(Almost) Vegan Cinnamon Buns

I start my last semester EVER of college tomorrow - say wha??  On one hand, I'm stoked.  I just want to get this semester over with and be done with school already.  On the other hand, I'm also a bit anxious about this whole graduating and finally-being-an-adult thing.  I mean sure, I won't have anymore annoying papers to write or exams to study for.  But at the same time, I will no longer be able to travel and take vacations/"mental health days" as I please - I'm actually going to have responsibilities and work obligations (which I suppose I'm lucky to even have, considering most recent and soon-to-be grads still have to worry about even getting a job).

Anywho, even though I pretty much have a job for after graduation at a company I love, I'm still going to miss the travels, the escapades and the general bumming around I did over the past 8 months of glorified vacation (otherwise known as study abroad). 

Sooo....what does all of this have to do with cinnamon buns?

Ooh La La: Croissants and Pain Au Chocolat

Tackling French pastries has been on my winter break baking bucket list, and this past weekend, I took on croissants and pain au chocolat (chocolate-filled croissants).  And they turned out pretty legit, if I must say so myself.  But after making them myself and seeing first-hand how much effort goes into making croissants, I have so much more respect for bakeries that make these little suckers by hand everyday.

First of all, croissants are definitely not something you can just whip up, like cookies or cupcakes.  In fact, it was a two-day process for me.  There are quite a few steps, most of them repetitions, and a whole lotta chilling time (think: patience!).  But if done right, the ends definitely justify the means. 

Okay, so there are two elements to a croissant: the dough block (détrempe) and the butter block (beurrage).  [If you have a fear of butter, you better get over it quickly if you're going to make French pastries]  The dough block is just a combination of yeast, flour, water (or milk), and a little bit of cold butter.  The butter block is exactly as it sounds - it's just cold butter mixed with a little bit of flour.  To make croissants, you essentially encase the butter block in the dough block, and the combination is rolled out and folded over and over again, until the butter is incorporated into the dough to create those oh-so flaky and buttery layers that we all love about croissants...