Techniques of Making Croissants

This instruction is from a great site called The Kitchn.  Check it out and try out some of their wonderful recipes.

How to Make and Shape Homemade

Croissants

What You Need...

One batch Classic Croissants: Basic Recipe
 [....or scroll down to my next blogpost]

Cold butter (as specified in your recipe)
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon whole or 2% milk

Equipment:

Rolling pin, preferably a french-style rolling pin without handles
Bench scraper
Pizza cutter or a sharp knife
Baking sheet
Silpat or parchment
Pastry brush

 

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Dough: Follow your recipe to prepare the dough. Remember, an overnight rest in the refrigerator will improve the flavor and texture of any dough.

2. Prepare the Butter Block: Just before you're ready to start laminating the dough, pound the cold butter to make it pliable. Without this step, the butter could break and shatter as you try to fold it into the dough.

The Tartine recipe (which we picture above) calls for cutting the cold butter into pieces, but after trying this, we find it easier to leave the sticks whole. Pound the butter with your rolling pin, smacking it flat and then gathering it back into a pile with a bench scraper. If your recipe doesn't already specify this, working about 1/4 cup of flour into your butter during pounding can help make it easier. If you see the butter starting to melt, wrap it in parchment paper and refrigerate it for 10 minutes.

The butter is recipe when it stays together in a cohesive mass and is easily folded, but still feels cool to the touch. Shape it into rough square, wrap it in parchment paper, and refrigerate while you roll out the dough.

3. Roll Out the Dough: Roll the croissant dough into a rectangle double the size of your butter block. If you've been chilling the dough in the refrigerator, you can roll it out directly from the fridge without waiting for it to warm.

4. Seal the Butter Inside the Dough: Place the butter block to one side of the rectangle, making sure to leave a inch or so of dough as a border around the edge. Fold the dough over the butter and gently press the edges closed. (In classic French baking, you would put the butter block in the middle of the dough and fold the corners inward instead. We've tried both ways and either works fine.)

5. Begin Laminating the Dough: Turn the dough 90° and roll it out so that it's about the same width as your rolling pin and a few inches longer in length. Fold the top toward the middle and the bottom up, as if you were folding a letter. Wrap in plastic or parchment and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour and no more than 1 hour (or the butter will get too cold). This is your first "turn" of the dough.

Repeat this turn 5 more times for a total of 6 turns, remembering to rotate 90° between each turn. Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes every 2 turns, or between every turn if your kitchen is very warm. After the final turn, chill the dough for for an hour before shaping.

6. Roll Out the Dough and Shape: Roll the chill dough out to a rectangle roughly 1/2-inch thick. Using a bench scraper, pizza cutter, or sharp knife, slice it lengthwise (the long way) down the middle. Cut each half into 6-8 equal triangles. Roll up each triangle, starting at the wide end. Transfer the rolls to baking sheets and space them about 2 inches apart.

7. Let the Croissants Rise: Let the croissants proof (rise) until they are about 50% larger in size. They should look puffy and you'll be able to see the layers in the cut edges.

Alternatively, you can refrigerate the croissants overnight to develop their flavor and let them proof in the morning. And to save yourself a lot of labor in the wee hours if you're planning on serving these for breakfast!

8. Bake the Croissants: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Whisk together the egg and milk in a bowl, and brush each of the croissants with a thin coating.

Bake until the croissants are deep golden brown, very crisp, and feel light when you pick one up, about 30 minutes. Rotate the trays halfway through baking.

9. Let Cool and Eat! Let the croissants cool for a few minutes and then eat right away. They are at their very best straight out of the oven. Leftovers can be re-crisped in a toaster oven or for a few minutes in a warm oven.

Additional Notes:

Hint: Add fillings just before rolling the croissants (Chocolate! Fruit preserves! Ham and cheese!). Place a small amount of the filling on the widest part of the croissant and roll it up into the dough.