Cornetti: The Italian croissant

Here you have my ultimate recipe for an Italian croissant, also called cornetti in Italian.

What makes them special is that the pastry tastes more like a brioche, less buttery than the typical french style croissant (and also much more easy to make!)



Italian croissants

Makes 16 croissants.

Ingredients 


PASTRY
  • 500 gr flour (I used refined pastry flour) 
  • 50 gr butter (room temperature)
  • 25 gr fresh yeast
  • 150 gr milk
  • 150 gr sugar
  • 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk 
  • 1 tsp vanilla arome
  • 1/2 lemon zest (grated)
  • 2 Tbsp of powdered sugar for dusting

FILLING (optional)
  • 150 gr dark chocolate (or Nutella, marmalade, etc.) 

Making the dough


Warm up the 150 gr of milk a little bit (c.a. 30ºC), remove from the stove and add the yeast. Mix until it dissolves completely. Set aside.

In a large bowl mix 500gr of flour with the 150 gr of sugar. Add the lemon zest.

Cut the 50gr butter into small pieces and add it to the mixture.

Add 2 eggs and the milk, knead until it does not stick to your fingers.
You can either do it by hand or - if you are as lazy as I am - with the help of a stand mixer (I used my lovely KitchenAid with dough hook attachment at medium speed about 10 min.).


Rolling the dough


1. Separate the dough in two parts and make two balls out of it.

2. Put the balls in two airtight containers and let it set for 2 hours at about 30ºC (my home is around 20ºC so I placed the containers in the oven at minimum temperature).


Now comes the funny part, how to actually roll the dough into croissants:

3. Dust one of the balls in flour and roll it into a circle like you will be making pizza.


4. With the help of a sharp knife, cut it into 8 triangle shapes as shown in the picture below.



5. Add a piece of chocolate in the widest part of the triangle.

6. Brush the narrow part of the triangle with a bit of water.



7. Take the bottom of the triangle and tightly roll it up into a croissant shape.
Repeat steps 3 to 7 with the other ball of dough.



8. Let them set for 3 more hours at room temperature, leave enough space between the cornetti because they will double its size. You can skip this step if you are planing to freeze them*.



* in that case just put your beautiful cornetti straight to the freezer. Whenever you feel like eating them, take the frozen cornetti out from the freezer the night before and let them defrost overnight at room temperature.  


Baking


Set the oven to 180ºC.

Whisk 1 egg yolk with a bit of milk.
Place the cornetti onto the baking tray and brush them all over with the egg mix.

Bake for about 15 min. (or until they are golden brown)
Let them cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Yummy!



Published by Alba from Made of Sundays

Card holder

Want to create an elegant card holder for your home's entance? Maybe a gadget that can help you organize the mess of your desk? Grab an old book and start folding. Here is a very cute up-cycling project.
  In case you don't want to ruin a book from your personal collection, I advise you to visit your local library. Simply ask them if they have removed books from the collection. Many libraries are more than happy to give those books away, or sell them for ~1€.

You need to choose a thick book in order to have a great result. But it's up to you how tall the book you use will be. Remove the cover and you're ready to start.

Take the first page and fold it in half. Take the second page and fold it in half, putting the edge of the page between the first and the second page. Continue folding each page separately until you finish with the book.

The font size and type of the book you choose will determine the final result. So will the black&white or colorful pictures and the yellowish pages of an old book.


Published by Dimitra of Looney Dimitra Crafts

Renowned Finnish Designers for Home Décor and Accessories

Finland is a country of design with many world famous designers and design items. In this post we celebrate Finnish designers and their ever timeless designs.

Maija Isola


This Finnish Designer's name might not be as easily recognized as her ever popular Unikko (Poppy) flower print that the Marimekko brand is so known for. This design was created by Maija Isola in the 1964 as a defiance to the owner’s ban on floral prints. Her work for Marimekko consist of over 500 prints inspired by traditional folk art, modern visual art, nature and her countless trips around the world. It is said that Marimekko’s style was very much based on what Maila Isola was doing. In its celebration of Unikko's 50 anniversary, Marimekko pays tribute to bold personalities and people who goes against the grain and follow their instincts in the spirit of Maija Isola.
 
 Unnika Poppy & Istuva Harka

Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto is known as the father of Modern Scandinavian architecture and has contributed numerous timeless designs of furniture and interior fixtures, still enjoyed today. Born in the late 19th century, he has received numerous awards and accolades from around the world for building famous till this day. However in our homes we still enjoy his simple yet functional mid-century modern home décor and furniture like the Savoy Iitala vases and Paimio chair.
Artek Chairs & Savoy Vase

Eero Saarinen
Known as the famous architect behind the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Loius, Eero Saarinen a Finnish American has contributed some of the most recognizable designs in the 20th century. He was also on the jury panel of the Sydney Opera House, a World Heritage building today. Among his many creation is the Tulip chair and pedestal family of furniture manufactured by Knoll and still is the favourite of many design conscious collectors around the world.
Tulip Chairs and Table & Chairfor Knoll
Kaj Franck
Kaj Franck is described as the conscience of Finnish design. During the war he was incited with the possibilities of technology and mass production, especially in its ability to produce diverse practical objects at low cost. His later designs was stripped of everything excessive leaving behind only the essentials. Kaj Franck's timeless designs are still produced by Italia and cherished in many households around the world.
Mushroom Bowl & Heart Bowl