The Croissant a universal cresent shaped flakey pastry with a rich buttery flavour and interesting history. In this blog post we will delve into where it originated, how it’s made, and some best practice tips to get your Croissants looking and tasting spectacular.
According to legend, the Croissant was invented in Vienna to celebrate the end of the Ottoman empire invasion in 1683. It is said that Turkish troops where digging under the city walls to attack during the night and were discovered by night shift bakers who alerted the city soldiers.
As a celebration the bakers came up with a crescent shaped pastry similar to the shape on the Turkish flag and the Croissant or Kipferl was invented. When the Archduchess of Austria, Marie Antoinette, married Louis XVI, King of France she introduced and promoted the delicious pastry which from there became widely know around the world in every bakery as the Croissant.
Achieving flaky pastry requires even layers of fat and dough. During the baking process the steam created from the water in the dough will lift and separate the butter layers resulting in the crispy pastry
which defines a great Croissant.
Croissant Recipe
| Ingredients | Grams | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Bakers Flour | 1200 | 100 |
| Sugar | 96 | 8 |
| Salt | 18 | 1.5 |
| Yeast Instant Dry “Lesaffre Gold” (Osmotolerant) | 30 | 2.5 |
| Eggs | 120 | 10 |
| Water | 480 | 40 |
| Milk Powder | 60 | 5 |
| Butter for Dough | 60 | 5 |
| Bread Improver | 6 | 0.5 |
| Butter for Laminating | 550 | 45 |
| Total Weight: 2620 |
Croissant Method
- Combine dry ingredients in a mixer, add the cold water, eggs, and soft butter, mix for two minutes on slowest speed, and a further six minutes on second speed.
- Knead the dough into a ball and leave to ferment for 20-30 minutes at room temperature.
- Flatten, wrap in plastic, and place in the fridge overnight (1-3°C).
- On the following day, place dough in the freezer for 30 minutes before rolling.
- Shape butter into a rectangular sheet and set aside. Roll dough to double the size of the butter sheet.
- Place the butter sheet on top and in the middle of the dough. Fold the dough over, into the middle and seal the two ends together.
- Roll the dough carefully down to 8 mm and make a single fold. Place in freezer for 10 minutes and a further 10 minutes in the fridge.
- Repeat that process twice, folding a single fold each time. Store in the freezer between each fold for about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Lay pastry flat on a cutting surface and cut into triangles measuring 12 x 24 cm (crescent shape), or 10 x 26 cm (straight shape). This will result in each croissant weighing approximately 100 g.
- Shape Croissants and allow them to proof 60-90 minutes at room temperature.
- Brush with egg wash.
- Bake at 200°C for 16 to 18 minutes with a short steam to start. For convection ovens bake at 180°C with a short steam to start.
Here are some tips to ensure your success
- Butter should have good plasticity and be firm yet pliable. It should be cold enough to resist being absorbed.
- Adding 10% flour to the butter can help make it more pliable.
- Use bakers flour to make the dough as plain flour doesn’t contain enough protein.
- Osmotolerant yeast is preferred as it functions well under the osmotic pressure created from increased levels of sugar.
If you are interested in a baking apprenticeship resulting in a career in baking Croissants contact the BITA team on (07) 3899 6100 or via email.