Croissants: A How To

A while back Jim Norton from The Heavy Table was on stage for Salon Saloon. The subject was food and he, along with Andy Sturdevant and Chris Olson talked extensively talked about the food of France, including of course, croissants. I don't remember the exact phrase that was used but someone labeled the making of croissants a daunting task.

Remember how I have a competitive edge? I don't really care if I ever win, but I sure do like to compete. Alas:



Homemade Croissants, Courtesy of Kate and Kyle: A Short Story

Prep time: 24 hours, give or take
Bake time: 18-20 minutes

Okay, yes, it takes a long time to make these little bundles of love, but if you have patience, some room in your fridge, no fear of butter, and a good rolling pin you can DO THIS! I swear!

Kyle and I took turns at the fun, so whoever was working, the other was photo documenting (at one point I thought "man, Kyle has some feminine looking hands, and then I realized they were mine having forgotten Kyle took a picture or two... ha!)

We used the America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Cookbook that Kyle received for his birthday a few weeks ago. They turned out fabulously (as has every recipe I've ever made from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook collection) and I would encourage you to get out there and buy it, or subscribe to Cooks Illustrated online for the best recipes for... just about anything you're looking for. I have some guilt about recipe copyright issues (especially from cookbooks I respect) so I won't post the exact recipe here, but this epicurious recipe is pretty similar. EDIT: If you're savvy you can find the recipe here




Mix together warm milk, sugar, yeast, flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth, about 8 minutes.



If the dough is too sticky at 5 minutes, add more flour 1 tbsp at a time until it forms a soft ball. Scrape the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with saran wrap and chill for an hour.



Lay 3 sticks of butter side by side on a sheet of parchment paper making a rectangle.




Sprinkle the butter with a couple of tablespoons of flour and cover with another sheet of parchment paper.





Pound the butter with a rolling pin until the butter is fully incorporated and is softened, then roll into an 8" square, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for one hour.







Turn out the ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into an 11 inch square.








Place the butter square diagonally in the square and bring the corners together and pinch to seal.





This is when we started getting excited


Gently tap the square until it becomes larger and the butter softens. Gently roll into a 14 inch square.






Fold the dough into thirds to form a rectangle, and again to form a square.









Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 2 hours. Again tap until butter softens and roll into another square, repeating the folding step and chilling another 2 hours.

Can you see the butter? I can... and it makes my mouth drool.


Roll the dough into a 20 inch square.

















Cut the dough in half and then into thirds





Cut each rectangle into a triangle. Gently stretch each triangle to even out the sides.




Cut a one inch strip at the wide end of the triangle and fold up the edges (aren't you glad I documented this with a camera?) Gently roll the dough from the wide end of the triangle to the tip. Place the individual croissants on a parchment lined baking sheet (I recommend one with a lip, as these suckers LEAK during the baking process), making sure to keep the tips against the sheet and curving in the ends to form a crescent shape. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-16 hours.







Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Beat one egg and gently brush over the croissants.

Bake croissants until golden brown.




Then eat all twelve. Don't let anyone judge you for it either. You deserve it!