croissants!

saturday mornings

I have to say, I love a challenge. I love trying new things, and if the task looks daunting, it only entices me more. In cooking, that is... in most other things, take it or leave it. (I swear I will never run more than 4 miles. Ever. I refuse.) So my latest venture, dear friends, is the croissant. Most of the time, you can buy them at the store and they're a sad sort of flattened looking pale thing, albeit enormous. I wanted a croissant that would eliminate my need to drop by Ceci-Cela whenever I'm in NYC and wonder how many I can take home - only to leave with none, knowing it wouldn't be the same tomorrow.

The croissant that's worth its salt (and fat) is crisp and flaky on the outside and chewy on the inside. It should make you want to eat five immediately. Like any time I want to make something new, I comb through blogs and magazines and cookbooks and try and figure out what's absolutely necessary and what can kind of be fiddled with. I've got to say, there isn't much that can be changed, except what I've outlined below.

After narrowing it down to the Fine Cooking recipe or the America's Test Kitchen... it was really a toss up, but I went with the Fine Cooking because it was online in nice PDF form and because I let JHA choose arbitrarily. The turn out? Both my first and second attempts (in 2 days) were perfectly buttery, crispy and light while retaining that lovely chewy delicious center. To be fair, I made puff pastry at school before, so I had experience doing a similar process, although with a slightly different dough. But I did it once, like 5 years ago, so don't let your unfamiliarity hold you back!

Here's the link to Fine Cooking:

croissants

making croissants takes time but is rewarding! now what to do with 32 10 croissants is the question.

Since I basically followed the recipe to the T, I won't repeat it except to leave a few comments.

1. When making the dough part, instead of resting overnight you can rest for 3 hours if you're in a pinch.

2. When laminating, I did two turns, gently, then rested for about an hour in the fridge, then did another two turns before letting it rest overnight. This was Cook's Illustrated suggestion - they liked having 4 turns total (as opposed to this recipe's 3), and cut down the active time by doing two turns at a time.

3. When cutting, Cook's made a giant square, instead of the 44" long strip that Fine Cooking suggests. I don't know about you, but I don't think I even have a 44" long surface in my apartment. Cook's makes a square, in this case it would be about 20"x 20" and then cuts it in half first, which may be more manageable. I just made one longish strip, which can't have been more than 36", and then stretched out each triangle just a little. Also, I didn't do that nonsensical measuring... instead of 15, I made 16, and cut it in half, then into eighths and cut all those eights into diagonals.

4. When rolling it up, LJK has specified that I must tell people to roll it "without applying any pressure," because she said when I explained it that way it made more sense. The instructions here vaguely basically tell you "tight, but not too tight." Thanks a lot, Fine Cooking people.

5. On shape: The first trial I made the crescent shape, and the second I just left it as a big shell, not bringing the ends together, which I prefer because I feel like the crescent shape makes the ends too tight and crunchy - but of course, that's preference.

6. When brushing the egg, be careful not to get too much in between the layers so your dough can rise without getting too sticky

7. The last rise is important - the first time, I did it in a rush because I wanted to make it in time for an 8am breakfast, and while it got flaky and nice, the second time I did it, when I gave it a bit more time and it was perfect and even lighter. The dough needs a proper rise!

8. On butter - Everyone says European butter, which has more fat, is better, but both times I used regular butter and I definitely have zero complaints. I'm almost afraid to try it with the European one, for fear I'll eat all 16 and you'll never hear from me again.

Next time I'll try pain au chocolat :)

crescents - attempt #1

flat - attempt #2

either way, they have the same fate.