The ‘Sustainable’ Cheese Mini Croissant
This is one of those recipes that was created to reduce waste by using up expired pottles of cottage cheese along with the rag ends of hard cheeses that always seem to get lost and disappear somewhere in the dark recesses of our fridges. It also happens to be a very tasty and attractive option as a platform for a variety of finger foods at classy events and occasions or a more elegant substitute for those bulky traditional cheese scones that might still be in use at traditional morning and afternoon teas.
Most kitchens and patisseries find cost effective ways to ensure minimum food wastage during production for both economic and these days more pressing, feel-good reasons (sustainability). For example, the almond croissant you purchase at a bakery will be made from yesterday’s unsold plain croissants, or that chocolate tart will have leftover sponge cake mixed in with the chocolate ganesh filling, bulking out the mass to use less chocolate. Sometimes it’s probably better not to know how they do it and what goes into the food that we love so much.
Cheese mini croissants are made using a mixture of regular flour, butter, white cheeses, hard cheeses and baking powder as the rising agent. They are rolled out, cut and rolled up exactly as you would when making a regular fancy French croissant, hence the name.
Cheese mini Croissant. Photo credit The BFD
Cheese Mini Croissant
Ingredients: Enough to make 40 odd cheese croissants
- White cheese (cottage, cream cheese, sour cream): whatever you have x 500 gram
- Yellow or hard cheese grated (what you have; if you want it stronger you can use blue cheeses) x 250 gram
- Butter x 200 gram
- White flour x 360 gram
- Salt x 8 gram
- Pepper x a pinch
- Baking powder x 6 grams
Optional to add dry oregano or thyme.
- Egg wash for brushing
Optional to sprinkle sesame seeds or chilli flakes on top
- Extra flour for rolling out the dough
Method:
Add all dry ingredients to the mixer, using a paddle mix for a minute; then, ensuring the butter is softened to room temperature, add along with all the other cheeses. Mix on medium low for a few minutes until everything is combined well. You should have a reasonably wet lump of dough. Wrap in Glad wrap and place in the fridge for four to five hours to rest.
Place dough on a well dusted surface, dust top of dough and using your palm push down and flatten as much as possible into a rectangular shape.
Ensuring that the dough is well dusted on both sides roll out into a rectangular shape, stopping to dust with flour as needed. Try and get the dough to a thickness of about 2-3 mm.
Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife cut the rectangle lengthwise in half. Then cut equal triangles as you can see in the first photo. Then cut a small notch into the base of the triangle. Gently pull apart the base wings as in photo, then roll up, always placing tension on the tip of the triangle to try and have it rolled as thin as possible.
These mini croissants can be baked fresh or they can be frozen, thawed and baked another time.
Place the mini croissants on baking paper on an oven tray, with a bit of distance between them as they will rise; brush with egg wash. If you want to sprinkle something such as sesame seeds or chilli flakes, this is the time.
Put them in a preheated oven at 180 Celsius and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until desired colour achieved.
Warm is best, eat by themselves, using with dips or slice open and fill with smoked salmon, gravlax, cream cheese, avocado or whatever you enjoy.
Next week: grisini, another Med party snack to get your teeth into.
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