Good Morning!

Good Morning! My name is Melissa and I am joining my Aunt Angie here on the Chicken Scratch Blog from time to time.   I look forward to sharing about daily life in our home,  new recipes, and of course all things sewing! 

            A little about myself…  I am a born again believer in Jesus Christ, wife to a wonderful husband, and stay-at-home mommy to 3 young girls (ages 1,2,4).   Getting to stay at home with my girls is without a doubt one of my life’s greatest blessings.  It is both exciting and exhausting all at the same time!  There is never a dull moment in our home.

 Some days it feels as if I am only surviving until naptime.  Once my girls are peacefully resting, I pull out my sewing machine and go to work.  I LOVE to sew!  It has become a welcome departure from the everyday duties of being a wife and mama.  

If I am not sewing during naps then I like to bake bread and try new recipes.  Today I’ll share one of my family’s recent favorites.  These croissants are the perfect addition to any meal. When rolling the croissants up add ham and cheese then it becomes a great hot sandwich. The possibilities are endless! 

Sweet and Buttery Croissants:

Ingredients:

2c warm water
2/3 c nonfat dry milk powder

2 TBS dry yeast

¼ c sugar
2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup butter melted

1 egg  (a beautiful brown Chicken Scratch egg)

4 ½ - 5 cups all purpose flour

Directions:

In a mixing bowl (I use my kitchen aide mixer, if you don’t have one this will require a little more work.  It is a soft dough so it should still come together pretty easily.)  Stir in warm water and nonfat dry milk until it dissolves.  Then add yeast, sugar, salt, melted butter, egg and 2 cups of flour.  Mix on low speed until all these ingredients are combined.  Add 2 more cups of flour and mix on a med speed until stirred in.  Then continue adding ½ cup of flour at a time until dough is soft, but not too sticky.  Scrap down the sides of the bowl and then add about 1 TBS of vegetable oil.  Rub it around the sides of the bowl so that as the dough grows it won’t stick to the inside.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until the it has doubled in size. This takes about 45 min to 1 hour.

Once the dough has risen divide it in half and roll it out on a flat floured surface like seen here.

 

Using a pizza cutter slice the dough into halves then quarters and so on.

Then roll the dough into a croissant starting at the wide end. Place then on a baking sheet or a stone.

  

 Allow them to rise a second time about 1 hour or until they have double in size. Bake them at 375 F for 15-20 min or until they look golden brown.  Enjoy your warm croissant with a nice swipe of real butter!

    

I love it when my girls wake up from their naps, their noses tell them that mommy is making something good in the kitchen.  These croissants never disappoint! 

            Give them a try and then comment and let us know what you think! 

Until next time,

Melissa

** I also love this recipe because when you divide your dough and roll the croissants there are 2 batches.  1 batch makes 16 croissants.  More than enough for my family!  I take the second batch and stick them in the freezer on a baking sheet BEFORE they rise the second time.  After they are frozen I throw them in a ziplock bag and have croissants for another meal and all I have to do is let them thaw and rise.