Vegan Sourdough Croissant Recipe

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I’m sure you are going to enjoy today’s recipe for a vegan sourdough croissant. These Vegan Sourdough croissants are delicious and healthier variations of croissants; they are sugar-free, egg-free, and have 3 times more fiber.

What is a Croissant?

Croissant is a crescent-shaped pastry associated with French culture, but it originated in Austria. Today, croissants are a symbol of French breakfast. Even the word “Croissant ” is a French word that means crescent in English. Croissants are buttery, lightweight, and airy. They are categorized as “Laminated Pastry.” While making it; the dough gets folded repeatedly. Making croissants takes several days, a lot of patience, and proper skills. The main ingredient of a croissant is unsalted butter. Butter is spread on the dough, which makes the croissant flaky and buttery flavored.

What makes Vegan Sourdough Croissants different from traditional Croissants?

Sourdough is used for making bread by using naturally occurring yeast. This bread is sour in taste and good in its quality. Vegan Sourdough croissants are flavored, vegan and healthier. Unlike classic croissants, they are sugar-free, egg-free, and contain three times more fibers. They are fluffy, buttery, and flaky. The biggest advantage of making a vegan sourdough croissant is that you don’t need yeast. You make yeast naturally. Still, it’s way more delicious and healthy than traditional croissants, in which we don’t use natural yeast.

How can we make Vegan Sourdough Croissant?

A vegan sourdough croissant with jam will be a great option if you enjoy sweet and sour food.

It takes three days to make sourdough croissants. It sounds time-consuming and complicated, but it’s completely manageable if the process is broken down into steps. But the time and effort will be worth it.

Ingredients needed to make Vegan- Sourdough Croissants

(This is for ten servings)

For making Levain,

• Buckwheat flour – 100g
• Water – 175g
• Sourdough starter – 100g
• Brown rice flour – 100g

For the dough,

• Levain – 200g
• Coconut sugar – 80g
• Gluten-free bread flour mix – 500g
• Xanthan gum – 9g
• Plant milk (oat milk can be used) – 250g
• Melted vegan butter – 50g

Butter for lamination,

• Vegan butter – 310g
• Brown rice flour – 2 tbsp

Egg wash,

• Soy milk – 2 tbsp
• Maple syrup – 1 tbsp

Recipe for Levain

Levain is a major ingredient when it comes to baking. It helps in natural fermentation for baking.

For making levain, all we have to do is mix all the ingredients mentioned above in a clean jar made up of glass. Then, let it sit for approximately 4-6 hours at room temperature until it doubles in size. Then, your levain would be ready. (Sourdough starter can be prepared by mixing equal parts of water and flour)

Recipe for dough

Start by mixing all the ingredients mentioned above in a bowl and prepare the dough. Now, leave the dough for 6 hours covered until it doubles. Now, laminate the butter. Mix the flour with 310g of butter and then roll it in the shape of a rectangle. It should be rolled between the sheets of parchment paper. Then, put the prepared batter in the fridge until it gets ready.

When the dough is ready, put it on a half-sheet pan. Flatten it to approximately the size of the pan. Place that dough in the freezer for 30 minutes and then in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Lamination

Lamination is the process of layering the butter between the dough. Before doing lamination, make sure that the consistency of the butter and the dough is good enough to be used. Push your finger slightly into the butter, and if your finger has no butter stuck on it then, it’s ready. (Tip: If you find the butter melting during the process, put it in the refrigerator)

Step-by-step Instructions

• Flour the countertop; put the dough on its surface. Put the butter block on one half of the dough (Make sure that the butter is half the size of the dough). Then, fold it like a book from one side. Use the rolling pin and push gently to spread the butter evenly.
• Roll the dough and make it triple its original size. Then, trim the uneven edges to get a perfect rectangle out of it. (Tip: If in any situation the dough tore during the process, cover the crack by adding extra dough at that place.)
• Now, fold the prepared dough into thirds. After that, put your dough into a floured plan and place it into the freezer for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, roll the dough again until it gets tripled. From one corner, fold it (1/4 of the dough). Now, fold from the rest of the corner towards that fold. Then again, close the whole dough like a book.
• Now again, place the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes and then in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• After all this, the dough is ready. Now, you can form the dough in the desired shape.
• To give it a crescent shape, start by rolling the dough. Now, cut it into long triangles and roll the triangle from the bottom tightly.
• After shaping, leave them for 4-5 hours at room temperature. Then, put the croissants in the fridge overnight.

Egg wash

• Mix 2 tbsp soy milk with 1 tbsp of liquid sweetener of choice to make an egg wash.

Final step

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
• Take the croissants from the fridge and brush them with the egg wash on the top (Tip: Brushing the dough with cold water before each fold will create steam when the croissant bakes; this will help the layers to be higher and will give the croissant flakier texture). Bake them for 20-25 minutes until they become golden brown. (Tip: we can also cut them into rectangles instead and roll some chocolates in them. In this way we can make Pain au chocolate chocolate bread)
• The Vegan Sourdough Croissants are ready. Enjoy!

Homemade croissants stay fresh for two days. To keep croissants fresh for a longer period, seal them in zip-lock bags and freeze them. To use the frozen croissant, reheat them for about 5-10 minutes in the oven. While making croissants, the temperature of the kitchen can disturb the process of making croissants. The high temperature of the room can result in the melting of butter and can also affect the dough. Therefore, summer may not be a good time for making croissants. But, if the temperature is maintained, we can make croissants in the summer too.

There are multiple ways to serve these vegan sourdough croissants. First, you can serve it alongside coffee or any other beverage. Next, you can have them with your favorite jam. Another option is to add some spices and herbs to the dough during the process and then serve them as a side dish with any meal.