Croissants

So you want to make croissants, I understand the desire. Croissants are so perfectly buttery and flaky you can’t resist them. I decided to dedicate 3 days to make these croissants before a camping trip with friends. These croissants can be used for breakfast sandwiches, which is how I used them, or plain. I also have a chocolate croissant recipe that you can check out here!

But anyways, let’s get going on the croissants. I used The Weekend Bakery’s recipe, it is extremely detailed and helpful. I do recommend before you get started that you have 3 days set aside and a kitchen scale!

Ingredients

• 500 g Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 140g Water
• 140g Whole Milk
• 55g Sugar
• 40g Solt Unsalted Butter
• 11g Instant Yeast
• 12g Salt
• 280g COLD Unsalted Butter for laminating
• 1 egg + 1 tsp water [egg wash]

Let’s Get Laminating

Since you are laminating butter into dough you need to make sure that not only is the butter very cold but also the room you are working in. Your butter will quickly melt, ruining the croissants.

Day 1

Day 2

Time to get to work: grab your cold butter and cut lengthwise into equally thick slabs. Place the butter on wax paper to form a square. Place another piece of wax paper overtop and pound down the butter with a rolling pin until the square is about 17cm x 17cm. Wrap up the butter and place back into the fridge.

Flour the surface and roll out the dough from the fridge. Try and roll the dough out into a square of even thickness. Grab the frozen butter slab and place onto the dough. Fold the dough over the butter so the butter is encased into the dough.

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Roll the dough out now, starting from the center of the dough towards the edges. You want to lengthen the dough instead of making it wider. Once long enough, fold the dough letter style, one flap over the other, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Before rolling, turn the dough 90 degrees, making sure the open end of the dough is facing you. Repeat this step of rolling and folding 3 times, this gives your croissants the perfect layers. Once doing this 3 times, place back into the fridge overnight.

Day 3

Grab the dough and flour the surface you’ll be working on. Gently roll out the dough one more time. If the dough resists, take a break and put it back in the fridge.

Using a pizza wheel, mark the top of the dough at 12.5cm intervals and along the bottom mark 6.25cm. Make diagonal cuts along the top corner to the bottom. Once all the triangles are cut, gently roll out the triangle to elongate it slightly. To roll the croissant, start at the longer end, rolling tightly and then turning in the two ends.

To proof the dough: place on a baking sheet and provide the dough with a thin egg wash. Proof in a slightly warmer area of the house for about 2 hours. You will notice when they have proofed, with the croissants slightly wiggling.

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Once proofed, add another coat of egg wash and preheat the oven to 385F. When the oven is heated, bake for about 7 minutes and then lower the temperature to 330F and bake for 9 minutes.

You’ll want to look for the croissants browning but not too quickly. Take out from the oven once done, let cool and enjoy! You can also freeze these croissants and reheat in the oven later!

Make sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, or dinner; or just eat by themselves!

Toujours Affamé,

Hannah