Croissant
OHLALA!! Croissant is buttery & flaky. Such a delicious French pastry which has an Austrian origins introduced by Marie Antoinette in the 18th century
The yeasted-leavened dough called “La Pate Feuilletée” is layered with butter, rolled and folded at least 3 times; this process creates thin sheets in a technique called laminating
What it is Viennoiserie?
Is an expression that dates from 1839 to refer to “Things of Vienna” those are yeast-leavened laminated dough goods. At the Boulangerie, viennoiseries involves: croissant, pain au chocolat or chocolatine, pain aux raisins, chausson aux pommes and others, referring to all pastries that are made from the yeast-leavened laminated dough
Croissant
Prep time : 45 units
Resting time : 6 - 24 hours
Baking time : 15 to 18 minutes
Total time : 6H45 - 24H45 hours
Servings : 4 croissants (8 mini) + 2 pain au chocolat (4 mini)
INGREDIENTS
PÂTE FEUILLETÉE
180g FLOUR T45 OR CAKE FLOUR*
20g FLOUR T55 OR BREAD FLOUR*
25g GRANULATED/CASTER SUGAR*
4g SALT*
65g MILK*
40g WATER*
13g BUTTER**
10g FRESH YEAST***
112g BUTTER SQUARE OF 15CM X 10CM*
chocolate between 50 to 60% cacao
*needs to be cold
**room temperature
***or 4g dried yeast to be hydrated on warm water
EGG WASH
1 EGG
1 tsp HEAVY CREAM
EQUIPMENT
stand mixer & hook attachment
rolling pin
knife
baking tray
parchment paper 20cm x 30cm, 2 pieces
oven
apron
METHOD
PÂTE - DOUGH
Prepare la Mise en Place at least one hour before starting the recipe
Attach the mixing bowl to the stand mixing place the ingredients on the following order: salt, sugar, water, milk, flours & yeast
Start mixing the ingredients using a hook attachment for 5 minutes on speed 1
Add 13g of butter, continue mixing for extra 5 minutes on speed 2
Place the dough on top of the counter and form a ball, with a knife cut half way making a cross, press the dough until you have a square shape. Wrap with clingfilm and safe in the fridge for about 15 minutes
BUTTER BLOCK
Take a parchment paper, measure 10cm x 10cm, place the butter and flat down, it should remain on the 10 X 10
Place it back into the fridge
MAKING THE LAYERS
On a floured surface place the dough, with a rolling pin stench it up to 15cm X 30cm
Place the butter block in the middle, cover with the dough
First of all, tap the dough with a rolling pin to start stretching it on a floured surface roll the dough up to 15cm x 30cm, proceed to do a single fold (folding into 1/3) - at this point it makes 3 layers of butter; wrap the dough with cling film and reserve in the fridge for 15 minutes
repeat the previous step once again at this point it makes 9 layers of butter
finally, take the dough out of the fridge. Tap the dough with a rolling pin to start stretching it on a floured surface roll the dough up to 15cm x 30cm - at this point fold in 1/2 ending with 18 layers of butter and 36 layers of dough wrap the dough with cling film and reserve in the fridge for at least 6 hours up to 48 hours
SHAPING
Place the dough on top of the counter for 5 minutes, you may place warm water on a bowl and place it inside the oven to create a warm environment
Roll out the dough with the rolling pin until having 30cm x 20cm
Remove a thin layer from every corner with a sharp knife; from the total length (30cm) do a cut having a rectangular shape of 22 cm X 20cm & 8cm x 20cm
Croissant shaping
with the larger shape, fold it in half and cut then each rectangular piece do a diagonal cut to have a triangular shape
take each triangular shape and stretch gently
place the base of the triangle towards you and cut 1,5 cm a straight line in the middle to resemble an “Eiffel Tower”
bring towards the top the feet, start rolling. Remember not to press and to place the tip of the croissant towards the bottom to avoid the croissant to roll out while baking
place the croissants on a baking tray
Pain au chocolat shaping
with the smaller shape, fold it in half and cut
take each square shape and stretch gently
place a piece of chocolate on each extremity and roll it towards the middle
turn the 180°, place the pain au chocolat on a baking tray
Place the baking tray inside the oven to let them rise at least 35 minutes up to 2 hours (the oven is off at the point) - you may remove the bowl with warm water out of the oven at this point
Once croissants & Pain au chocolat have risen, take them out and turn on the oven at 180°C (380°F) - while the oven is pre-heating
Prepare egg wash by whisking egg and heavy cream, strain it and gently place it on top of every piece with a brush, do not press other wise you will deflate the treats
Bake the treats for about 11 to 13 minutes or until a desired golden colour
SIDE NOTES
You may double the recipe, but for and easier handle divide into 2 once placing the butter
We recommend butter that it is between 82% to 85% fat
Do not work the layered dough right away after taking it out from the fridge, layers may break
Bonne dégustation
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Wishing you bright days and lot of fun!