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Karen Bornarth's and Roger Gural's Croissants

Posted by Chichi Wang, October 6, 2009 at 5:00 PM

Recipe and illustrations courtesy of Karen Bornarth and Roger Gural. For photos and more information, read my recap of the croissant-making class.

- makes 30 70-gram croissants -

Ingredients

1000 grams white flour (A.P.)
200 grams milk, cold
380 grams water, lukewarm
130 grams sugar
18 grams instant yeast (you can substitute 22 grams of active dry yeast)
22 grams salt
5 grams malt (optional)
40 grams butter, cut into pieces

Procedure

Mixing

Measure out the flour, salt, butter, and if using, the malt. (The malt is made from barley, and resembles molasses. Malt helps to brown the croissants.) Measure the sugar into a separate container.

If using instant yeast, add it to the flour. If using active dry yeast, rehydrate it in 100 grams of the lukewarm degree water from the ingredients. (Note: the lukewarm water should not pass 100 degrees F, or else the yeast will be killed.)

Measure out the liquid ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, incorporate all the ingredients except the sugar and mix on lowest speed for 3 to 5 minutes until the dough comes together. Add the sugar in two stages and mix for 2 minutes more or until the sugar is completely incorporated. The dough will be fairly stiff, but still sticky. There will be a minimum of gluten development. Desired dough temperature is between 73 - 78 degrees F.

Rising

Round the dough, cover with plastic, and allow to rise in a 75 degree environment for 60 minutes.

Flatten the dough and with a rolling pin, roll it out to a 16" x 12" rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate or freeze until the dough is at a minimum below 60 degrees.

The dough may be refrigerated overnight.

Lock In

Prepare the butter. Pound out cold butter to make it more extensible without softening it. Using a large sheet of parchment paper for guidance, roll out the butter to an 8" x 13" rectangle. (To do so, fold the parchment paper into an 8" x 13" rectangle and roll the butter between the sheets). The butter should be between 50 - 60 degrees. Verify the consistency and temperature and refrigerate or leave out at room temperature if necessary.

Verify the dimensions of the cold dough and place the butter in the center of the dough. It should be the same height as the dough. Wrap the sides of the dough around the butter package; they should meet. Take the butter out of the parchment and wrap the dough around the butter. Pound the dough with a rolling pin to make the butter more extensible.

Lamination

Roll the dough out to a 32" x 8" rectangle. Perform a single fold. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Rotate the dough 90 degrees so the spine is on your left and roll out again to 32" x 8". Perform a double fold. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll out to 15" x 8".

Wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 60 minutes. (Alternatively the dough could be refrigerated overnight).

Dividing and Shaping

Roll the dough out to a 32" x 16" rectangle, cut in half to form 32" x 8" rectangles. Divide the dough into triangles with a 4" base for plain croissants (or 4" x 4" squares for chocolate croissants).

Cut a 1/2" mark in the center of the base of each triangle. This will allow the base of the triangle to stretch out, making the most elongated croissants.

Hold the croissants by the base and stretch with your thumb down the center of the croissant. This will elongate the dough and allow you to get more rotations in your croissants. With the pointiest tip of the triangle nearest to you, roll the other two points of the triangles towards you, tapering the edges with your palms as you go along. When you have finished, the pointiest tip of the triangle should be tucked under the crescent.

Place on a sheet pan and apply the egg wash lightly, taking care not to interfere or roughen the delicate layers of the dough.

Proofing

Allow to rise for 2 hours at 78 degrees until an indentation on the shoulder of the croissant barely springs back. The croissants should be light and have noticeabley increased in volume.

Baking

Apply the egg wash a second time and bake at roughly 400 degrees, for 12 - 15 minutes until golden to dark brown. Serve immediately. Once cooled down, the croissants may also be frozen for future consumption. On the day of eating, refresh the croissants in a 400 degree oven for 2 or 3 minutes, until re-crisped.

After the jump, accompanying diagrams.

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Tags: baking, croissants