As I had a long weekend off I decided to make my 1st ever Croissants using my Bourke St Bakery cookbook. The results were pretty impressive and I subbed Doves farm dried yeast for the fresh with no problems. I made half of their recipe and here are the results!
- Doughtagnan's Blog
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they look, wtg !!
anna
Are you sure you've never made them before?? They look positively perfect! Even the size and shape is perfectly balanced, as if you had practiced a lot. You are very talented.
No it was my 1st attempt though iv'e had plenty of practise eating croissants over the years, especially when on holiday in France. It did seem a bit gross using a whole 250g pack of french butter in the dough so I have frozen them for a weekend treat!. My only other comment on their recipe was I baked them for 25-30mins as at 15 mins they were a bit undercooked in the middle.
Cheers, Steve
They certainly were, as was a test Pain au Chocolat I made as well (needed a bit more chocolate).
Cheers, Steve
Croissants are a challenge and your first attempt is a good one. I notice that on a few of them the final (thin) roll of dough has come upglued and risen up the croissant as it baked. I experienced this as well with my initial attempts. Next time you roll them, make sure the final roll is pressed tight against the bottom of the croissant and it won't ride up as it rises.
Not sure what temp you bake them at, but I start mine at 425F and then back them down by 25 degrees at 5 minute intervals. I get good color and finished croissants after 15 - 20 minutes this way.
Nice bake,
Lary
I notice that on a few of them the final (thin) roll of dough has come upglued and risen up the croissant as it baked.
Does it matter that this happens? It isn't unsightly and gives a nice easy tab to pull on :-)
As always, the eating experience is more important than the appearance.
Mary
-As always, the eating experience is more important than the appearance-
No baker - aspiring or experienced, amateur or professsional - would subscribe to that view. The art of baking is as much visual as anything, which is why bakers continually strive to develop better skills and to produce loaves that look as good as they taste.
My advice was proffered in the context of congratulations. I find it odd and frankly inappropriate that you should take umbrage at the remark.
Larry
I'm a student at the International Culinary School and I am currently enrolled in a Artisan Bread class and loving it! Our 1st week we did croissants, I love working the butter book into the dough like puff pastry, it is a long process but the result are wonderful. However, my 1st attempt at these came out a little dark, I don't remember us turning the temperture down on the oven as they cooked, I will add that to my notes to see if I can get them more golden brown next time. We also used deck ovens and they cook really harsh so that could have been a problem also. We have also been learning what to do with left over breads, so the next day we took our croissants and cut them in half length wise and spread some different things on them and then baked again, my favorite was the Almond Bostock Paste.
They look great! I agree about baking them 25 to 30 minutes. Under-baking them causes them to collapse.
What ingredients did you use?
Were they flour, water, sugar, salt, yeast, and unsalted butter?
ingredients were flour, water, sugar, salt, yeast (easy blend), and french unsalted butter. I am interested in how they reheat after being frozen (I usually refresh shop brought croissants at 150c fan grilling) I am also keen to try freezing them before the proofing stage.
Cheers, Steve
Thank you for the info.
You can freeze the shaped croissants before the proofing stage. Place them on parchment-lined baking sheet and then freeze until they're frozen. After that, you can individually wrap them in plastic and place them in a plastic bag or box and freeze.
I read that they get thawed at room temperature overnight. Sometimes I just have a problem with thawing and proofing. It may look proofed on the outside, but the inside is a bit too cold. So when I bake them, the inside sometimes gets soggy or under-done. I think maybe they need more baking time.
Hello Doughtagnan:
Congratulation on your croissant. It is great looking. I too, love croissants but when come to making it, I think I will pass. I read many recipes and it is beyond my ability, I think.
It is your first try also? I am sooooooo jeolous.
mantana
No baker - aspiring or experienced, amateur or professsional - would subscribe to that view. The art of baking is as much visual as anything, which is why bakers continually strive to develop better skills and to produce loaves that look as good as they taste.
My advice was proffered in the context of congratulations. I find it odd and frankly inappropriate that you should take umbrage at the remark.
I wasn't taking umbrage, just expressing my opinion - as you were.
Since I'm an amateur baker - although baking for sixty years - you simply can't say that NO baker would subscribe to my view. I did :-)
My point was that the EATING experience is more important than the visual, perhaps I didn't express it as well as I might have done or as well as a US reader might have expected but I do believe that having a 'tongue' or 'flap' assists in peeling a croissant, which is (to my mind) the best way of enjoying one.
But I'm a European, what do I know?
Mary
(smiling)
I don't think it matters if the tip of the croissant isn't tucked.
I looked at photos of croissants in France, like these photos and posters in France from this blog: http://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.com/2008/06/les-croissants.html
You can see that some of tips of the croissants aren't tucked under. I know I get the occasional croissants that have a mind of their own. No matter if I rolled them tightly and tucked their tip under, if they want to untuck, then they will untuck. Like I said, they have a mind of their own. I just let them rise and puff up how they want. lol
Actually, I like the ones whose tips aren't tucked under because they're usually the airiest ones.
Calm down folks it's only a croissant. Little did I know that I would spark a fierce debate about the tips!. I also grow veggies on an allotment and some folks like to present perfect veggies for prizes at show. That does not interest me, nor am I interested in baking loafs etc for a doughbased beauty contest. Looks are important, but taste more so.
thanks for all the comments, Cheers Steve
Very nicely done Steve
How do you like the Bourke Street Bakery book, my wife bought it for me on my birthday and it seems to be reasonably easy to use and your effort would seem to support that .
I will definately have to give the croissants a go, and i will be pleased if they turn out anywhere near as good as yours
kind regards Yozza.
It's the 1st recipe I have tried from the book which I brought last August, work commitments got in the way!. Dunno what to try next!, great book though.
Cheers, steve
Hi Steve
I'm another UK baker.
What fabulous croissants!!!!!
I hope that my first attempts (which I will get around to in the next few months) will look (and taste) as good as yours.
There is a lot of good advice on this forum and Larry (Wally) is one of the most experienced and helpful contributors. I feel sure that his comment was made in a constructive manner and was not meant to distract from your wonderful creations.
Isn't it somewhat liberating when you give up the daily grind and have time to do what gives you pleasure?
Happy Baking
Richard
Richard, It would be nice to give up the daily grind, but since I got into the sourdough/baking malarky after taking redundancy from Bloody Terrible I have been employed by a rather majestic wine merchant. This means not much time for my hobby, but it has improved my retarding techniques. I reckon dough does not give a damn re timings as my work schedule has involved all sorts of variations without a dip in results. One could say folks have been baking like this for centuries, ie without electronic scales, fridges, timers, etc..
Oh, why wait month's - get stuck in this weekend!, Cheers Steve
Its baguettes tomorrow and a perhaps a spelt sourdough so if I were to do croissants as well I may as well get a full time job! I do have a part-time one (as I can't cope with full-time work now) that sometimes disrupts my baking schedule!