how to make croissants

Few things are better than having a freshly made croissant for breakfast with a cup of coffee. Who says breakfast, says lunch or dinner, because for me it is one of those elaborations that come in handy at any time of the day. I would never say no to a croissant. Only if it's poorly done... So if you're one of my kind, you can't miss how to make traditional croissants at home .

I am not going to lie to you saying that it is a very easy process, because it is not like that. But neither is it an impossible elaboration to carry out, much less if we follow each and every one of the steps to the letter. When making croissants there is something very important to respect at all times and it is the temperature . Not just the dough and the butter, which is very important, but almost the entire process in general.

The croissant is a delicate product , it requires patience and a lot of love in all the steps of the process. It is an elaboration that cannot be forced in any part of the process, much less in fermentation. The main component of this recipe is butter, and if we exceed the temperature in any part of the process, we will exceed the melting point of the butter. The result will not be a croissant, but rather a "brioche" bun, because the butter will blend into the dough and not layer as we expect it to.

Origin of the croissant

The origin of the croissant, or croissant as determined by the Royal Spanish Academy which is the way of writing it, is an elaboration of the Viennoiseries masses. In this case, laminated. Contrary to what is believed, its origin is not French, but Austrian.

The word croissant means "crescent" in French, due to its crescent moon shape. Its appearance is directly related to the war that led to its creation.

It was during the year 1683, a time when the Ottoman Empire was advancing through Europe, conquering territories in its fight against the Holy Roman Empire. After razing Constantinople, the Balkans and part of Hungary, the Ottoman army set its next objective in Vienna.

The city was surrounded by a wall, so the strategy of the 20,000 soldiers was to dig tunnels under it to reach the center of the city and surprise their enemies in the middle of the night.

The Viennese bakers, like all those in the trade, were working past midnight to have the bread ready first thing in the morning. They began to hear noises and, given their concern, they raised the alarm. Thanks to this warning, the attack could be avoided and the city defended. As a celebration of this victory , the bakers created a bun in the shape of a crescent moon, the same one that appeared on the Ottoman flag.

The croissant symbolized the way to 'eat a Turk', a sweet revenge carried out thanks to the collaboration of Viennese bakers.

Bag for cakes and pastries Claudia&Julia

Ingredients (for 14-15 croissants)

• 500 g of flour, in my case I have used W=290
• 130 g water, cold
• 100 g milk, cold
• 50g of sugar
• 20g honey
• 8 g dry yeast or 24 g fresh yeast
• 35 g softened butter
• 10g of salt

TO LAMINATE:

• 255 g dry butter, cold and modelable, to laminate

TO BRUSH:

• beaten egg + 2 tablespoons of milk

FOR THE SYRUP (optional):

• 85g of water
• 85g sugar

Elaboration

FIRST DAY

Prepare the détrempe (dough).

1. In the KitchenAid bowl, we incorporate all the ingredients except for the butter to laminate.
2. We love speed 1 for 10 minutes . We go up to speed 2 and knead for 5 more minutes . In this step it is very important to control the temperature of the dough from time to time, we will use a digital thermometer. It is important that the final temperature does not exceed 24º-25ºC. If we observe that the temperature rises, we refrigerate the dough for a few minutes before proceeding with the kneading.
3. Once we have a soft and developed dough, we take it out of the bowl.
4. Fold the dough to give it a rectangular shape, stretch it slightly with the help of a rolling pin, wrap it very well in film and refrigerate it until the next day, about 12 hours.

Prepare the butter to laminate.

1. Between two Teflon sheets we place the butter on one of them. We cover with the other sheet and begin to hit it with the help of a roller to flatten it.
2. Flatten into a square shape, 20 cm on each side. By folding the Teflon itself, giving 20 cm on each side, we can spread the butter to cover the entire surface and keep it inside (as if it were a mold or container).
3. Refrigerate the butter until the next day, about 12 hours.

SECOND DAY

We stretch the dough and make the first double fold.

1. Stretch the dough trying to give measurements of 40 x 20 cm .
2. We place the butter plate in the center of the dough, so that the width of the butter and the width of the dough are the same.
3. Fold the ends of the dough over the butter, bringing each one to the center. We seal the union of both folds well both in the center and on the sides. The dough must be completely sealed on each of its sides.
4. We make a cut on the two sides of the dough where we have not sealed the joint.
5. We stretch with the help of a roller until we achieve measurements of 65 x 20 cm .
6. We make a double fold . We bring one end of the dough to cover 1/3 of it. We will take the other end until it joins it with the latter that we have just placed. Once here, we fold the dough on itself in the same way as if we closed a book.
7. We make cuts on the sides, press gently with a rolling pin, cover with film and refrigerate for 45 minutes .

We make a simple fold.

1. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and proceed to roll out the dough. We will pass the roller in a single pass, from the center to the ends, and avoiding insisting on the same place.
2. We stretch until we reach approximately 65 x 20 cm .
3. We take one of the ends to the center and repeat the same process with the other end, placing it on top of the previous one. In the same way as if we closed a triptych.
4. Gently pass the roller over the surface to join the folds, make the cuts on the sides, cover with film and refrigerate for 45 minutes .
5. If we do not want to form the croissants this day , we can freeze the dough for 3 hours and then move it to the refrigerator until the next day.

We form the croissants.

1. Lightly dust the work surface with flour and proceed to roll out the dough.
2. We will give a length of approximately 75 x 25 cm , the dough must have a thickness of about 3.5 mm .
3. We cut triangles with a base of 9 cm. In the middle of each base, we will make a cut of approximately 1 cm. This will help us to form the croissant more easily because it will help us to roll the base without pressing the layers of butter.
4. Roll out the dough gently , fold the corners of the cut that we have made in the center of the base inwards and roll it into a croissant. We must not roll the croissant by exerting tension on it.
5. Place the croissants on a perforated tray lined with baking paper or using a silicone mat .

We carry out the fermentation process.

1. Brush only the surface of the croissants, not the laminated part, with beaten egg with milk.
2. Cover with film and let rise for about 2 and 1/2 hours at 27ºC .
3. In case we cannot control the temperature and we have to carry it out at room temperature, we leave it for 4 and 1/2 or 5 hours at 21ºC, approximately . We will have to observe how they go during the fermentation process since this can vary.

De Buyer perforated tray and T&G pastry brush

We prepare the syrup.

1. Add all the ingredients in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and let it come to a boil. The sugar should have completely dissolved.
2. Once it starts to boil, turn off the heat and let it cool completely.
3. We booked.

We bake.

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC with air .
2. We brush again with beaten egg with milk, very carefully, remembering that we should only brush the upper part, not the laminated part.
3. Place in the oven and cook for 16-17 minutes .
4. Remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
5. In case we want to brush with syrup, we will do it as soon as we take them out of the oven and place them on a wire rack. The syrup must be at 30ºC when we apply it on the croissants in case you want to do it.

Grades

• To make croissans we must use a strength flour around W=270-320.
• Not all butters work well when making croissants. We need a dry butter with 84% fat. In case we cannot access it, we must use a butter with a higher melting point than the butters in many supermarkets (this is due to the amount of water they contain). I have tried the KerryGold and Pascual brand, they give good results. I am sure that there will be more brands that work well (from the supermarket), but we must bear in mind that a dry butter is the one that will guarantee us to have good results .
• To be successful with your croissants, always work with cold ingredients and respect the resting times.
• We must always handle the dough cold and trying not to take too long during the stretching process.
• Ideally, use a metal roller to stretch the dough.
• When we get ready to laminate, the butter must be cold, but it must be malleable . That is, we can bend it without breaking it. The temperature of this should be around 12º-16ºC. If it is too cold, it will crack inside the dough and we will not get good results.
• The friction of the mixer causes the temperature of the dough to rise . If we refrigerate the bowl, it will help us maintain a more suitable temperature for longer.
• We should not press or manipulate the dough a lot once we have it laminated.
• Leave space between the croissants when they are going to ferment , they grow a lot in the rise and after cooking.
• Preheat the oven well to encourage cooking to be carried out correctly.
• The cooking time can vary from one oven to another , it is important to know it well and work accordingly.
• Croissants should preferably be eaten the day they are baked . We can keep them in an airtight container or zip-type bag.

It is true that the process for making croissants at home is somewhat laborious, especially because of the laminate. But, of course, it is not impossible to carry it out if we provide ourselves with patience and a little muscle for our arms (we will need it!).

Looking forward to seeing yours!