- St. Martin’s croissants, with the European PGI certificate, are a traditional delicacy from Greater Poland, baked on November 11.
- The secret to perfect croissants is high-quality dough and rich filling
- Do you want to know a proven recipe for homemade St. Martin’s croissants and surprise your loved ones with their unique taste?
Grandma’s secret ingredient for Saint Martin’s croissants. Thanks to him, they always come out
For many people, St. Martin’s croissants are the taste of November. They are baked and eaten on November 11, Saint Martin’s Day. This is a typically Polish delicacy that we can be proud of. St. Martin’s Croissants have a European Protected Geographical Name (PGI) certificate, which confirms their locality and uniqueness. Traditionally, it is a croissant baked in Poznań and some regions of Greater Poland. The history of Saint Martin’s croissants dates back to the 19th century, when priest Jan Lewicki asked the faithful to imitate the goodness of Saint Martin. In response, one of the confectioners, Józef Melzer, started baking croissants for the poor. the tradition of St. Martin’s croissants may come from pagan rituals and food offerings made to the gods.
Today, St. Martin’s croissants. The rich filling and unique dough make it a delicacy that is hard to ignore. Many people fear that preparing St. Martin’s croissants is difficult and time-consuming, especially since it is very high in calories. One St. Martin’s croissant may have up to 1,200 kcal. The secret to successful baking is well-prepared dough and filling. That’s where all the flavor lies. My grandmother came from the Poznań area and always baked Saint Martin’s croissants on November 11. She repeated that the secret to perfect baking is good milk. In her opinion, a taste as rich as that of St. Martin’s croissant needs a fatty and aromatic setting. The best choice for the cake was 3.2% fat milk. Thanks to this, there was mass. Perfect for a large amount of filling.
Recipe for homemade St. Martin’s croissants
Cake
Ingredients
- 1 kg of wheat flour (sifted)
- 400 ml of warm milk
- 120 g of sugar
- 20 g of fresh yeast
- 2 eggs + 1 yolk
- 3 g soli
- 300 g cold butter (for slicing)
- (Additionally: 120 g of melted, cooled butter)
Preparation
- Leaven: Dissolve the yeast in some warm milk with a little sugar and flour, set aside for ~20 minutes to “start”.
- In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and sugar. Add the leaven, remaining milk, eggs (and yolk) and melted butter. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.
- Cover the dough and set aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes until it doubles in volume.
- Prepare cold (frozen or very chilled) 300 g butter: grate or roll out between pieces of paper to a thickness of approx. 1 cm.
- Roll out the risen dough into a rectangle. Spread cold butter on 2/3 of the surface. Fold the dough like an envelope: the part without butter in the middle, then roll it up. Turn 90° and roll out again. Put in the fridge for 30 minutes. Repeat rolling + folding 3 times (which gives many layers – classic puff pastry).
- After the last rolling, chill the dough (at least a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator) – this will make it easier to form the croissants.
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle approximately 0.5 cm thick and approximately 50–60 cm wide (depending on the number of pieces). Cut into triangles. Place the filling on the wide base of the triangle (see below), roll it into a croissant shape – starting from the wide base towards the top. Turn the ends up to create a distinctive horseshoe/crescent shape.
- Place the croissants on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Leave to rise ~30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 °C (fan air or top-bottom).
- Before baking, brush the croissants with beaten egg and a little milk. Bake ~20 minutes or until nicely golden.
- After baking – cool slightly, then pour icing (powdered sugar + hot water or milk) and sprinkle with almond flakes or chopped nuts.
Filling (white poppy seed mass)
Ingredients
- 500 g of white poppy seeds
- 85 g butter
- 400–500 g of sugar
- 85 g blanched almonds, chopped
- 85 g raisins
- 40 g candied orange peel
- 300 g sponge cake crumbs (e.g. crushed sponge cake)
- 250 g eggs (about 5 medium pieces) or 4-5 eggs
- a few drops of almond extract or almond flavor
Preparation
- Rinse the poppy seeds and pour boiling water over them, cover and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. After cooking, drain thoroughly using a sieve or cheesecloth.
- Grind the poppy seeds very finely – traditionally three times through a meat grinder with small holes or a blender, until the mass is smooth.
- Melt the butter in a deep pan or pot, add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add ground poppy seeds, almonds, raisins and orange peel. Fry over low heat for ~5-10 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent it from burning.
- Set the mixture aside to cool. Then add crushed biscuits and eggs (or eggs + extract), mix thoroughly so that the mass is uniform, but not liquid – it must be thick enough not to flow out of the dough.
- If necessary, cool the mixture in the refrigerator to make it easier to apply to the dough when forming croissants.
