Cruffins – sophisticated croissant muffins

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 150 ml milk, lukewarm
• ¼ cube fresh yeast, alternatively 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 300 g wheat flour type 405
• ½ tsp salt
• 50 g sugar
• 50 g butter, soft
• 50 g butter, soft
• 60 g sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 50 g herb butter or garlic butter, soft
• Butter for the baking tray

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 17 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 47 minutes

Basic recipe with variations

For a 12-hole muffin tin. The starter: In a small bowl, combine the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar with the lukewarm milk, cover, and let stand for about 15 minutes, until the yeast is visibly working. The base dough: Combine the flour, salt, and 50g of sugar in a bowl, add the starter, and mix everything with the dough hook of a mixer for 4-5 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Of course, this can also be done in a food processor or in the Thermomix (kneading mode). Add the softened butter in pieces and knead thoroughly for another 2-3 minutes. The relatively long kneading time is important, so don’t cheat! First resting phase: Once the dough is nice and smooth and not sticky, form it into a ball and place it in a bowl. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm, draft-free place. This works best in the oven with the light on—this provides plenty of heat. The dough should definitely double in size; extend the resting time if necessary! Dividing and second resting phase: Transfer the fluffy dough to a work surface. Do not flour it; the dough should not absorb any more flour and does not need to. Flatten the dough slightly and cut into 6 pieces. If necessary, use a scale to ensure that the dough pieces are the same weight. Shape the dough pieces into 6 small balls, cover, and let rest for another 15 minutes. During this time, lightly grease the muffin tin. The tinkering and third resting phase: Place one ball of dough on the work surface, leaving the others covered. Flatten the dough slightly and roll it out with a rolling pin into a very thin, oblong strip (approx. 18 x 35 cm). Be careful not to tear the dough! It shouldn’t tear anyway due to the long kneading time. Now brush 1/6 of the softened butter evenly over the strip of dough, going right to the edges. Starting at the narrow end, roll the strip tightly, not loosely, until you have a “sausage” in front of you. Carefully stretch this roll again with both hands. Then carefully cut it in half lengthwise; this works particularly well with a pizza cutter/pizza wheel. Place one of the halved dough rolls in front of you, with the many cut edges now visible facing up, and carefully roll it into a rose- or snail-shaped shape, tucking the end underneath. Place it in one of the holes in the muffin tin. Repeat with the other halved dough roll. If there is any butter on the work surface, wipe it off with a sheet of kitchen paper if necessary. Then gradually process the remaining 5 dough balls in the same way until all 12 holes are filled. Cover the muffin tin with a cloth and let the cruffins rise again in a warm place, such as in the oven with the light on, for 60 minutes. Bake and enjoy: Remove the cloth from the muffin tin, set the oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat), and bake the cruffins until they are golden brown. This takes about 17 minutes; you can extend the baking time if necessary. You’ll have to keep an eye on them! Then remove from the oven, let them cool slightly, and enjoy these fluffy treats lukewarm with jam, jelly, or honey! Variations: For the sweet version, before rolling them up, mix 60g of sugar with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle 1/6 of the mixture onto each of the buttered strips of dough. For the savory version (which makes a great side dish for a barbecue or salad), omit the 50g of sugar from the basic dough and brush the strips of dough with soft herb butter, garlic butter, or something similar instead of regular butter. Note: The butter is important for brushing the cruffins with the “puff pastry” effect, which is familiar from croissants or Danish pastries, for example. The fat acts as a separating layer, allowing the steam generated during baking to make them extra light and fluffy. So, don’t skip this step just to save calories.