Searching4Zen

Classic Parisian Croissants

Avatar photo
Recipe by
Comments Off on Classic Parisian Croissants
| Servings: 16 to 24 croissants

Ingredients

Butter Block (Beurrage)

  • 1 ¼ pound (567 grams) of quality unsalted butter

Mixing the Dough (Detrempe)

  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 16 ounces (454 g) water at about 90° F (32.2° C)
  • 2 ¾ teaspoons (12 g) instant or osmotolerant yeast
  • ⅓ cup (28 g) nonfat dry milk powder
  • 6 ¾ cups (957 g) unbleached all purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons (39 g) sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter softened not melted
  • 2 teaspoons (16 g) salt

Instructions

Butter Block (Beurrage)

  1. In the mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on speed 2 until it has softened and no longer clings to the paddle. Mix for about 1 minute. The butter should be smooth.
  2. Prepare a piece of parchment paper for the butter by folding an 18″ x 24″ (45.7 cm x 61 cm) piece of parchment paper in half. The result is an 18″ x 12″ (45.7 cm x 30.5 cm) rectangle. Measure 4″ (10.2 cm) from the length’s sides and fold them in for a 10″ x 12″ (25.4 cm x 30.5 cm) rectangle. Make one more fold 2″ (5.1 cm) from the end opposite the original fold and you should have a perfect 10″ (25.4 cm) square. Unfold everything and see two center squares with folds that you can roll your butter into. Alternatively you can use a gallon ziplock freezer bag as that measures exactly 10″ x 10″.
  3. Scrape the butter evenly onto one of the 10″ (25.4 cm) squares and refold the paper along your previous creases, sandwiching the butter inside. With a rolling pin, roll the butter into the folds so it shapes into a perfect 10″ (25.4 cm) square.
  4. Place the butter block in the refrigerator while you are making the dough.

Mixing using the heavy duty mixer

  1. Put the eggs, yeast, water and dry milk powder in the mixer bowl. Fit the mixer with the dough hook attachment. Mix on speed 1 for 30 seconds to combine and dissolve the yeast.
  2. Add the flour, sugar, butter and salt. Mix on speed one for 4 minutes, until the dough reaches “clean-up” stage. This is when it clears the side of the bowl and forms a cohesive mass in the center. Mix for 1 more minute on speed 1.
  3. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead for a minute or 2. Do not add any additional flour to the dough or to the work surface. If the dough feels sticky, lightly flour your hands. The dough should be soft like a pillow and slightly underdeveloped because the laminating (folding) process develops gluten and structure.
  4. Place the dough in a buttered bowl and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Mixing using the dough whisk

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, yeast, water and dry milk powder. Stir to combine, then add the flour, sugar, butter and salt.
  2. Mix with the dough whisk (it will take some muscle) until the dough comes together. It looks a little shaggy at first, but it smooths out as you mix. When the dough clears the side of the bowl – achieving “clean-up” stage – you are ready to start kneading the dough by hand.
  3. At this point follow the same instructions for kneading as detailed in “Mixing using the heavy duty mixer” above.

Locking in the Butter

  1. Remove the butter from the refrigerator. Check to make sure it is the correct temperature. The butter is the perfect temperature is when the butter packet can be rolled on the edge of the counter without cracking.
  2. Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough out to a 10 ½” by 20 ½” (26.7 cm x 52.1 cm) rectangle. Shore the edges up with a ruler or bench scraper – the edges must be squared off so that they line up perfectly as you fold the dough. Brush off any excess flour with the dry pastry brush.
  3. Place the butter block on the left side of the dough. There should be a ½” (1.3 cm) border of raw dough on all three opened sides. Fold the unbuttered side over the buttered side of the dough. Press down on the unbuttered edges to seal them.
  4. Dust flour under the dough so that it does not stick. Lightly dust the top. Roll out the dough until it measures 12″x 24″ (30.5 cm x 61 cm). The dough should be ½” (1.3 cm) thick. Brush any excess flour off the dough with a dry pastry brush.
  5. Place the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and turn the dough so that the long fold is furthest away from you and the long open side is nearest you. The two open short sides are at your right and left. Each time you make a turn the dough should be positioned in the same way. Mark the turns on the paper, crossing off each turn as you complete them.
  6. Fold the dough in thirds (like a business letter) – always starting with the right side. It is best to cut off ¼ inch on the side that you will fold in to the first fold. Then fold the left side over the right. This is your first turn. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  7. After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the refrigerator and complete another turn. Return the dough to the refrigerator for another 30 minutes and then do one more turn.
  8. You have now completed all three turns and the dough can be wrapped and refrigerated overnight. It can also be frozen for up to one month.

Shaping the Classic Croissants

  1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm up just a little. It should still be cool room temperature as measured by the back of your hand.
  2. Roll the dough into a 26 ½” x 17″ (67.3 cm x 43.2 cm) rectangle. Cut in half lengthwise so you have two 8 ½” x 26 ½” (21.6 cm x 67.3 cm) rectangles. Straighten all the edges by trimming ¼” (.6 cm) off all the edges of the dough. Refrigerate or freeze your scraps. Note: If shaping half the dough at a time, please adjust the measurements.
  3. Your plain croissants will have a 4″ (10.2 cm) base and an 8″ (20.3 cm) height. No matter the size, the base is always half the height.
  4. Starting at the bottom left-hand edge, make a small notch 2″ (5.1 cm) from the edge; the remaining notches along the bottom edge are 4″ (10.2 cm) apart.
  5. From the top right hand edge, cut a notch at 2″ (5.1 cm) and then move to the left cutting notches at 4″ (10.2 cm) apart.
  6. Line up the notches with the ruler and cut out the triangles.
  7. Cut a notch in the center of each base. Pull the edges of the base apart slightly – it should look like the “Eiffel Tower” – and roll up the croissant, pulling slightly on the top of the triangle as you roll. You should have visible five to seven layers on a rolled croissant.
  8. The four side pieces can be added to the scrap dough, or shaped and proofed as mini croissants (but because they are smaller the baking time may be shorter).

Proofing the Croissants

  1. Place your baking sheet of croissants in the proofing bag with a mug three-fourths full of steaming water. Make sure the plastic bag does not touch your croissants and seal the bag.
  2. After about 45 minutes check your croissants – they should look like they took a breath and held it – they should also have a slight marshmallow texture. Using your finger make an imprint into the dough. If it is ready the imprint will stay and not fluff back out.
  3. If they are still tight and their texture is unchanged, then let them proof longer. Refresh the water. Seal the bag and let the croissants continue to proof. Check in 15 minute intervals.
  4. Preheat the oven to 400° F (204.5° C, gas mark 6).

Baking the Croissants

  1. Brush the croissants with egg wash (1 egg beaten well).
  2. Bake the croissants for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350° F, (176.5° C, gas mark 4). Bake an additional 15 minutes. We used our convection/steam oven and used these settings: preheat for five minutes at 400°F.Cooked for 15 minutes on convection at 400°F. Cooked for only 8 minutes more at 350°F. They were perfect.
  3. The croissants should have a deep golden brown color and a relative lightness to them when they are picked up off the tray.
  4. If they feel heavy or are still white in the cracks of the layers then return the croissants to the oven and bake in 7-to-8-minute increments until they are done.
  5. Cool five minutes before devouring.

Freezing the Croissants

  1. Unbaked croissant dough can be frozen up to one month.
  2. Line up the unbaked formed croissants on a baking sheet. Cover and place them in the freezer until they are frozen. Remove them from the tray and place them in a freezer bag, removing as much of the air as possible. Label and date the bag.

Thawing the Croissants

  1. Thaw baked croissants by removing from the refrigerator and thawing at room temperature for several hours or overnight.
  2. Refresh in the oven at 350‚ F (176.5° C, gas mark 4) for 5 to 7 minutes before serving.
  3. Thaw unbaked croissants by removing them from the freezer the day before you are going to bake them.
  4. Place on a parchment lined tray, loosely cover them with plastic, and let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
  5. The next morning, remove the croissants from the refrigerator and start the process above under Baking the Croissants, starting at the point when the croissants go into the proofing bag.

Notes

  1. Source: Craftsy.com
Jo Ann rolling the Croissant dough

Jo Ann rolling the Croissant dough

Jo Ann rolling the Croissant dough

Jo Ann rolling the Croissant dough

Jon Rolling the Croissant Dough

Jon Rolling the Croissant Dough

Jon Rolling the Croissant Dough

Jon Rolling the Croissant Dough

Classic Parisian Croissants

Classic Parisian Croissants

Category: