Pain au chocolat / Croissants

I always wondered if a vegan/dairy-free croissant/pain au chocolat would be possible, but always shied away from attempting them – they are, after all, an awful lot of work for it all to go wrong. However, thanks to inspiration from the recipes in The Vegan Boulangerie by Marianne and Jean-Michel and my time at Le Cordon Bleu, today was the day for an attempt. The dough is basically a yeasted puff pastry, so I’ve used dairy-free spread rather than butter – the buttery richness won’t be there, but hopefully the effect will be the same. I wonder if my daughters will like them? They’ve never tasted anything like it…. I’ll report back when they get home from school….

Dairy-Free Croissants (dairy-free, egg-free, soya-free, nut-free, vegetarian, vegan)

makes 4-6

• 250g plain flour
• 7g caster sugar
• 25g dairy-free spread (I used Pure)
• 1 rounded tsp yeast
• 150ml oat milk, warmed (I used Oatly)
• 125g dairy-free spread

– Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar and yeast. Add the dairy-free spread and cut into tiny bits

– Pour in the warmed oat milk and stir. Once come together, knead into a soft dough.

– Cover and leave to rise for a couple of hours

– Meanwhile, put the remaining 125g dairy-free spread on to some cling film and loosely wrap. Roll out to a square shape, and place in the fridge to harden.

– Once the dough has risen, turn out onto a floured surface and knead until a smooth dough. Roll out to a large rectangle. Place the cooled spread in the middle and fold over the remaining dough..

– Roll out and fold into thirds twice

– Place back in the fridge for ten minutes, then roll out and fold back into thirds twice more.

– Rest in the fridge for 10 minutes.

– Roll out to form a large rectangle. Cut into long thin triangles. Roll up from the wide end and curve round the edges to form a classic croissant shape.

– Let rise for 15 minutes on a baking sheet before placing in the oven.

– Bake at 200 degrees centigrade for 20 minutes

Pain au Chocolat (dairy-free, egg-free, soya-free, nut-free, vegetarian, vegan)

(makes 3)

• 1 small bar of dark dairy-free chocolate
• a sprinkle of caster sugar
• melted dairy-free spread for brushing

– Follow the above instructions until the dough is rolled out to a large rectangle.

– Cut into three long strips

– Place a line of chocolate at each narrow end and roll both in to meet in the middle. Turn over.

– Brush with the melted spread and sprinkle with caster sugar

– Let rise on the baking tray for 20 minutes.

– Bake at 200 degrees centigrade for 20 minutes