This is a print preview of "Cinnamon Croissant Ring" recipe.

Cinnamon Croissant Ring Recipe
by Shannon Millisor

Cinnamon Croissant Ring

Fresh croissant dough filled with cinnamon and sugar then topped with crunchy streusel and baked. It melts in your mouth when you eat it.

Rating: 5/5
Avg. 5/5 1 vote
  United States American
  Servings: 24 servings

Ingredients

  • Croissant dough:
  • 1 ½ cups milk, heated to warm (105°F–110°F) (I used 1%, but whole is recommended)
  • ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (from two 1/4-oz packages)
  • 3 ¾ to 4 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter
  • For ring:
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon (half of a 3-inch stick)
  • ½ recipe croissant dough (1 lb 6 oz), chilled (recipe follows)
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • For streusel topping:
  • ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ stick (1/4 cup) frozen unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Directions

  1. Croissant dough
  2. Makes 1 ring and 12-16 croissants (or two rings)
  3. Make croissant dough:
  4. Stir together warm milk, brown sugar, and yeast in bowl of standing mixer and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If it doesn’t foam, discard and start over.) Add 3 3/4 cups flour and salt and mix with dough hook at low speed until dough is smooth and very soft, about 7 minutes.
  5. Transfer dough to a work surface and knead by hand 2 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, a little at a time, to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Form dough into a roughly 1 1/2-inch-thick rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until cold, about 1 hour.
  6. Prepare and shape butter:
  7. After dough has chilled, arrange sticks of butter horizontally, their sides touching, on a work surface. Pound butter with a rolling pin to soften slightly (butter should be malleable but still cold). Scrape butter into a block and put on a kitchen towel, then cover with other towel. Pound and roll out on both sides until butter forms a uniform 8- by 5-inch rectangle. Chill, wrapped in towels, while rolling out dough.
  8. Roll out dough:
  9. Unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as necessary and lifting and stretching dough (especially in corners), into a 16- by 10-inch rectangle. Arrange dough with a short side nearest you. Put butter in center of dough so that long sides of butter are parallel to short sides of dough. Fold as you would a letter: bottom third of dough over butter, then top third down over dough. Brush off excess flour with pastry brush.
  10. Roll out dough:
  11. Turn dough so a short side is nearest you, then flatten dough slightly by pressing down horizontally with rolling pin across dough at regular intervals, making uniform impressions. Roll out dough into a 15- by 10-inch rectangle, rolling just to but not over ends.
  12. Brush off any excess flour. Fold in thirds like a letter, as above, stretching corners to square off dough, forming a 10- by 5-inch rectangle. (You have completed the first "fold.") Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 hour.
  13. Make remaining "folds":
  14. Make 3 more folds in same manner, chilling dough 1 hour after each fold, for a total of 4 folds. (If any butter oozes out while rolling, sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.) Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours but no more than 18 (after 18 hours, dough may not rise sufficiently when baked).
  15. Prepare ring:
  16. Butter a 24-centimeter (about 9-inch) springform pan and line with a round of parchment paper. Butter paper and remove side of pan.
  17. Stir together sugars and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as necessary, into a 24- by 9-inch rectangle. Brush off excess flour with pastry brush and trim edges with a pizza wheel or sharp knife.
  18. Arrange dough so that a long side is nearest you and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over dough, leaving a 1-inch border along bottom edge. Brush border with some beaten egg and chill remaining egg. Fold top edge of dough over about 1 inch. Using both hands, roll dough toward you: Use your thumbs to tuck dough under and tighten as you go, working your way down entire length of log (as when rolling up a poster), and gently rock dough back and forth to keep it taut and even. When finished, roll log back and forth over seam to seal.
  19. Transfer log, seam side down, to bottom of springform pan, bringing both ends of log together to make a ring. Beginning 2 inches from where ends meet, make vertical cuts from outside of ring toward center at 2-inch intervals, cutting halfway through ring.
  20. Let ring rise:
  21. Attach side of pan and slide pan into garbage bag, propping up top of bag with inverted glasses to keep it from touching dough, then tuck open end under pan. Let ring rise until slightly puffy and spongy to the touch, about 2 1/2 hours. (I covered the pan with a kitchen towel and it was fine)
  22. Make streusel while ring is rising:
  23. Blend flour and sugar in a food processor. Add frozen butter and pulse until very finely chopped. Chill streusel until ready to use.
  24. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  25. Gently brush top and center of ring with some of remaining beaten egg, then sprinkle with streusel. Bake in middle of oven until top is browned and streusel is crisp, about 45 minutes.
  26. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a thin knife around edge to loosen and remove side of pan.