Super Easy and Budget-Friendly Pastries

Name: Super Easy and Budget-Friendly Pastries
Total time: 7200 s
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 cups all-purpose flour (about 500 grams); 1 oz fresh baker’s yeast (about 30 grams); 1 cup warm milk and water combined (about 250 ml total); 3 1/2 tablespoons melted butter (about 50 grams); 1/2 cup sugar (about 100 grams); 1 beaten egg; 1 pinch salt; as needed, butter and sugar

Maria Beatriz Perez @MAR_TRIZ

When my kids were little, back in the 80s and 90s, I loved making these easy, budget-friendly pastries for their afternoon snack or with milk. It was something different to enjoy in the afternoon. The smell of the dough baking in the oven and filling the house is priceless—they would wait eagerly, asking when they could eat them. Now that those kids are grown, especially one of them, Marcos, he asked me how to make those pastries. So, for him and anyone else who wants it, I’m sharing this basic recipe that you can use however you like.

Maria Beatriz Perez @MAR_TRIZ

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Ingredients

2 hours

6 servings

4 cupsall-purpose flour (about 500 grams)
1 ozfresh baker’s yeast (about 30 grams)
1 cupwarm milk and water combined (about 250 ml total)
3 1/2 tablespoonsmelted butter (about 50 grams)
1/2 cupsugar (about 100 grams)
1beaten egg
1 pinchsalt
as needed, butter and sugar

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Steps

2 hours

1

Gather all the ingredients.
2

In a bowl, add the melted and cooled butter, salt, sugar, warm milk and water (1 cup/250 ml total), beaten egg, and the yeast. Mix well.
3

Add vanilla extract and orange blossom water.
4

Gradually add the flour to the liquid mixture.
5

The dough will start to come together.
6

Once you’ve added all 4 cups (500 grams) of flour, transfer the dough to a floured surface.
7

Knead the dough thoroughly.
8

Keep kneading.
9

After kneading for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, shape it into a ball.
10

Cover and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
11

After rising, place the dough on a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin into a rectangle about 20 x 16 inches (50 x 40 cm).
12

Once rolled out to size, brush the surface with about 7 tablespoons (100 grams) of melted or softened butter, spreading it evenly.
13

Sprinkle sugar over the buttered surface.
14

Roll up the dough lengthwise.
15

Cut the roll into spirals.
16

Arrange the spirals spaced apart on a baking sheet.
17

Let them rise in a warm place.
18

Brush with water and sprinkle with sugar.
19

Bake in a hot oven until golden brown.
20

Once they’re golden and baked through, remove them all from the oven.
21

Make a simple syrup and brush it over the pastries.
22

This is how they look when finished.
23

Beautiful!
24

With this recipe, you can get creative and shape them however you like—bows, pinwheels, rectangles, circles, or little books filled with quince paste, pastry cream, raisins, etc. Just remember, only add the butter and sugar on top if you’re making spirals. Now it’s your turn—and Marcos’s! I look forward to seeing your photos. And one more thing: don’t be afraid of working with yeast doughs. This recipe is very easy, and as with everything in the kitchen, add love and flavor—I promise everything will turn out great. Until next time.