Egg Yolk Croissants
Many people think bread-making is difficult, but it isn't—if you can make steamed buns, you can make bread too. Pay attention to a few key points, and your homemade bread will be soft and far more delicious than store-bought. I first took up baking so my family could eat healthier; after plenty of practice at home, here are the tips I'd like to share. To achieve a soft, slow-staling loaf, kneading, ingredients, and the type of flour all make a difference.
Ingredients
bread flour
350g
milk
35g
egg yolks
2
sugar
50g
milk powder
10g
water
116g
yeast
3g
butter
3g
salt
3g
black sesame
as needed
egg wash
as needed
Instructions
1
Step 1
Put all ingredients except the butter into the bread machine bucket and knead until combined, then add the butter and knead until a thin membrane forms when pulled.
2
Step 2
Let the kneaded dough rest, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to ferment until doubled in size. It is ready when a hole poked in the middle with your finger does not collapse.
3
Step 3
Take out the dough, deflate and knead evenly, then divide into evenly sized small portions. At this stage, cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let them rest for a while to make shaping easier, otherwise the high-gluten dough will be too elastic and difficult to work with.
4
Step 4
Roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape, then use a rolling pin to flatten it into a triangle as shown in the picture, so that it will roll into a nice croissant shape.
5
Step 5
Roll up from the bottom to form a nice little croissant. Repeat the process until all the dough portions are shaped.
6
Step 6
Wash and dry the baking tray, place all the shaped breads on it, then put them in the oven for a second fermentation until doubled in size.
7
Step 7
Brush the twice-fermented breads with egg wash. The egg wash is made by beating a whole egg in a bowl and mixing well, which gives a better color when baked.
8
Step 8
Sprinkle with black sesame seeds. Preheat the oven to 200°C for 5 minutes, then lower to 180°C and bake for 20 minutes until the surface is golden. Because the breads are small, they do not need to bake for too long; if baked too long they will dry out and lose their softness.
9
Step 9
They are very soft when they come out of the oven. Once cooled, they can be sealed for storage; they stay soft and taste great even when cold.
10
Step 10
They make a wonderful breakfast or snack.
11
Step 11
Finished.
