Menu
Author:
Franco Salzillo
Is there something more buttery and flakier than the croissant? We bet there isn’t. The crescent-shaped French baking treat is light and pillowy but intensely flavorful. Croissants are just easy to love!
The problem with croissants is that they’re based on wheat flour, which means many people can’t enjoy them because of gluten.
I won’t lie; you can make croissants with gluten-free flour, but they’re not exactly alike. Croissants rely on gluten to form all those holes you find in the bread, which gives it volume and fluffiness. If you want them vegan, you’re also letting go of butter, which is critical for French pastries.
Having said that, I’m pretty satisfied with my gluten-free vegan croissants. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to make your own gluten-free flour — a nifty trick to have up your sleeve.
For the flour, you’ll need rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch and xanthan gum. Combined with baking soda, salt, margarine, almond milk and maple syrup, you end with a pretty tasty dough that rises nicely.
The only thing you need to do is roll your croissants and bake them. Inclusive croissants that everyone can enjoy, that’s the goal here, and I’m sure you’ll agree a recipe like this one was well overdue.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
Cut the margarine into small bits, and in a stand mixer, incorporate them with the flour mixture.
Slowly add the water to the mixture to create a dough.
Remove the dough, form a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for two hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Flour your kitchen counter with almond flour.
Roll out your puff pastry into a rectangle of about 10 by 16 inches wide.
Cut the rectangle into three equal-sized rectangles like a flag.
Cut each rectangle from one upper corner to the opposite corner in the bottom to create six triangles.
Roll the triangles starting from the wide side to create croissants. Place on the baking sheet.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the almond milk and the maple syrup and brush your croissants thoroughly.
Bake from between 20 to 25 minutes until golden and puffy.
