Revisiting croissants. Help needed :)
Hello,
Its been awhile since I’ve been on here, but I’ve recently delved back into the world of croissant making and wanted to get some opinions and advice.
I followed Bruno Albouze’s croissant recipe which asks to follow 1 double fold and 1 single fold in the lamination process.
I have 3 questions:
1. Is the honeycomb structure supposed to look like this?
2. When I ate it (admittedly I ate it 10mins after it got out of the oven), it was light but a little chewy. Not sure if this is because of the lamination style. Should I try another folding process to get it to be lighter?
3. Even though I eggwashed the croissants (using egg with salt) and baked for 21mins at 190C (fan), I still didn’t achieve a darker more golden shade. How do I achieve this?
Thank you for your time and knowledge!
Here’s another croissant I sliced the next day:
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H
I think your honeycomb is looking great! The one in your hand looks huge or maybe your hands are small. I figure 825-875 g of laminated dough to a dozen croissants, so maybe you target differently?
The one you cut in half looks a little flat in the picture. I’m thinking you might try letting final proof go a little longer. I proof mine for 90-120 minutes, but am able to maintain a controlled 75° F (24° C).
Hot bread has a different texture from fully cooled bread. You don’t mention how the one you ate next day seemed. You also don’t mention how flaky the croissants seem. I judge my croissants by how many crumbs the deposit on my plate and my shirt…more is always better. :-)
I now bake mine at 375° F (190° C) for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350° F (175° C) for 10-15 minutes. And I always use convection. I had trouble with butter leakage and burnt bottoms before I modified the bake.
Your rolls are looking good from here. Keep doing what you’re doing!
Phil
I grew up in France and just assumed croissants were everywhere in the world. Then we moved to a different country and I never-again found good croissants for a long time. Years and years passed, and "suddenly" the whole world got into croissants. There are a few places I've found good ones, and actually Trader Joe's has some passable ones - 3 for around $4.
Croissants are supposed to have some chew to them, along with the hint of sweetness. The bread should pull apart like cotton candy, and be somewhat tight in the crumb. It's interesting to make huge gas bubbles and whatnot, but that's not particularly important, from what I know. The taste is what matters.
These look great! And also pretty big. :-) But I don't know that it's so important about the honeycomb crumb, y'know? Seems it should be more about that pillowy soft, buttery goodness. As a kid, I was fascinated by pulling on one end, and watching the whole thing kind of unravel. LOL! Much like eating cotton candy, but a whole lot tastier!
I found these two videos, and I'm fascinated. I've looked at numerous videos on tricks or tips to make croissants without working at it, or laminating huge piles of dough. I like the rolls, but don't want to do all that work. :-) I haven't yet done either, but I have done other recipes by these two ladies.
The Easiest way to make CROISSANTS | NO Folding (youtube.com)
Probably start with Emma's, since it has a bit more detail.
But there's also Helly, one of my favorite cooks -- lots of nifty tips:
I've been looking for this recipe for a long time! The easiest way to make croissant (youtube.com)
I intend to use a tortilla press to get the dough circles without rolling out the dough. Seems pretty quick. Helly doesn't mention that she uses some foil at the end part, to prevent burning. Emma starts with higher heat, then lowers the oven temp for finishing. Combining the two recipes seems like a great idea!