Ahhhhhh croissants. Those delightfully buttery, flaky, golden brown pastries that when done right, are pure bliss. They should be light as a feather, shatter as you take your first bite, and be bursting with flavor. Too often, purchased croissants are too doughy, not flaky, and well, maybe even stale after sitting out for a long time. So, why not give them a go them at home?
The process of making croissants is methodical, and requires some patience. You must start these croissants about 2 days before you want to bake them (the
process that works well for me is about 36 hours; see timeline in post).
Yes, this may seem like a long time, but trust me, it's worth it. The
dough requires resting time in the refrigerator not only to strengthen,
but also to gain enormous amounts of flavor.
As my friends and family will tell you, I like to hammer on a small
number of recipes until I get things juuuuuuuust right. And these
croissants are no exception. I've been trying to make at least one
laminated dough treat per week; usually my bake day is Monday morning
(my lucky, lucky coworkers!). I've figured out a dough schedule that
works really well for me, and allows me to have plenty of time on to do
Sunday things (this schedule works well for me during the week, too, with the timeline shifted up a few hours):
- Saturday night: mix dough, usually around 8:00pm (no more than 12 hours before I plan to get up and laminate the dough Sunday)
- Sunday morning: Plasticize Butter & Roll I around 8am; Roll II around10:00am
- Sunday evening: Roll II & Shape around 7:00pm; Proof until about 10:00pm (time depends on how warm/cool our house is)
- Monday morning: Bake!
A few things to keep in mind:
- The goal when making laminated dough is to create many, many distinct butter and dough layers. See that lovely honeycomb looking structure above? That's what a cross-section of a croissant should look like. When placed in the oven, the water in the butter evaporates, creating steam that forces the layer to puff - into a flaky croissant! It's very important that your dough and butter block be of the same consistency, and that you press down firmly onto your dough with your rolling pin before actually rolling it out, to help maintain the layering. If during the process of rolling out your dough, you notice many large chunks of butter throughout your dough, your butter was likely too cold, and shattered. If your croissant bakes up dense and not very flaky, your butter may have been too warm and melded into the dough, or, you may have squashed your layers otherwise during rolling.
- When rolling/shaping your dough, try to keep your edges as square as possible. It'll make your layers nice and even, and it'll be much easier to fold and manipulate your dough.
- Have fun! Even if it takes you a few attempts to get the results you're after (it took me a few tries, too), it's pretty much guaranteed that every attempt will be delicious! The ingredients here aren't complicated; it's the technique that takes some time to hone.
I've included almost step-by-step photos below (two rolling steps are written in text, but just about everything else should be represented by a picture); really the only thing missing from
Flour. I hope that you enjoy making (and eating!) these as much as I do!
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