Baking a flaky batch of croissants can seem daunting, but once your pastries come out just right, it’s truly a rewarding experience. With some patience and precision, you can follow this step-by-step recipe and make French croissants at home just like your favourite bakery does.
A buttery croissant dipped in hot chocolate has the power to heal everything. While you thoroughly love the croissants from your favourite bakery, you skip the overpriced versions and bake a batch at home. Just imagine having the first bite with a gentle crackle of the paper-thin golden-coloured crust, followed by the buttery soft layers inside. And the magician behind baking the French pastries would be you.
Of course, looking at the flaky layers, it’s only natural to be intimidated before trying the recipe. But note that the secret to a great croissant is just mastering two things: laminating and butter. The lamination process involves making multiple thin layers of dough and butter, which gives the inside of the pastry a flaky and buttery texture. The dough is rolled, folded, and chilled repeatedly to make its characteristic texture. And once the croissants are baked, the water content in the chilled butter used turns to steam, which thereby creates the airy pockets in your
Read MoreTake a large bowl and mix all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and instant dry yeast. Add cold milk and water, and knead till you get a shaggy dough. Mix in butter at room temperature and knead a smooth and elastic dough.
Shape the dough into a ball and let it sit for about an hour. Once it doubles in volume, refrigerate it overnight.
The next is an important step, i.e. to make the butter block. You can take the cold butter and place it between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll it into a rectangle and refrigerate till it gets firm.
Roll the chilled dough into a 40×20 cm rectangle. Place the butter block on the lower two-thirds, fold the top over the butter, and then fold the bottom over that. Roll into a long rectangle and repeat the fold.
Wrap the dough and refrigerate for at least an hour. Roll and fold two more times while chilling for an hour after each step.
Once done, roll the dough into a 3 mm thick rectangle and cut it into long triangles. Make a small notch on the base of each triangle, stretch a little, and then tightly roll from the base to the tip.
Place the folded croissants on a baking sheet, cover them with a clean film and leave for about two to three hours.
Once you see a visible puff, preheat the oven to 200°C. Brush the croissants with a mixture of egg yolk and milk.
Reduce the temperature to 180°C and bake for about fifteen minutes. Take them out once the croissants turn golden brown.
Let the croissants cool for at least fifteen minutes before you serve for the perfect flaky texture.
The secret to making a batch of flaky croissants is keeping the ingredients cold. From butter to dough, refrigerate the ingredients to prevent the butter in between the layers from melting.
#2 You’ll need to be quick with the lamination process. It needs to be efficient, or else the butter can melt and blend into the dough.
#3 To get the perfectly thin layers of croissant, you need to carefully follow the folding and rolling process. Since the flakes depend on the layers, you’ll need some practice to master the processes.
#4 Always account for the climate. Since a typical Indian kitchen can be hot and humid, it becomes necessary to chill the workstation and the dough.
#5 While brushing the croissants with egg wash, be careful to avoid deflating the airy and puffy layers.
#6 Lastly, be patient. Baking croissants is an intricate process that cannot be rushed. So make sure you have time to refrigerate, rest the dough, roll, fold, etc.
One of the common reasons why a croissant might not turn flaky is that the butter melts quickly. During the lamination process, make sure that both your butter and dough are cold so that the butter is not absorbed into the layers.
Yeast is used to make the croissant fluffier and give it its characteristic flaky texture. Without the yeast, you would not be able to get that bakery-like puffiness.
Yes, for a pure vegetarian way of making croissants, you can simply replace the egg wash with milk or cream.
For a healthier batch of croissants, you can use 50% all-purpose flour and 50% whole wheat flour. But take a note that it’ll make the layers of the croissants a little denser.
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