Croissant
Ingredients
- 500 g bread flour (11-12% protein)
- 10 g salt
- 55 g sugar
- 10 g instant yeast
- 300 ml cold whole milk (and a little water)
- 40 g soft butter (for the dough itself)
- 250-300 g cold high-fat European-style butter (for the butter block)
- 1 egg, beaten, for the egg wash
The croissant is built on a détrempe — a lean, enriched dough — that gets laminated with a slab of high-fat butter through a series of rolls and folds (the tourage). That lamination is what turns a simple dough into dozens of paper-thin, alternating layers of dough and butter, which puff and separate in the oven into a shell that shatters at the first bite while staying soft and honeycombed inside.
Method
Mix flour, salt, sugar, yeast, milk and the 40g of soft butter into a smooth, only lightly kneaded dough. Shape into a rectangle, wrap, and chill several hours or overnight.
Pound the cold butter between two sheets of parchment into a flat, even square — this is the butter block that will be laminated into the dough.
Encase the butter block in the dough, then roll it out and fold it in thirds (a 'single turn'). Chill 30-60 minutes.
Repeat the roll-and-fold two more times, chilling between each turn, to build up the layers without letting the butter melt into the dough.
Roll the laminated dough into a long, even sheet, trim the edges, and cut into triangles.
Roll each triangle from the wide end into a crescent shape and place on a lined tray, curving the ends slightly inward.
Proof at warm room temperature until noticeably puffy and jiggly when the tray is shaken, 2-4 hours.
Brush with egg wash and bake at 200°C (400°F), until deep golden and well-puffed, about 16-18 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 kg T45 flour (or all-purpose)
- 420 g water
- 50 g whole eggs
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 45 g fresh yeast (or about 15g instant)
- 18 g salt
- 20 g honey
- 70 g butter, softened (for the dough)
- 400 g cold butter (for lamination)
- Egg wash: equal parts egg yolk and heavy cream, whisked together
Cédric Grolet, pastry chef at Le Meurice and one of the most-followed pastry chefs in the world, builds his croissant on a dough enriched with a touch of honey, then laminates it with an unusual double-turn-then-single-turn sequence instead of three single turns — folding the dough like a wallet first, then finishing with one letter fold. He also swaps a plain egg wash for a mix of egg yolk and heavy cream, which he credits for the deep, glossy color of the baked shell.
Method
Mix the flour, sugar, salt, honey, yeast, water and egg into a dough; knead about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Knead in the 70g of softened butter until fully incorporated. Shape into a rectangle, wrap, and chill.
Place the lamination butter in the center of the dough and fold the dough over it to fully encase the butter.
Roll from bottom to top to about 7mm thick, mark the horizontal middle, fold the top and bottom edges in to meet at that mark, then fold the whole thing in half like closing a wallet — this is the 'double turn.' Wrap and chill for 10 minutes.
Roll the dough out to about 1cm thick, fold the top third down over the middle, then fold the bottom third up over that — a single letter fold.
Immediately roll the dough out to about 3.5mm thick and cut into triangles.
Roll each triangle into a crescent and place on a lined tray, then proof until puffy and jiggly, 2-4 hours.
Brush with the egg yolk and cream wash and bake at 200°C (400°F) until deep golden, about 16-18 minutes.
