This Clever Swap Makes Gluten-Free Croissants That Actually Crisp And Flake - Tasting Table

"If you eat gluten-free or have celiac disease, you are probably well aware of the struggle to find baked goods that have the same texture as products full of the stuff. Gluten allows bread and pastries to stretch and rise and achieve that fluffy, elastic chewiness. As a result, a hallmark of many gluten-free breads is their crumbly and dense textures. Pastries with more complex structures - like delicious French croissants, with their flaky, buttery, chewy layers"

"Luckily, some very creative people on the video app TikTok have been experimenting with a gluten-free croissant hack that apparently actually makes for a crispy, stretchy dough, and it's pretty out there. They are using rice paper sheets - the same ones you use to make spring rolls! There are lots of creative ways to use rice paper in your cooking, but this innovation takes things to another level."

"To make a rice paper croissant, soak them in a mixture to replicate the flavors of a croissant; layer the rice paper sheets to mimic the buttery, layered dough of a glutinous croissant; cut the sheets into a triangle and roll them into crescents; and bake them until they're crispy and golden brown, just like regular croissants. According to at least one Reddit user in the r/Celiac subreddit who tried it out,"

Gluten provides elasticity and lift, so gluten-free breads and pastries often become dense or crumbly. Croissants are especially difficult to replicate without gluten because of their flaky, layered, chewy structure. TikTok creators have experimented with rice paper sheets as a gluten-free alternative to laminated dough. The technique soaks rice paper in an egg-butter-milk mixture with sugar and baking powder, layers the sheets to simulate buttered layers, cuts triangles, rolls into crescents, and bakes until crispy and golden. Flavorings such as vanilla, cinnamon, or orange zest can be added to the soak to infuse layered flavor. Some home testers report the croissants are easy and tasty.

Read at Tasting Table