Croissant with Grapeseed oil 牛角包,健康版

I love to have croissants because of their flaky, buttery layers. But every time I have to constrain myself not to have too many because of their high fat content. However, this isn't the case if they are made with more healthy grapeseed oil (but the flakiness has to be compromised a little)! 

Some recipes use olive oil but I figure grapeseed oil should be a more suitable choice due to its high smoking point. Olive oil may break down easily in the high heat of the oven and eventually provide little health benefits. Since grapeseed oil can withstand temperatures of up to 450F, it is my choice to use in this recipe. Other high smoking point oils like soybean, peanut and safflower oil can be used as well.

People often ask me what the secret of consuming all the foods in my blog and still remain slim is. First of all, I have to give credit to God for keeping me healthy. All the good things come from Him. Secondly, I also give thanks to my parents for giving me good genes. Genetics play a significant role in our well being. Besides these two uncontrollable factors, there are still a lot of circumstances that affect our weight and health.

Apart from my own passion in cooking and baking, eating healthily is my other great motivation in the kitchen. By baking my daily bread, I can use the best flour (most of the time with whole wheat), the freshest eggs, and the healthiest oil. I avoid dough enhancers or other preservatives or additives. If my family craves desserts, I try to use the best ingredients. If the recipe calls for shortening, I only use organic non-hydrogenated palm oil. It may cost a bit more than the regular, unhealthy version but I always remind myself that health is priceless.

I know it is very tempting to grab a frozen dinner and pop it in the microwave after a long day from work. It is super convenient to get packaged and processed food from Costco or other supermarkets. But as I read the long list of ingredients on the label of most processed and packaged foods, I just put it back down.

Michael Pollan wrote in New York Times on August 2, 2009 (Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch):

I asked (food-marketing researcher Harry Balzer) how in an ideal world, Americans might begin to undo the damage that the modern diet of industrial prepared food has done to our health. "Easy. You want Americans to eat less? I have the diet for you. It's short and it's simple. Here's my diet plan: Cook it yourself. That's it. Eat anything you want--just as long as you're willing to cook it yourself."

You are what you eat

Ingredients to make about 12-14 croissants:

(A)
315g unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk

(B)
100g grapeseed oil
170g unbleached all-purpose flour

1)  Mix 100g grapeseed oil and 170g flour in a bowl. Store in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight to firm it up. It will look like a thick paste.
2)  Mix all of (A) together in a bowl of a stand mixer and knead for about 10 minutes at low speed.
3)  Let it rise until double in size.
4)  Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 6x15 inches.
5)  Take out the oil paste and spread it on one side of the dough.

6)  Fold up the dough so that the oil paste is sandwiched. Seal the ends up tightly and gently roll out the dough back to 6x15 inches. Fold the dough into thirds and refrigerate for 30 mins, then repeat the rolling and folding two more times.
7)  Roll out the dough and cut into triangles.

8)  On the short side of the triangle, cut a slit and roll it up.

9)  Let them rise to almost double in size. Brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated 400F oven for 15-20 mins until they are golden in color. Serve warm and they are good keeper in the freezer.

健康版牛角包

我很喜歡食牛角包,食時會一絲絲將它分開來吃,但這種脂肪成份偏高的食物只能間中品嚐一下,不能放肆! 但我想如果不用牛油來做,那麼便可以食得安心了(雖然效果及香味比牛油遜色)。有一些食譜用橄欖油來做,但橄欖油的起煙點比較低,它對健康的好處都會在高高的爐溫下化解,所以我選擇用葡萄籽油,因為它的起煙點比橄欖油較高,可以在450F高溫下仍然不會起煙,所以比較適合。 其它高起煙點的油如花生油、黃豆油及紅花油也可使用。

經常有人問我為何做了那麼多甜品、麵包,但仍然能保持這個身段。首先我要感謝上帝賜給我健康的身體,一切的好處都不在衪以外。其次我很幸運能夠有好的遺傳,我要多謝我的父母。但除了這兩樣因素不在我掌握之外,有很多因素是我們可以控制的。

我喜愛烹飪及烘焙,但除了興趣之外,健康是另外一大主因使我常動手下廚。我每日食的麵包,我會用最好的麵粉 (多數是全麥),最新鮮的雞蛋及最健康的油,完全沒有麵包改良劑或其他防腐劑。做蛋糕及其它甜點,我都會用最好的材料,如果要用起酥油,我會選用有機及沒有氫化的棕櫚油,價錢會比普通的高一點點,但我時常提醒自己健康是無價的。

我知道經過繁忙的一天,很多人都不想再花時間在廚房,寧願食即食麵或電視餐,加工食品到處皆是,十分方便,但當我看到包裝上的成份標籤,我只有將它放回架上。

食得健康最重要

此份量可做十二至十四個牛角包:

(一)

315g 普通麵粉

二茶匙 快速酵母粉

二湯匙 糖

一茶匙 鹽

一杯 牛奶

(二)

100g 葡萄籽油

170g 普通麵粉

1)  將(二)之材料放碗內攪成糊狀,放雪柜至少二小時或過夜。

2)  將(一)之材料用攪拌器搓約七分鐘,如用手搓約十二分鐘。讓它發酵至兩倍大。

3)  將麵糰取出,用捍麵杖捍開成長方形,六乘十五寸大。

4)  取出在雪柜之油麵糰,均勻地塗上麵糰之半邊,將另外半邊折合,包實封口,輕手再將之捍回六乘十五大。

5)  再將麵糰對折疊成三層,雪半小時後再重複捍開及折疊兩次。

6)  將麵糰捍開,切成三角形,在短的那邊切開約一寸,然後卷起,再讓它發大約一倍。

7)  塗上蛋液後放入已預熱至400度的焗爐內爐約十五至二十分鐘。