Granny's sausage and cheese medialuna
Crunchy coating gives way to the melted cheese or sausage filling in a fluffy medialuna.
Ingredients
- 500 g flour
- 250 g butter
- 1 tbsp salt
- 3 g instant yeast
- 0,5 dl milk
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 eggs one for the dough and one for brushing the medialunas
- 150 g créme fraiche
- 100 g cheese 50 g grated, the other 50 g cut into 2 cm bites
- 50 g sausage cut into 2 cm bites
- 2 tbsp seeds (white sesame, cumin) optional for decoration
Instructions
- We start with activating the yeast. This process has three essential characteristics: neither plant-based milk nor natural sweeteners/alternatives to sugar would work. I threw several grams of dried yeast into the garbage until I realized that this recipe would not work with alternative products. You always need a little bit of sugar and flour as they are crucial to activating the yeast's microorganisms. The yeast won't activate in cold liquid, while too-hot milk kills its natural fungi. So, heat 0,5 dl milk with a teaspoon of sugar and flour until it feels lukewarm (35-40°C). Put the yeast in a measuring cup and pour the milk on it; then let it sit for 10 mins. You will see that tiny bubbles appear on the surface and the final result is a thick brownish milk. If nothing has happened to the milk so far, don't worry; the milk's temperature might have been the problem. I always keep extra dried yeast at home to repeat the process.
- In a bowl, sift the flour, then add a pinch of salt and butter. I always knead the dough by hand, but you can always use a stand mixer. Knead it until the butter has incorporated smoothly into the flour and has a nice powdery yet greasy texture.
- Make a tiny hole in the middle, and pour the yeast mixture, one egg and half of the créme fraiche into it. Start to knead the dough. If the dough needs more liquid, add the remaining créme fraiche and keep kneading until entirely homogeneous. The dough has to be firm (not elastic).
- Grease a bowl with a little bit of oil/butter, place the dough in it, cover it with a napkin, and let it ferment for half an hour in a warm place.
- In the meantime, you can grate half of the cheese and cut the other half and the sausage into small pieces. They will be the filling of our medialunas. (You can be creative and use any filling you like.)
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it to 0,5 cm thick. Cut triangle shapes of about 7 cm. Place a cheese or sausage bite on the shortest edge of each triangle and roll them up like a croissant/medialuna.
- Place baking paper on a tray, brush the medialuna with egg and sprinkle with grated cheese. To distinguish the cheese medialuna from the sausage ones, my granny always sprinkled the cheese stuffed with white sesame seeds, while the sausage medialuna with cumin seeds. Place them over the tray.
- Preheat oven to 180°C. While the oven heats up, let the medialunas ferment a little bit more.
- Bake them for about 15-20 mins/until golden brown. I recommend trying the first one to ensure the inside is perfectly baked.
- If there remains some for the night, keep them in a cookie box so they stay soft.
- Enjoy!