2 tb Yeast
3/4 c Water; warm
1 3/4 c Whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c Water
1 1/2 tb Honey
2 c Butter; 1/2" pieces
1 lg Egg
1 tb Water
Combine yeast and warm water, stirring a little to
dissolve yeast. Let sit about 10 minutes. Add 1/2 of
flour; add water and honey; whisk until smooth. Cover
bowl and let stand 1 1/2 hours.
Combine remaining flour with butter, and flatten
butter pieces. Pour yeast batter into flour mixture;
fold together with spatula; just moisten flour without
breaking butter pieces.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Pat dough
down and roll into a 18x12" rectangle; if too
sticky, sprinkle with flour. Use a metal spatula to
fold 1/3 of dough toward center; then fold from other
side, 1/3 of dough over first 1/3. Lift folded dough
off work surface, and scrape surface clean. Sprinkle
work area with flour and repeat, rolling and folding 3
more times. Dough must be hard; if not, freeze for 45
minutes.
Pat dough into rectangle. Cut into parts, 1 part for
each 4 croissants. For instance, for 24 croissants:
cut in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut each half into 3
pieces, for a total of 6 (4x6). Work with one piece
at a time, holding others in refrigerator until
ready to use.
Roll each piece individually into 5-1/2x14"
rectangles. Cut into two 5-1/2x7" pieces. Cut
each piece diagonally to form 4 triangles; roll from
wide end to point. Place on ungreased cookie sheets.
Curve ends to crescent shape.
Beat egg with water; brush croissants with this and
set them aside 1 hour. Reglaze with egg/water mixture.
Bake at 375 F until puffed and brown. Let cool slightly
and serve.
