Are you thinking about making Croissant’s?! Have you lost your marbles?

The process is a labour of love, just a couple of days before you get to eat one or two or three… If done right the effort is very rewarding. Look at how much bakeries charge for the beloved croissant and you will notice this particular baked good is not a very profitable way to make money, but I am glad they go ahead and make them anyway!

Okay I would like to share my experience and a few tips that will save you time and err, time.

Over the course of a week or two, I made 5 batches, so sharing with the neighbours and friends is a must! Let’s make croissants, not thighs!

I did hours of research before making the Croissant, these are a few

TIPS & HINTS, BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

WEATHER DEPENDANT :Making the croissant on a hot day is a NO NO, make them on a nice cool day. Anything above 28 degrees, butter cannot hold its shape and will melt and ruin the dough.

BEST INGREDIENTS: Use Strong white flour and Butter, with a min 80-85% butter fat (if possible). Cheap butter will melt quicker and cause it to seep and create a very oily croissant, instead of lovely layers.

ROLLING: Don’t over flour the dough or surface when rolling, or if you do always brush off any access flour. This will stop the end result being dry.
ALSO when rolling into the final triangle shape roll it very thin, so it can rise correctly and you don’t get a doughy croissant.

LETTING THE CROISSANT RISE:
Don’t allow croissant to rise at 70 degrees, I put the oven on for a temp of 70 degrees, and then turned it off then placed the precious risen croissants into the oven, BUT they just sunk and fell, then in sheer determination I still cooked them, but they failed and turned into a buttery biscuit See biscuit below, this method is too hot! Tears were shed that day!

Croissant Crisbread

TIP: Simply place a few shot glasses upside down on the tray and cover the rolled croissant with cling wrap, so the cling wrap doesn’t touch the croissant. This method will make a little warm box, then place the tray in a warm room. More details in recipe

A few ideas why not try Croi’nuts or Macaroon’sants, just cut the dough in the desired shape and let it rise like a “normal croissant”. Once cooked add a delicious filling or topping.

REMEMBER: The smaller shapes take less time to cook
Or when you are ready to raise the dough, roll some plain croissants with Choc/hazelnut filling or Marzipan, and topped them off with a few flaked almonds, Croissants are bad enough so please remember, this is not a healthy option, but a very delicious time consuming treat!

Did you make croissants? I would really like to hear how it went…