Croissants & Pains au Chocolat
Does the taste of a favorite food evoke in you indelible memories of time and places where the pleasure it has given you has put a mark on you for life?
For me, a bite into a buttery and flaky croissant and my taste memory takes me back to my childhood in Saigon where every morning, I would look forward to the familiar sound of the horn announcing the arrival of the "Bread Man" riding on his scooter with twin canvas trunks full of goodies straddling the rear seat to deliver fresh baguettes and croissants to the neighborhood houses.
The sweet smell of baking croissants always reminds me of the time when I was a student in Geneva, walking by a bakery at 6:00 am, suddenly being overwhelmed by the tantalizing aroma of freshly baked croissants, summoning enough nerve to knock on the door to convince the owner to sell me a couple before the store was open and walking home in the snowy winter dawn, enjoying the best croissants I ever had in my life.
A croissant with cafe au lait for breakfast always transports me back to my first visit to Paris in the spring, sitting at a sidewalk table at the Cafe "La Rotonde" in the Montparnasse area, sipping a cafe creme and eating a croissant with confiture, watching the morning bustle and hustle of Parisian life just like Hemingway, Picasso, Nijinsky, Gershwin and other luminaries had done at the same spot so many years ago.
I have been baking Croissants and Pains au Chocolat on and off for over 20 years and until recently, my favorite recipe was from Jacques Pepin's "The Art of Cooking". It is a foolproof recipe where you can follow the instructions verbatim and end up with great results.
Last year I discovered the Esther McManus recipe from the PBS "Baking with Julia" TV Series. I have tried this recipe about half a dozen times, tweaking it along the way to suit my taste and baking techniques. It has become my favorite recipe as I find that it comes closest to the Croissants and Pains au Lait that you can only find in Europe.
This past weekend, I made a batch of Croissants and Pain au Chocolat and following are my notes and recommendations:
1- I basically followed the step by step instructions in the video which are excellent. The link is www.pbs.org/juliachild/meet/mcmanus.html
2- It is not mandatory to have the companion book " Baking with Julia" but it is nice to have as a back-up.
3- I use pretty much the same formulation except for the following variations:
A- I use 1 1/4 cup of milk. I find the little extra milk makes the dough more pliable and easier to work with.
B- I use 2 1/2 tsp Instant Yeast. I converted the amount into Instant Yeast because I prefer it over Cake or Dry Yeast.
C- I use only 3-1/2 sticks of butter. More butter would only leak out during baking. I have tried different unsalted butters including imported "Le President", "Plugra"European Style and found that old "Land o' Lakes" works just as well.
D- I use two 3 inch long "Valrhona" Chocolate Batons for each Pain of Chocolat. I splurge on a box of 350 pieces and they are disappearing fast as they are good to snack on as well.
4- I do not put a hot water pan in the turned off oven while proofing as recommended. I found out the hard way that it melts the butter in the dough.
5- I bake the Croissants in a preheated 425 degrees F oven with steam for 5 mins , then without steam at 400 degrees for 5 more mins and finally at 375 degrees for 5 mins. I find it gives me better oven spring and a flakier crust than a longer bake with dry heat at 350 degrees.
6- The recipe should yield a dozen each Croissants and Pains au Chocolat.
Dough cut into triangles with a Croissant Cutter, not an essential tool but a nice gadget.
Shaped, proofed and egg washed Croissants ready for the oven.
Baked Croissants cooling on the rack.
The ultimate Continental Breakfast with Croissant and Pain au Chocolat
The mandatory crumb shot.
Happy Baking!
Don
Comments
Thank you for all the detail you provided, Don. Your croissants look great! I've never used this recipe but I'd like to try it. I have two questions, though:
1) I watched the videos and after the first turn, Esther said she was going to give the dough 1 more single turn and 1 double turn (for a total of 2 single and 1 double turn). But she only gave it 1 single and 1 double turn in the video. How many turns to you do when you make them?
2) Whenever I make croissants I find the dough becomes so so elastic that when rolling it out the last time before cutting I can hardly roll it out at all. Has this been your experience? Any advice?
Thanks gcook17,
1- I follow her verbal instructions and did the 2 singles and 1 double folds.
2- I usually do the whole process over 2 days i.e. mix the dough in the evening, incorporate the butter the next morning and then do the foldings over the course of the whole day with plenty of rest in between. I then shape, proof and bake the following day. I found the dough somewhat elastic but not terribly difficult to roll out.
Don
Davi
I find that with Viennoiserie, there are less variables to deal with than with bread making, once you get the right recipe.
Don
Makes me mouth water!
You outdid your self.
Audra
Thanks to both Althetrainer and Audra for your kind words.
Your croissants and pains au chocolat look wonderful! And I have never seen a croissant cutter before, an intriguing tool.
Your evocations of your croissant memories take me back to Paris (I got my M.A. degree there) and many street cafe settings just as you describe. Ahh, those good old times!
I sometimes buy the pains au chocolat at Trader Joe, in the frozen section (to be baked after leaving them out over night). My kids love those. But why not make them at home? I'll have to give this a try. Do you freeze the ones that are not eaten right away?
And one more question: where do you order/buy the Valrhona chocolate batons in such quantities? I should probably use Lindt (being Swiss...), but I do love Valrhona.
There are very good frozen croissants that Williams Sonoma carries but only during the holiday I think. The dough is pre-shaped and frozen and you have to thaw and proof it before baking. I have had them a couple of times and they are delicious but quite pricy.
I do freeze my croissants and pains au chocolat. I reheat them in a preheated 300 degrees oven for about 8-10 mins and they taste great.
I get the Valrhona batons online at www.chocosphere.com
They carry all kinds of Lindt products also but not batons.
Picture perfect croissants, Don!
That's a nice compliment coming from an accomplished baker like yourself.
Don
Don, great looking croissants! You have shaped them beautifully. I like your croissant roller. I wouldn't even consider it a gadget if I had one...It sure helps to have the right tools!
I love the plain and the chocolate. You have rolled them very nicely! I have to say my very favorite croissant is the 'Almond Croissant'. A little bakery here called 'A Delight of France' sells out of them everyday! They are made from the day old croissants, split in half, filled with the most incrediable paste and topped with powdered sugar and slivered almonds. They melt in your mouth! After seeing your great photos. All of the above are definately moving up on the to do list!
Sylvia
If you look closely, you will notice that the cutter makes elongated triangles with a slit at the base. That couple with stretching the dough while rolling will give you multiple tight rolls which add layers to the crumb. I like the traditional crescent shape with the turned down ends (they don't call them croissants for nothing...) unlike the straight shape that some bakers prefer.
Don
Beautiful work, Don! Re: the straight vs. crescent shape, thought you might be interested in the explanation I heard at a workshop with Ciril Hitz. He said the straight shape is used in Europe to indicate an all-butter croissant. The crescent shape is to indicate other fats have been used, whether alone or in combination with butter.
Thanks for the info, Apprentice. I guess it makes sense if they are selling two different types of croissants, although most of the ones I see in France are all butter.
Don
Don - Your post inspired me to try my hand at these two delicacies. I took your advice and visited Julia's PBS video, and then also consulted a piece here by gothicgirl on TFL that had really useful step-by-step photos of the process.
I tried something different to get to 72 layers: I began by rolling out the dough into a rectangle, and then rolled the butter into a rectangle 2/3'ds of the length of the dough. Then I folded the 1/3 of the dough uncovered by butter over the butter, and then did a fold from the opposite end, giving me dough that initially has 2 layers of butter. So on my first turn, with 1/3 folds from each end, the layers tripled to 6. On my second turn, I did a wallet fold that turned 6 layers into 24, and on my final turn I again did 1/3 folds that brought 24 layers to 72.
The finished product looked ok for a first attempt (croissant shaping, like baguettes, takes practice I discovered). Here's the Easter basket I made for my brother, his wife and 9 yr. old twins.
No crumb shot, alas, as they didn't last long enough to record anything but crumbs - literally! But you've inspired me to work at this, and my relatives have volunteered to be the test kitchen!
Larry
I just got back from a week of mushroom hunting in the mountains with hardly any connection to the outside world so I did not see your post until today. Those are good looking croissants and pains au chocolat. I bet they tasted great. I trust that you went full scale on the butter!
One tip that I think you will find useful is to dilute the egg wash with about a teaspoon of cold water and a little salt and brush it lightly twice on the shaped dough, once after shaping and then after proofing just before baking. The crust will be golden with blisters from the salt which gives it a pleasant little salty taste on the bite.
Don
Ah, fresh mushrooms! I'll be looking for a post that manages to incorporate some pictures of those!
I followed your advice as far as butter and used a little less than Julia's guest. Thanks for the tip on eggwash - I wasn't quite sure how many coats to give them, and I will incorporate some salt next time.
I'm awaiting a shipment of Callebaut chocolate batons (I decided to go w/ a cheaper product t and if I get good at this and do it frequently enough, then I'll step up to your Valrhona chocolate) from Chocosphere before mixing another batch up.
Larry
Ah, fresh mushrooms! I'll be looking for a post that manages to incorporate some pictures of those!
I followed your advice as far as butter and used a little less than Julia's guest. Thanks for the tip on eggwash - I wasn't quite sure how many coats to give them, and I will incorporate some salt next time.
I'm awaiting a shipment of Callebaut chocolate batons (I decided to go w/ a cheaper product t and if I get good at this and do it frequently enough, then I'll step up to your Valrhona chocolate) from Chocosphere before mixing another batch up.
Larry
Hi Larry,
You may want to look at the post I made on laminated dough here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/16082/laminated-yeasted-dough-construction
There's quite a bit of detail, plus photos and a video.
Enjoy; they are such fun to make, and 75% fat free!!!!!!
Best wishes
Andy
Andy - just came across your post. Very interesting! I had seen the French method on some videos and wondered why sometimes the butter is incorporated that way, while other times it's done via the "British" method. Personally, I think the latter is simpler and it was the one I followed.
Thanks for the tips! My chocolate batons are scheduled to be delivered this afternoon, so I suspect this weekend will bring Round 2 of croissants and pains au chocolat.
I'll keep you and Don posted.
Larry
Hi Larry,
I agree English is easier, and for croissants it is probably the best one to use.
BUT, for full puff paste where fat is at 100% of flour, and you have to use 6 x half turns, I would always go with the French method.
The reason is this, although it is not easy to explain. Using the French "back of an envelope" technique allows you to spread the butter more evenly over the dough and not have any gaps around the edge. This helps to incorporate the extra fat in the first place, and gives for more even distribution.
Butter in the croissant formula is anything from 40 to 50% of flour. I don't understand why you want to go lower; they are not a healthy option, and they are a pastry, when all's said and done. Four half turns is always what I teach, although other people have different ideas on this. Sorry, I don't do the bookfolds thing. I rest the dough as much as possible after mixing, butter incorporation, 2 half turns, 2 more half turns, then final roll out for processing. An overnight rest at the last stage is just the best!
I've looked through Don's notes. I agree it is definitely better to bake hot, also yes, proving too warm is a disaster. Beyond that I cannot really advise, as I don't have the familiarity to deal with the measurements discussed. If you move away from metric or percentages you lose me straightaway, sorry. But, hey, there's loads of detail in the formula I posted, and in the prinnciples of just how puff pastes actually work: that's why I think reducing the fat is not a good idea, as successful lamination is the key to leavening. Yeast really just helps to stabilise, and give some dough rheology over the longer time period.
Think STEAM = PRESSURE = LIFT. The more layers, and the greater the fat levels, means more lift. Your pastries look lovely, but I venture to suggest you could achieve more lift through more careful butter incorporation and laminating techniques.
Work COLD; REST aplenty...and have fun too!
Best wishes
Andy
Hi Andy - My chocolate batons have arrived, so this weekend will bring round 2. I'll keep you posted.
Best-
Larry
It's a Bank Holiday weekend over here; sadly I have an assignment to write, but the oven may get a good firing, you never know.
Anyway, Larry, I look forward to your post and wish you every success with round 2.
Best wishes
Andy
Best of luck on your assignment, Andy! Is the topic of any interest to us TFL'ers, by the way?
Hi Hans, and thanks for your message of good luck!
I'm researching the supply chain for milling wheat for bread manufacture in the UK right now. Obviously, there's some historical background, and the need to look at the global commodity generally, but the main focus is UK right now.
Fairly interesting, as a couple of major players have moved over to using only UK wheat for their core bread products. This is a very brave move in some respects. I am aware many of the North American TFL clietele like to use "AP" flour for making bread at home. Many of you have probably noticed my recipes and formulae all stipulate using "Strong flour". Ok, the lowdown is that AP does not exist in the UK. We have Plain Flour and that weighs in about 9% protein. C'mon you guys, you all know about the British weather, cos we moan about it all the time! Now can you get to understand why I can't get enthusiastic for ordinary grade flour?....you just don't know how lucky you are on that score!
Anyway, more exciting is that several growers in the UK have come together with a domestic wheat crop suitable to use for industrial breadmaking. Our domestic wheat used for bread is now 85%. Go back 30 years and this was about 50%. Pre 1960s it may have been below 30%! Needless to say there is a lot to study here; not all good, but plenty to get my head round. I've travelled a 600 mile round trip on the train today to meet up with senior managers from one of these millers [clue; they do "Granary" flour] and had a 2hour full on meeting which was so helpful.
Well, that's the brief; just got to write the whole thing up now!!!
Best wishes
Andy
I looked for the video online at the link above. It doesn't seem to be there. Anyone have a link to it?
thx
Dan
Hi Dan,
Unfortunately, PBS has removed that video from their website. But you can get the instructions with good photos in the 'Baking with Julia' book.
Don
I went to the link posted by becs, but it won't play! I've seen the video before so I know how good it is. Any chance you want to recreate it DonD?? : )