look a long while after that to perfect it, but I eventually lowered the eyebrows of even my most butter-loving Francophile pals. At the bakery, we use a regular loaf pan to set the butter, but feel free to use any mold you like.
1 1/2 cups (336 GRAMS) melted unscented coconut oil
1 cup (224 GRAMS) canola oil
3/4 cup (224 GRAMS) rice milk
1/4 cup (56 GRAMS) coconut milk
1 teaspoon agave nectar
2 tablespoons (18 GRAMS) salt
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 tablespoon (15 GRAMS) fresh lemon juice
Line a shallow pan, such as a loaf pan, with parchment paper and set aside.
In a liquid measuring cup, combine the coconut oil and canola oil, stir gently, and set aside.
In a blender or food processor, combine the rice milk, coconut milk, agave nectar, sunflower lecithin, salt, and xanthan gum and blend for 1 minute. Very slowly add half of the oil mixture, followed by the lemon juice, and then the remaining oil mixture. Blend for 1 more minute.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and refrigerate until solid, about 3 1/2 hours. Chop the butter into 1-inch cubes and store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
More gluten-free goods:
How to eat gluten-free at Disney World