I still remember the first time I traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital and for four days our breakfast was an Argentinian Medialunas and a coffee. They are the perfect snack also for midafternoon. They are widely popular and always available in Argentina, and they have also been adopted in Chile, my home country.
They are in between a brioche and a croissant, is a rich dough, with many layers and with a very subtle hint of lemon and vanilla. The sweetness is also restrained. They are a little challenging to make but fabulous to eat. They can be frozen and then popped in the microwave or toaster oven for a real treat. Don’t forget to try them if you ever go to Argentina.
This recipe is sponsored by Plugrá® butter, and it could not be a better occasion. Argentinian Medialunas are a kind of enriched bread with egg and butter added to the dough, the use of butter with an excellent flavor and made with care is fundamental for the final result.
Plugrá® has 82% fat, compared to 80% in regular butter. This coupled with a low percentage of moisture translates into Medialunas that last longer and taste better. Details like these make the difference.
Plugrá® uses specially selected cream from American dairy farms, is a premium butter. It does not have artificial ingredients nor does it use milk with growth hormones. One of its steps to obtain an ultra-creamy butter with low moisture content is careful handling of the temperature of the cream during the churning process. Available in two varieties: Salted, recommended for savory recipes or with toast, and Unsalted for sweet recipes: doughs in general, cookies, and sauces, you can buy it at Kroger supermarkets.
You may also want to check out the recipe: Chilean Alfajores.
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Argentinian Medialunas
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: Sweets
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Argentinian
Description
A traditional recipe for Argentinian Medialunas or sweet croissants.
Ingredients
for the dough,
- 300 ml. of whole milk
- 14 grams (2 envelopes) of active yeast
- 525 grams of all-purpose flour
- 40 grams of sugar
- 15 grams of honey
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, optional
- 10 grams of salt
- 2 eggs (1 for the dough and 1 for the brush)
for the filling,
- 40 grams of all-purpose flour
- 225 grams of Plugra® butter, at room temperature
for the syrup,
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1/2 cup of sugar
Instructions
- Warm the milk; it should not be more than 110F or 43C. Add the yeast and stir until dissolved. Let stand 10 minutes; it should form abundant bubbles. If you do not see bubbles, repeat the process and make sure that the yeast is alive.
- With a fork, mix the butter with the 40 grams of flour and spread over parchment paper, give it a square shape of about 6″ per side. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Place the flour, sugar, honey, vanilla extract, lemon, salt, and one egg in a bowl. Using the paddle attachment, mix everything while adding the milk with the yeast. Work to form a sticky dough, about 5 minutes. Change to the kneading hook and knead for 10 minutes at a low speed.
- Place the dough on a floured board. Stretch the dough into a square of about 12″ per side, place the square of butter in the center, and fold the dough to cover the square of butter. Pinch to seal the edges of the dough. Roll without exposing the butter into a rectangle. Fold in 3 as a letter, the left side first. Place in a floured tin and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove the dough from the floured board and place it with the longest side in front of you. Extend to form a rectangle and fold again in 3, always the left side first. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat this process two more times. After the four times doing the folding, don’t refrigerate. Move to the next step.
- Stretch the dough on the floured counter into a rectangle of 45 x 30 cm (18 “x 12″) with a thickness of 5 mm. Cut so that the rectangle has straight edges. Cut three long strips of 4” wide each. Then cut each one in 3, and then diagonally, you will get 18 triangles. Extend each triangle and roll up starting from the base. Guide yourself with the photos.
- Butter generously a quarter baking sheet. Place each roll in the sheet and give it a horn shape, pressing the tips into the baking sheet, place the next crescent almost touching the previous one, fill the tray.
- In a small bowl, place the remaining egg and a little water or milk. Beat until fully incorporated.
- Preheat the oven to 350F or 180C.
- Leave the medialunas covered with a dishcloth in a warm place for 30-45 minutes; they should grow but not double in size.
- Brush with the egg mixture and bake for 30 minutes, rotating if necessary.
- Meanwhile, prepare the syrup. Place the water and sugar in a small pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Let boil for 4 minutes to reduce.
- Remove the medialunas from the oven; they must be well browned, prick with a toothpick in several parts, and brush with the syrup so that it is absorbed. Keep brushing until you use all the syrup.
- Serve warm. They keep three days. They can be frozen and reheated without problems.
Keywords: medialunas, argentinian cuisine
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Thank you Pilar for posting this recipe. I was in Bogota a month ago and had a media luna from a bakery where the chef is Argentinian. It was so good and have been thinking about it since returning home. I will be trying your recipe.
They are fantastic, glad you found my site. Good luck,
I spent a month in Argentina with my husband and children in March and enjoyed the sights and family he has in Buenos Aires but we also equally enjoyed the medialunas. After eating so many for 30 days we were desperate for them when we got back to the states! Your recipe is the best! I’ve made it nearly 10 times for us and his brothers and dad too, approved by the experts!
I do have a question though. I normally struggle with the dough, especially near the end. Yours looks so friendly and flexible! I’m brand new to baking, just desperate for medialunas! Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Wow, you are going to be an expert in NO time. For the dough, keeping the temperature of the dough cold (working fast or with smaller batches is the easiest), good flour (I use King Arthur Flour is really the best), good butter (Costco or European style varieties).
Let me know if you have other questions.
Hi Pilar. I made your recipe last night. The medialunas were delicious. I should say that they were ready before 30 minutes in the oven. I am glad I was checking them often. Thanks!
Hi Norma, I’m glad you made them and that they were good.
Brilliant! Thank you so much for the highly detailed instructions. I wouldn’t have dared to dive into this recipe if you hadn’t given such wonderful detailed instructions. Tell us some more home cooking recipes!
Best wishes,
Jennifer Scott
North Plains, Oregon
Thanks!. It’s a laborious complicated one. Glad that you enjoy it.
Hi pilar, i love medilunas and i am so happy i found this recipe. I want to make sure i understand all the steps before i make them. For step 5, after folding and refrigerating, do we roll the dough out each time from the folded rectangle to it orginal size then fold or just unfold, turn it over and refold?
You roll each time again and fold following the pattern, so the layers are stacked.
I’ve made this recipe before and it is so good. It made some of the best medialunas I’ve had in the States. I was just wondering if this recipe can be doubled, or if I should make two separate batches.
Only double if you have a big counter for the folding. I’m so glad you got a good result.
These turned out delicious! I have to say my dad gave me a hard time about using this website when he’s an Argentine himself and easily could have helped me! But it was all fun and laughs and like I said, they turned out great. However, the measurements for the ingredients was confusing. It would be a lot easier if they were entirely metric or entirely U.S. system instead of a mix of both. I almost messed up the recipe because of my lack of math skills when converting! But otherwise, it was a good recipe and a fun experience.
I’m so happy you got delicious Medialunas.
So, since I eat these for breakfast, I’ve made the dough at night and left it in the fridge to bake in the morning. This has worked fine. I was wondering how long I could leave the dough in the fridge before it no longer rises.
No more than 12 hours, the flavors change a little with the long raise, to more sourdough.
Hi, I just made this recipe and I think you miswrote the milk quantity. It is too sticky to knead. I threw out the first batch with 300 ml and the second time I used 205 ml and turned out much better and same consistency as the pictures.
Thank you for commenting. I use King Arthur Flour brand, the amount of liquid the dough takes will vary depending on the flour and the humidity of your kitchen.
I’m half Argentinean, and I’ve always wanted to learn more about that side of my family. I love cooking and baking, so I thought it would be really interesting to learn how to make different Argentine dishes. I did a lot of research and discovered lots of different recipes that I’m excited to try! I’m hoping to make this recipe, however there is an egg allergy in the family, so I was wondering if the egg could be left out of the recipe, or if you had any suggestions for replacements? Thanks!
I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t recommend modifying this recipe, which is quite elaborate and lengthy.
Thanks for posting this recipe! My husband and i lived in Argentina and moved back to the states and we were just talking about how we missed medialunas! Can’t wait to make!
Fabolous, let me know how it goes or if you have any questions.
Hello, thanks for sharing this recipe. I wanted to know if I could substitute instant yeast instead. If yes, do I just add the instant yeast to the dry ingredients and add the warm milk in at the end, also would there be a difference in the amount of instant yeast?
Thanks.
It’s better to use active. I haven’t tried the recipe with instant and since this recipe has several steps I wouldn’t recommend the change.
Did them already 3 times. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
★★★★★
Amazing, thanks for coming back to comment.
I made medialunas following this recipe for many times now, they are always spectacular. My boyfriend is from Argentina and these medialunas make him feel at home. Actually, they make his whole family overjoyed every time I make them. They even said they can be compared to the ones from Atalaya! Which is pretty much the highest compliment they can get. Thank you so much for this recipe!
★★★★★
I’m so glad, I’m very picky about my medialunas too, so I tasted this recipe multiple times. Thanks for sharing with me!
Hola Pilar! Thanks so much for posting this recipe, I made them and my family and I are obsessed!! I was wondering how long I can freeze the dough if I would like to put them in the oven and eat at a later date?
★★★★★
I freeze them fully cooked for up to 3 months—warm back on the microwave or oven.
Can’t wait to make! I love a new and delicious challenge! Making for a friend from Argentina – you mention in comments freezing and warming up in microwave/oven. Would you mind sharing how long and at what temperature you do this? Don’t want to ruin them! Thanks!
Can’t wait to write back how amazing they are! Stay tuned!
It depends on the microwave, go slow and one at a time, don’t do more than one. And it’s for leftover, fresh warm from the oven is way better.
I think the prep time is off. It says 2 hours. There is 2 hours where the dough is in the fridge but that doesn’t include making the dough or rolling. It’s probably closer to 3 hours which still doesn’t include the 30-45 minutes for proofing.
I also think the picture where the slab of butter is sitting on the dough isn’t correct. In order for you to get the look of the next picture you have to put the butter at a diagonal.
It’s active work for around two hours. But it varies a lot depending on skill and experience.
About the picture: The orientation of the butter “brick” is correct; you pull the dough into the shape seeing in the picture.