Croissants – Melt in your mouth buttery perfection

Making a croissant is a true labour of love. Looking at the recipe, it is easy to get scared! 1050 odd minutes of preparation time? That is 17 hours or so! Making a croissant is a true labour of love because you will not be very busy for long but the overall recipe does take time. Oh, and those 17 hours? Don’t worry, you will be asleep for at least half of them…

Make them, you will enjoy the recipe, but more importantly, those around you will love the result. The sheer decadence of the pastry, coupled with the presumed skill and time that it takes will automatically elevate this into the treat of all treats… it is no wonder that upmarket hotels have these in their breakfast rooms .

What are croissants?

Croissants are a sweet-dough breakfast French pastry, shaped in a crescent, hence the name. But, a croissant is not just a pastry, it is a masterpiece of flaky puff pastry. It is pillowy,, soft, crunchy, flaky, chewy, cloud-like and buttery without feeling fatty. It is a decadent treat that can just as easily be converted into a sandwich or a myriad of sweet confections by adding jams, honey or chocolate.

A proper croissant needs nothing more than a good cup of tea or coffee to complete it.

How do you make a croissant flaky?

The secret behind a great croissant is the dough, which is essentially puff pastry made by laminating the dough a few times to achieve anywhere between 135 and 1,215 distinct layers. The more lamination steps, the more layers you get and the flakier the pastry becomes.

Laminating dough simply means folding the dough over a layer of butter and rolling it down to create a dough-butter-dough sandwich. Repeating this a few times will give a dough-butter-dough-butter-dough (and so on) effect, essentially trapping butter between layers of dough until it is cooked. At that moment the butter will melt, giving off some steam which creates tiny pockets of air between the layers.

How to store croissants?

While I have never had any left-overs, the best way to store a croissant is to place it into an air-tight container, freezer bag or wrapped tightly into some foil to minimise contact with air. Place the container in the fridge and they should last 2-3 days, up to a week.

How to freeze croissants

You have two options here – either freeze them before baking or freeze them after baking

1. Freezing before baking: after shaping them into a croissant shape but before they are allowed to rise for the final time, place them on a tray and cover with plastic wrap. Then put the tray in the freezer for a few hours. Once they have frozen, simply transfer them into an air-tight container or freezer bag. They will keep for 1-2 months.
2. Freezing baked croissants is very easy. Just let them cool down for an hour until they are at room temperature. Then place them into an airtight container or freezer bags and place them in the freezer.

To bake the croissants, simply place them onto a sheet of baking paper on the countertop and cover with some plastic wrap. Allow to thaw out and proof overnight at room temperature or for about 12 hours.

How can I make croissants that melt in your mouth like homemade cinnamon rolls?

Creating melt in your mouth cinnamon rolls croissants is a delicious endeavor. Incorporating layers of butter and folding the dough multiple times will result in a flaky, buttery pastry. Adding a cinnamon sugar filling will bring that familiar cinnamon roll flavor to the classic croissant dough.

How to reheat croissants

Simply place them on a baking sheet, allow them to fully defrost if frozen, and warm them for 5-10 minutes in the oven at 180C. You want to warm them through and make the skin crispy again without burning them. Do not use a microwave – they will become tough and chewy and avoid the grill – they will burn while remaining cold.

Tips on ingredients:

• Flour: Use strong bread flour that is high in protein and finely ground. Typically you are looking at “000” flour. The finer the flour, the smoother the croissant will feel. The higher the protein content, the better the layers will hold up. You ideally want 15% protein or so.
• Salt: This brings out the flavour of the croissants. You can adjust this down to your taste and sodium preference.
• Butter: Unsalted butter is important. If your butter is salted, then reduce the amount of salt by 3g. While having the best butter can yield better results, often the difference is marginal ad I try to get a good quality butter
• Egg: The egg is just there for the eggwash and can be omitted. The results will not be as spectacular though.
• Yeast: always try to bloom your yeast in water with a little sugar. In this case the water needs to be cool, so the yeast may not foam as much as with lukewarm water. However, you always have to check that the yeast foams before using it. If it doesn’t foam, the yeast is dead.

Special tips:

• If you struggle to shape the butter, let it soften a but in the microwave, then use a suitable container to create a 40cm x 19cm rectangle. Place the container with the butter back into the fridge to harden it.
• Keep the dough as cool as possible. You want the butter to set before the next lamination step. The cold butter wil stay in place during the preparation sequence.
• If the dough seems to have lumps of butter, do not panic and leave them there. The butter will ooze out during the baking step.