How To Make Perfect Croissants
Have you ever wanted to learn How to Make Perfect Croissants? Croissants that are so buttery they melt in your mouth. Croissants that are flaky, or filled with Chocolate that you want to savor every bit. Did you think they were too difficult and you could never make them? Fear not, Read on and you will become a Master and learn how to make Perfect Croissants.
How to make them the easy way invest some time
I always thought that making perfect Croissants would be something that could only be made by Pastry Chefs or people with French accents. It has been on my list of must learns but my own intimidations kept me from trying to make ANY Croissants, let alone perfect croissants. I think I read every recipe available and watched every youtube video available to overcome, yes, my fears.
Easy Steps To Follow To Make Perfect Croissants Require No Special Equipment
In doing my research what I learned was making homemade Croissants does not require any special equipment or skills. It just takes time, patience and a good recipe to make the Perfect Croissant. I looked into making buttery croissants and ones that are filled with chocolate called Pain au Chocolate. I experimented with both and made them several times and each time the came out perfect.
Time to learn how to Make Perfect Croissants
The time to make them can be squeezed into other Kitchen cooking and duties with a little extra time at the end when you actually form the croissants, allow them to rise and bake them.
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups flour
8 tablespoons of butter softened
One cup plus one tablespoon of water temp (105-110 degrees)
1/2 tsp salt
5 teaspoons yeast
1/4 cup sugar
16 tablespoons of butter (2 sticks of butter)
Directions
Add water, yeast, and sugar to a warm bowl.
Add the 8 tablespoons of softened butter, salt and flour, to yeast mixture and mix well continuing to incorporate all ingredients together.
Remove from bowl and continue to knead your dough with your hands on a clean surface. You do not want to add more flour or your dough will get too stiff. Knead for about 5 minutes until dough changes and become smooth and elastic. The kneading helps to build the strands of gluten to form an elastic dough to form the structure needing to make the perfect croissant. Form into a round ball.
Place ball of dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean towel.
Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, taking up to two hours for the first rise.
Uncover the dough and place on a lightly floured work surface and slightly flour your dough. Deflate the dough by patting it down and form into a long rectangle shape. Fold like a letter into thirds.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to rest and rise slightly overnight. Resting the dough overnight helps the dough develop further gluten strands to strengthen and develope and so the dough will be Perfect.
While the dough is in the the fridge, Take your 16 tablespoons of softened butter in a quart size baggie to measure about 7 x 8 “. Press the butter to fit the baggie and to blend the butter to form one piece. Place in fridge overnight to chill until dough is ready to roll out.
Let the dough rest
The next day remove the butter from the fridge and allow to soften slightly before removing the dough. The dough and the butter should be the same constancy to make rolling easier and the layers even.
Remove the dough and place it on a floured surface and roll it out to about 15 inch long by 7 inch wide rectangle.
Remove butter and unwrap and place it on rolled out dough on one half. Take the ends of the dough fold it over the butter to wrap the dough around the butter to seal the butter in.
Working from the center out roll out to about 25 inches by 8 inches wide. Brush off any extra flour and fold 2/3 of the way up to the other corner and then fold the other side in to meet the edge. Roll out again to about 18 inches and fold in half like a book. That is a double turn.
Repeat the same step and roll out until the rectangle is 24 x 8 inches. Fold the left end to the center and then the other end oner that. That is a simple turn. Wrap up the dough and refrigerate for one hour. The dough will form many layers that make the Croissants perfect that will bake into flaky layers.
See those beautiful layers?
Remove dough from the fridge and use half the dough at a time while the other half remains in the fridge making sure the dough stays chilled at all times.
Roll out the dough to a rectangle measuring 18 inches wide by 8 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick.
With a sharp knife or pizza cutter divide the dough into 6 triangles to make 6 large croissant. If you would like to make sampler croissants, divide the dough into 12 smaller triangles.
Repeat with the remaining dough.
Roll out croissants starting at the wider edge and roll to the pointed tip.
Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Make your egg wash by beating two eggs together in a small bowl. Brush your croissants with the egg wash.
Cover with a towel and allow to rise again for 2-3 hours until the croissants have doubled in size and are puffed up. Brush the croissants with egg wash right before baking.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place croissants in preheated oven and bake them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Total baking time should be 20-25 minutes.
other options are Making Perfect Chocolate Croissants
To make chocolate croissants roll dough in small rectangles about 3 inch by 4 inches
Place a small amount of chocolate at thee base of the croissant and roll up.
Or spread chocolate on the croissant before it is rolled up and then roll up
follow the rest of the directions for the same time and temperature.
Enjoy
Now isn’t that easier than you thought and delicious?
Perfect Croissants
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 8 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 cup water 105-110 degrees
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 teaspoons yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 16 tablespoons of butter 2 sticks of butter
Instructions
- Add water, yeast, and sugar to a warm bowl.
- Add the 8 tablespoons of softened butter, salt and flour, to yeast mixture and mix well continuing to incorporate all ingredients together.
- Remove from bowl and continue to knead your dough with your hands on a clean surface. You do not want to add more flour or your dough will get too stiff. Knead for about 5 minutes until dough changes and become smooth and elastic. The kneading helps to build the strands of gluten to form an elastic dough to form the structure needing to make the perfect croissant. Form into a round ball.
- Place ball of dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a clean towel.
- Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, taking up to two hours for the first rise. Uncover the dough and place on a lightly floured work surface and slightly flour your dough.
- Deflate the dough by patting it down and form into a long rectangle shape. Fold like a letter into thirds.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge to rest and rise slightly overnight. Resting the dough overnight helps the dough develop further gluten strands to strengthen and helps it rest overnight so it is no longer elastic or stretchy.
- While the dough is in the the fridge, Take your 16 tablespoons of softened butter in a quart size baggie to measure about 7 x 8 ". Press the butter to fit the baggie and to blend the butter to form one piece. Place in fridge overnight to chill until dough is ready to roll out.
- The next day remove the butter from the fridge and allow to soften slightly before removing the dough. The dough and the butter should be the same constancy to make rolling easier and the layers even.
- Remove the dough and place it on a floured surface and roll it out to about 15 inch long by 7 inch wide rectangle.
- Remove butter and unwrap and place it on rolled out dough on one half. Take the ends of the dough fold it over the butter to wrap the dough around the butter to seal the butter in.
- Working from the center out roll out to about 25 inches by 8 inches wide. Brush off any extra.
- flour and fold 2/3 of the way up to the other corner and then fold the other side in to meet the edge. Roll out again to about 18 inches and fold in half like a book. That is a double turn.
- Repeat the same step and roll out until the rectangle is 24 x 8 inches. Fold the left end to the center and then the other end oner that. That is a simple turn. Wrap up the dough and refrigerate for one hour. The dough will form many layers that make the Croissants perfect that will bake into flaky layers.
- Remove dough from the fridge and use half the dough at a time while the other half remains in the fridge making sure the dough stays chilled at all times.
- Roll out the dough to a rectangle measuring 18 inches wide by 8 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick.
- With a sharp knife or pizza cutter divide the dough into 6 triangles to make 6 large croissant. If you would like to make sampler croissants, divide the dough into 12 smaller triangles.
- Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Roll out croissants starting at the wider edge and roll to the pointed tip.
- Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
- Make your egg wash by beating two eggs together in a small bowl. Brush your croissants with the egg wash.
- Cover with a towel and allow to rise again for 2-3 hours until the croissants have doubled in size and are puffed up. Brush the croissants with egg wash right before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Place croissants in preheated oven and bake them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Total baking time should be 20-25 minutes.
- other options:
- make chocolate croissants roll dough in small rectangles about 3 inch by 4 inches
- Place a small amount of chocolate at thee base of the croissant and roll up.
- Or spread chocolate on the croissant before it is rolled up and then roll up
- follow the rest of the directions for the same time and temperature.
Nutrition
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018 Mary Post
Another success!! Excellent recipe-as you said, it is foolproof. I love bread— Then again, who doesn’t. Very happy with the way my croissants turned out. Picture Perfect! Thank you. Will do this one again!!