Vegan Croissants Recipe : oh my!

I have always loved croissants, with their flaky layers of yeasted dough, so it's become a bit of an obsession to work out how to veganise a traditional croissant recipe, but still get superb results.

And after my second attempt, I think I have stumbled onto something so delicious, so fabulous, that our Sunday breakfasts may well never be the same again....

"Buttery" with not a trace of butter in them - flakey and yeasty - these dairy free croissants surpassed my wildest expectations.

No butter? What's in them instead?

Yes, that's right. These croissants are dairy free. And they don't use hydrogenated vegan margarine either. 

Instead, they use a home-made "better butter", using Aquafaba, which not only behaves itself in the yeasted dough (meaning not coming apart in the layers), but also gives them a "buttery" flavour.

(Aquafaba is simply the liquid drained from a can of chickpeas. You can use your own home-cooked chickpeas, but for a recipe which requires precise measurements such as yeasted dough, I prefer to use the Aquafaba from a can of salt-reduced chickpeas - as I know that each time it will be consistent. Besides, it's no hardship to use up leftover chickpeas in our house - they can tuck themselves into almost any dinner dish without complaint.) 

The first time I attempted vegan croissants, I made my own dairy-free butter with unrefined coconut oil and cocoa butter, as well as using wholemeal flour for the dough. They tasted ok - but the overwhelming flavour was of coconut and chocolate - and while the wholemeal flour made it healthier, it meant that it was harder to control the moisture ratio. 

On the second attempt I learned from my mistakes. I used the recipe for Nina's Aquafaba butter, which has refined coconut oil and Aquafaba in it, and used a combination of white stoneground organic baker's flour and wholemeal organic spelt flour, as well as incorporating the magical Aquafaba into the yeasted dough itself. I've since tried using all (biodynamic) white baker's flour - without spelt flour - and the results were awesome too.

Baker's (or strong) flour has a naturally higher protein content than cake (soft) flour, so it produces good results for yeasted doughs as higher protein will generate more gluten. That helps the dough to rise nicely. But you don't want the dough to rise too quickly, or the croissants will taste "bready" which is why they are placed in the fridge to arrest the rising process, as well as keeping the aquafaba butter chilled so it stays in separate layers in the dough.

The results speak for themselves....

You can count the whirls and layers of yeasted dough - zillions and zillions making it so light and delicious!

Why do we love this recipe?

1. They have the classic flaky texture of croissants.

2. Flavour is "buttery" without being too rich.

3. Dough behaves beautifully, thanks to the aquafaba, so it rolls out well and doesn't shrink back.

4. They are made from simple ingredients, not processed margarine or dairy butter.

5. Easily adapted to vegan pain au chocolat by cutting into rectangles (instead of triangles) and placing a chunk of dark vegan chocolate in the centre, then rolling up.

Vegan pain au chocolat ( in the tray at the back) can easily be made from the same recipe.

Vegan, dairy-free, Aquafaba Croissants

* First you'll need to make up a double batch of Nina's Aquafaba Butter. I used refined coconut oil, apple cider vinegar and cold-pressed sunflower oil, + a little dusting of turmeric for colour. I poured the mixture into a lined pyrex dish to set, so it would already be in the rectangular shape needed for later.

INGREDIENTS

300 ml plant milk (I used Bonsoy soy milk)

2 tablespoons (or 40 ml) Aquafaba

5 teaspoons (or 25 ml) dried yeast

1/4 cup raw sugar

2 teaspoons salt

250 gm white baker's flour & 250 gm wholemeal spelt flour (or 500 gm white baker's flour)

2 x quantities Nina's Aquafaba Butter*

Couple tablespoons Aquafaba for glazing

METHOD

Make Nina's Aquafaba butter but tip it into a paper-lined pyrex dish measuring approximately 20 x 12 cm or thereabouts to set. Place in freezer while you make the dough.

Warm milk to just body temperature in microwave or small saucepan. Tip into kitchen stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.

Add Aquafaba, sugar + yeast and gently stir to mix. Leave to bubble for a few moments.

Add salt + flour and stir to combine. Knead on low setting for at least 6 minutes, or until the dough is elastic. You may need to tip in a little more flour if it's too sticky.

Cover the bowl with a plastic bag and refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to a rectangle 40 x 25 cm.

Place the prepared butter rectangle in the centre of the dough - with the long sides of the butter parallel with the short sides of the dough. Fold up the dough on top of the butter like a parcel. First fold the long sides over the butter, then the short sides.

Turn the dough parcel at 90 degrees towards you, and roll out carefully into a new rectangle 40 x 25 cm as before. Again, fold the left 1/3 into the middle, and then the right 1/3 over the middle.

Wrap the rectangle back in its plastic bag, and rest in the fridge for 1 hour.

Roll, fold and rest pastry 3 more times (with 1 hour in the fridge between each time). On the final roll/fold, wrap the pastry well in its plastic bag, and rest overnight in the fridge.

The next morning, remove the dough from the fridge and cut the rectangle in half widthways. Return one half to the fridge and roll the remaining half into a rectangle 40 x 30 cm. Cut that in half widthways, gently fold one half up and return to fridge.

Cut remaining rolled dough into 6 rectangles widthways. Cut each rectangle diagonally in half to make 12 triangles. Working quickly, gently roll the short end of each triangle to flatten it slightly, then roll up into a crescent, starting at the wide end and pressing very gently as you go. Form into a slight curved, crescent shape and place on paper lined baking tray. If the weather is hot, do this in batches, keeping the dough chilled in the fridge until you are ready to roll.

Repeat with all the remaining dough. You should end up with 24 little crescents, 6 per baking tray so they have plenty of room. Cover baking trays with plastic wrap or bags, (or a clean tea towel) and place somewhere warm to rise (double their size) for 1-2 hours.

Heat oven to 220 degrees C. Brush each croissant with a little Aquafaba, and place 2 trays in oven, immediately lowering the temperature to 200 degrees C. They should be ready in about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and repeat with remaining 2 trays - preheating the oven to 220 degrees C as before.

Allow to cool for a few moments before serving with fresh fruit, jam, or whatever takes your fancy! Most of ours got eaten just as they were - so that within the hour, we were only left with 6 to photograph.

Yes, they are THAT GOOD!

VEGAN PAIN AU CHOCOLAT

Prepare croissant mixture as above, up to the step of cutting the (halved) rolled dough into 6 rectangles.

Place little chunks of dark vegan chocolate along the long short side of the rectangle, and roll up away from you.

Allow to rise as per the croissant instructions above.

Makes 12 pain au chocolat.

So I'm not going to pretend this recipe isn't fiddly - and it's certainly not something you can spontaneously make - because you really need to start cooking 24 hours before you want them. 

But I can say they are worth every moment of preparation, and rolling the dough is actually incredibly therapeutic. The Aquafaba in the yeasted dough makes it very pliable and a pleasure to work with. And as for that Aquafaba butter, it really is a game-changer. Buttery, salty, velvety smooth - it's the good stuff. And yet, it's made with healthy fats, and no cows were harmed in the process. 

Next, I want to try using this recipe as a base for Danish Pastries, especially as we approach Spring and the thought of all the lovely stone fruits that are soon to appear are already making my imagination dance for the possibilities. Almond and cherry? Peach and walnut? But for now, I know what we're going to be having next Sunday morning for breakfast. It's more of these little beauties in their flaky perfection.

Just one more croissant, anyone?

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Happy Baking! 
Virginia

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Related reading: 6 Of The Best Vegan Croissant Recipes To Try

Almond cherry biscuits, cacao hazelnut chunk biscuits and croissants made for a fine day's baking: all dairy and egg free.

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