Did you know that January 30th is National Croissants Day? These buttery, crescent-shaped rolls are perfect because they are crispy on the outside yet soft on the inside. Perfect with jam, butter or by itself! I like them fresh out of the oven with a cup of coffee and some scrambled eggs for breakfast.
The secret to making perfectly tasty croissants is by laminating the dough.To do this, butter is folded into the mixture so you create multiple thin layers of butter and dough. This gives the croissant its flaky crust and airy body.
How Did Croissants Come to be?
I also learned that croissants originated from Austria. In 1939, an Austrian military officer, August Zang, introduced Viennese baking techniques by opening a bakery in Paris, France. Here is where the croissant is born.
The first time I tried this croissant recipe, I got a bit impatient. What I learned in my years of baking is that it is not just an art but a science. You have to be exact in measurements and even the timing. You can also exercise your artistic creativity by adding other ingredients or by decorating the baked goods. Well, I have always enjoyed baking as much as I enjoyed cooking.
How to Make Croissants with Puff Pastry
Puff pastry is a perfect example of laminated dough. What I do is make my own puff pastry and use it for a variety of baked goods such as croissants and sticky buns. If you want to know more about laminated dough and puff pastry, check out this article by The Kitchn.
Without further ado, here is my very own recipe for croissants. Make sure you have some hot cup of coffee or tea when you’re done! The kids love it with some strawberry jam and butter — fresh out of the oven!
Tasty Croissants for your Everyday Foodie Treats
Equipment
- cooling rack
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cold milk
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 2 1/4 tsp yeast
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 cups butter
Instructions
- Dice the butter into even sized squares and refrigerate it.
- Add yeast to water and milk.
- Whisk the egg with sugar and salt and add it to the yeast mixture.
- Add the flour to the egg-yeast mixture and whisk it for 2 minutes until the dough is firm.
- Wrap the dough in saran wrap and let it rest in the freezer for half an hour.
- Sprinkle the flat surface with flour and place the dough on it. Roll out the dough into a square of a ¼ inch of thickness.
- Retrieve the cold butter and place it in the center of the dough before folding the ends of the dough around the butter until the butter is enclosed within it.
- Place the dough back into the fridge for another half an hour until its chilled before bringing it out again to be rolled.
- This time, roll the dough as a rectangle with a ¼ inch of thickness.
- Fold one end of the dough towards the center before folding in another end on top of it, such that you get three layers of dough.
- Again, place the dough in the fridge for another half an hour.
- Now, roll out the three layered dough into a rectangle until double its length.
- Cut the dough into equal sized squares and then, cut these squares diagonally to achieve triangles.
- Roll up the dough from the wide edge of the triangle to form a croissant shape.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and place them on the rack. Let them rest till they are doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F.
- Brush the croissants with butter and place the tray into the oven.
- Bake until the croissants are golden.
- Remove from oven and place each croissant onto the cooling rack to finish cooling.
1 thought on “Tasty Croissants for your Everyday Foodie Treats”
The first time I tried this recipe, I messed it up, but I decided to give it another try, and they turned out perfect!!