French Bread Rolls

Fresh from the oven, French bread rolls are light and airy on the inside, crisp and crackly on the outside. Though baking these is a bit of a project, it can be done in stages. Plus, the rolls freeze well and reheat beautifully.

• 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; more as-needed
• 2 Tbs. melted clarified butter, store-bought ghee, or light olive oil; more for greasing the rising bowl and plastic wrap
• 1 package (2-1/4 tsp.) active-dry yeast
• 2 tsp. sugar, plus a pinch for the yeast
• 2 cups lukewarm water (about 70ºF)
• 1-1/4 oz. (1/2 cup) dry nonfat milk
• Scant 1 Tbs. table salt
• A few grinds of black pepper (optional)
• About 1 cup medium rye flour (optional; use all-purpose flour as a substitute) for dusting
• Yellow cornmeal (preferably medium ground) for the baker’s peel or baking sheets
• Coarse salt for sprinkling

Make the dough:

Sift the flour into a medium bowl; set aside. Brush some melted clarified butter on the interior of a large (5-qt.) bowl and one side of a piece of plastic wrap large enough to cover the bowl; set aside.

In a small bowl, stir the yeast and a pinch of sugar into 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water until dissolved. When the yeast is visibly active and bubbling, pour the remaining 1-1/2 cups lukewarm water into another large bowl. Add the 2 Tbs. clarified butter, the 2 tsp. sugar, the dry milk, salt, pepper (if using), and the dissolved yeast mixture. Add about 3 cups of the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Continue to add more flour (about 1/2 cup at a time) and stir until the dough comes together in a mass that leaves the sides of the bowl and is no longer easy to stir; you may not need all the flour.

With a sturdy rubber spatula, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Flour your hands and knead the dough until it’s perfectly smooth and elastic, 3 to 5 minutes. If the dough sticks, use your bench knife or bowl scraper to release it. Add only as much additional flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the work surface.

Put the dough in the greased bowl and brush the top of the dough with melted clarified butter. Cover with the greased plastic wrap and then with a clean dishtowel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Uncover the bowl. Lightly flour the back of your hand and punch down the dough by giving it several swift swats. The dough will be quite sticky and spongy, so use your fingertips to help release it from the sides of the bowl, allowing it to deflate. At this point, you can either refrigerate the dough for later (see Make-Ahead Tips, below) or continue the rise. To continue the rise, turn the dough over in the bowl, cover as before, and let rise again until doubled in volume and light in texture, about 2 hours.

Shape the rolls:

Lay two clean, dry dishtowels over two baking sheets and dust them very heavily with a layer of the medium rye or all-purpose flour.

Deflate the dough by pulling it away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto your floured work surface and gently knead the dough a few times to finish deflating. Using the blade of your bench knife or bowl scraper, cut the dough in half. Cut each half in-half again and then cut each piece into three equal pieces for a total of twelve. Cover the pieces with a clean dishtowel. Flour your hands and remove one piece of dough from under the towel, leaving the remaining pieces covered. Shape the rolls into either rounds or ovals. Cover the rolls with a clean dishtowel. Let the rolls rise, covered, until they look light and billowy, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Set up your oven:

You want to bake your rolls as low in the oven as possible, with a metal baking pan of ice water beneath them. If you have an electric heating element on the oven floor, set an oven rack on the lowest position for the ice water pan, and position your baking stone or baking tiles on a second rack just above the pan. Otherwise, you can set your tiles or stone on the lowest oven rack and put the ice water pan directly on the floor of the oven. If you're using baking sheets instead of a stone or tiles, you may need two racks for the sheets; position them as low as possible.

Begin heating the oven to 450°F at least thirty minutes before baking. Your tiles or stone and the empty ice water pan should be in the oven as it heats; if you're baking the rolls on baking sheets, don't put them in the oven yet.

Bake the rolls:

If baking on tiles or stone, sprinkle your peel with cornmeal. Otherwise, line two large, shallow baking sheets with parchment and sprinkle them with cornmeal. Put 4 ice cubes in a 1-cup measuring cup and add enough cold water to reach the 1/4-cup mark. Set the cup next to the oven.

Gently lift the risen rolls and invert them (smooth side up) onto the prepared peel or baking sheets, but don’t remove any clinging flour from their surface. For oval rolls, use a sharp knife or a razor to make a slash from one end of the top to the other. For round rolls, use scissors to snip a crisscross in the top. Sprinkle the rolls with coarse salt.

If using tiles or a stone, lift the loaded peel by the handle and give it a little shake to make sure that the rolls aren’t sticking. Open the oven door and cover the window with a towel (to prevent contact with the ice water, which could break the window), put the peel all the way in the back of the oven over the tiles. With one swift jerk, remove the peel, leaving the rolls on the hot tiles. (It’s okay if the rolls touch when they land.) Immediately toss the ice water into the hot metal pan, remove the towel, and quickly shut the door.

If using baking sheets, put the loaded baking sheets in the oven and toss the ice water into the pan as directed in the baking-tile instructions above. If you’re using two racks, switch the positions of the sheets after the first 12 minutes of baking.

Bake the rolls at 450°F until light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400°F and bake until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn the oven off an let the rolls remain in the oven with the door closed to finish crisping for another 5 minutes. Remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes.

Croissants

A "laminated" pastry dough—with less butter than you'd expect—gives this classic pastry its irresistibly flaky texture.

For the pre-ferment:

• 3/4 cup warm water (100°F)
• 1/8 tsp. active dry yeast
• 9 oz. (2 cups) all-purpose flour

For the dough:

• 1/4 cup warm water (100°F)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 6 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 2 packages active dry yeast (4-1/2 tsp. total)
• 11-1/4 oz. (2-1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs. salt
• 1-3/4 oz. (3-1/2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, completely softened at room temperature
• 10 oz. (20 Tbs.) unsalted butter, chilled

For the egg wash:

• 1 large egg, a pinch each of sugar and salt added, beaten

Mix the pre-ferment:

In a mixing bowl, stir the warm water and yeast together. Wait for them to foam, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and mix on low speed for 3 minutes with a mixer (or for about 5 minutes by hand). The dough will be sticky and somewhat lumpy. Cover and let rest at room temperature (75°F) for 12 hours, until tripled in bulk.

Make the dough:

In a small pan or bowl, combine the water and milk. Pour the liquid into a large mixing bowl and add 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm liquid, stir to dissolve, and let sit until it starts to foam, about 2 minutes.

Add the flour, the remaining sugar, the salt, and the softened butter, along with the pre-ferment, and mix. If using a stand mixer, knead with the dough hook, stopping to push the dough down the hook. Knead until the dough pulls into a translucent sheet without tearing, about 12 minutes. (If working by hand, knead for about 15 minutes.) The dough will be soft and supple.

Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic. Let rise at room temperature (avoid a drafty place) until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Roll out the dough:

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12x14-inch rectangle that’s 1/2 inch thick.

Transfer the dough to a baking sheet, brushing off any excess flour. Cover it with plastic and put it in the freezer until it’s as firm as chilled butter, about 30 minutes.

Pound the butter to make it pliable:

Five minutes before the dough is finished chilling, lay the cold butter between layers of plastic wrap or freezer bags. With a rolling pin, pound the butter into a 12x7-inch rectangle that’s uniformly thick. Even out and square up the rectangle with your fingers and a dough scraper.

Seal the butter in the dough:

On a lightly floured surface, position the pounded butter on one side of the dough rectangle, lining it up parallel with the edges and leaving about 1/4-inch margin. Fold the rest of the dough over the butter. Pinch the edges to seal in the butter. Fold the pinched edges over.

Position the dough rectangle with the folded edge away from you. Roll the dough into a 10x20-inch rectangle that’s 1/2 inch thick.

Fold and roll to make flaky layers

Fold one-third of the dough toward the center, brushing off excess flour as you go. Fold the other third over the two layers, brushing off flour as needed. Press an indentation in the dough after each turn to remind you how many turns you’ve made (at this point, just one). Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the gluten relax and the butter firm up.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator, position it horizontally, and roll it out to a 10x20-inch rectangle. Fold, rewrap, and chill as before. Repeat this sequence once more.

Shape and bake the croissants:

Let the dough rest for 1/2 hour, then roll it into a 19x25-inch rectangle that’s 1/8 inch thick. Trim ragged edges and slice the dough in half horizontally, leaving both halves in place.

On the upper edge of the top strip, measuring from the left corner, cut small notches every 4-1/2 inches. On the lower edge of the bottom strip, do the same thing. With a pizza cutter and a ruler, connect the upper left corner of the top strip to the first notch on the bottom strip. Continue, making parallel diagonal lines. Now connect the lower left corner of the bottom strip to the first notch on the top strip to cut a triangle; continue until you end up with 20 triangles and some scraps.

Cut a small notch in the middle of each triangle base and dab the three corners with egg wash. The notch helps the rolled croissant curl into a crescent. Starting at the base of the triangle, pull gently so the notch separates. Fold the base over twice, 1/2 inch each time, pinching as you go.

Roll towards the tip with your dominant hand, pulling gently at the tip with your other hand. Finish the roll so that the tip is underneath the croissant. Turn it so that the lines of the roll converge toward you, and set the croissant on a parchment-lined baking sheet; leave at least 1 inch between croissants.

Gently curve the ends of each croissant together toward you, pinch, and brush the croissants with egg wash. (If you’re freezing the croissants, do it now.) Let them rise uncovered at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Heat the oven to 375°F. Bake the croissants in the hot oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. To check for doneness, push gently on the inner curve of the croissant. If it springs back, the croissant is thoroughly baked.

Homemade Pop-Tarts

When I started baking professionally, I dreamed of all the things I would offer at my own bakery. These childhood tarts were high on my list, and I thought if I made them from scratch, they could surpass the packaged supermarket version I remembered. I was right. The tarts we make at Flour Bakery + Cafe get steady attention from both our customers and the press. Making them is similar to making ravioli: First, you roll out flaky, buttery dough into a big sheet and score it into rectangles. Then, you spoon jam into the rectangles, lay another sheet of pastry dough on top, and press down to make little jam pockets. Finally, you cut the pockets apart and bake them to golden brown yumminess.

For the Pâte Brisée

• 1 3/4 cups (245 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 Tbs. cold milk

• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (340 grams) raspberry jam

For the simple vanilla glaze

• 1 cup (140 grams) confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 Tbs. water
• Rainbow sprinkles for sprinkling (optional)

Make the pastries

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), mix together the flour, sugar, and salt for 10 to 15 seconds, or until combined. Scatter the butter over the top. Mix on low speed for 1 to 11/2 minutes, or just until the flour is no longer bright white and holds together when you clump it and lumps of butter the size of pecans are visible throughout.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and milk until blended. Add to the flour mixture all at once. Mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the dough just barely comes together. It will look really shaggy and more like a mess than a dough.

Dump the dough out onto an unfloured work surface, then gather it together into a tight mound. Using your palm and starting on one side of the mound, smear the dough bit by bit, starting at the top of the mound and then sliding your palm down the side and along the work surface until most of the butter chunks are smeared into the dough and the dough comes together. Do this once or twice on each part of the dough, moving through the mound until the whole mess has been smeared into a cohesive dough with streaks of butter.

Gather up the dough, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and press down to flatten into a disk about 1 inch thick. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using. (The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month). 

When you're ready to use the dough, position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350°F.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in half. Press each half into a rectangle. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half into a 14-by-11-inch rectangle. Using a paring knife, lightly score 1 rectangle into eight 3-1/2-by-5-1/2-inch rectangles (about the size of an index card).

Brush the top surface of the entire scored rectangle with the egg. Spoon 2 Tbs. of the jam in a mound in the center of each scored rectangle. Lay the second large dough rectangle directly on top of the first. Using fingertips, carefully press down all around each jam mound, so the pastry sheets adhere to each other.

Using a knife, a pizza roller (easier), or a fluted roller (easier and prettier), and following the scored lines, cut the layered dough into 8 rectangles. Place the rectangles, well spaced, on a baking sheet.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the tops of the pastries are evenly golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.

Make the glaze

While the pastries are cooling, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and enough of the water to make a smooth, pourable glaze. You should have about 1/2 cup.

When the pastries have cooled for 30 minutes, brush the tops evenly with the glaze, then sprinkle with the rainbow sprinkles (if using). Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the glaze to set before serving.

The pastries can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Éclair Pastry Shells

• 2 oz. (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp. table salt
• 4-1/2 oz. (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Cut a sheet of parchment to fit in a heavy-duty 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheet. Using a pencil, draw three sets of two lines spaced 3 inches apart, running the length of the parchment. These will be guidelines for piping the éclair dough. Line the baking sheet with the parchment, penciled side down—you should be able to see the lines through the parchment. If not, draw them darker.

In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir vigorously to combine. Continue to stir, using a figure-eight motion and smearing the dough against the sides of the pan to cook the flour and work out any lumps, for 2 minutes. The mixture will be thick and look like a firm ball, or balls, of sticky mashed potatoes that pull away from the pan sides. During this process, it’s normal for a thin layer of dough to stick to the bottom of the pan and sizzle.

Stir the dough.

Remove the pan from the heat and scrape the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. On low speed, mix until the dough feels merely warm to the touch, not hot, 3 to 5 minutes.

With the mixer still on low, beat in the eggs one at a time. After each egg is added, the dough will separate into small lumps and then come back together. After the dough pulls back together, briefly (about 20 seconds) increase the speed to medium low to mix the dough well. Reduce the speed to low before adding the next egg. After the addition of the last egg, scrape the bowl well and beat on medium low for a final 30 seconds.

Scrape the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Twist the top of the bag to push the dough toward the tip. Hold the bag at a 60-degree angle and set the tip of the pastry tube on the paper, right at the top of one of the 3-inch-wide stripes you drew earlier. Squeeze the pastry bag and, using the lines on the parchment as a guide, pipe out 3-inch lengths of dough in a tight zigzag pattern, spacing the éclairs about 1 inch apart.

Bake until the shells are puffed, crisp, and thoroughly golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. If you find that they’re baking unevenly, rotate the pan. Remove from the oven, transfer to a rack, and let cool completely, about 15 minutes, before filling or storing.