Croissant is a traditional French baked good with a crescent shape and a type of puff pastry.
The croissant has a crispy golden surface and a soft, layered interior, making it wonderfully flavorful.
Here is a detailed introduction to croissants.
1. Historical origin
Croissants originally originated from Austria-Hungary in Vienna. In the 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian Empire occupied Türkiye, and the local bakers brought the Turkish pastry bread-making technology back to Vienna, improved it, and finally invented the croissant bread.
2. Dough making
The dough of the croissant requires high-gluten flour, yeast, water, sugar, and salt.
The dough needs to be kneaded, relaxed, and folded several times to make the dough fluffy and layered.
During the kneading process, air needs to be continuously injected into the dough to make it fluffy.
3. Puff pastry making
For croissants, high-gluten flour, butter, and salt are used.
During the process, the dough and butter are crossed and folded repeatedly to form multiple layers of puff pastry.
During the baking process, the butter in the pastry will melt, giving the croissant a golden brown crispy texture.
4. Baking
Croissants need to be baked at a high temperature, usually at about 200℃ for 15-20 minutes.
During the baking process, the croissant needs to be constantly turned to ensure that its surface is evenly heated.
After baking, the croissants will have a golden brown crispy texture on the top and fluffy layers on the inside.
The following are the specific steps for making croissants:
Ingredients:
500g of high-gluten flour
10 grams of salt
50 grams of sugar
10 grams of yeast
250 ml water
250 grams of butter
Steps:
(1) Mix high-gluten flour, salt, sugar, and yeast, add water, and mix to form a dough.
(2) Take the dough out and knead it on the counter, knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
(3) Put the kneaded dough into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and ferment in a warm place for 1 hour.
(4) Place the butter in the plastic wrap roll it out into a rectangle with a rolling pin and refrigerate.
(5) Remove the fermented dough and roll it out on the counter into a rectangle, about 0.5 cm thick.
(6) Remove the chilled butter and place it in the center of the dough.
(7) Fold the dough around toward the center to completely wrap the butter in the dough.
(8) Roll the dough into a long strip, fold the ends in half, and roll it into a long strip again, repeat the above action 3-4 times.
(9) Cut the rolled dough into triangles and roll each triangle into a crescent shape.
(10) Place the rolled croissants on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
(11) Preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake the croissants in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Making croissants requires some skills and experience, and requires several practice sessions to produce delicious croissants.
