June 26, 2009

Flying Solo

Due to a family crisis, I was unable to attend my last Pro Baking 1 class, croissant and puff pastry. The makeup class won't be until the fall and I was feeling a little nervous about starting Pro 2 without those skills under my belt. I'd already learned to make the croissant dough in class so I took out my notebook and got to work. Initially I was sure I had failed because the dough was way stickier than I remembered but since I'd already invested half my household supply of flour I soldiered on. After adding more flour and a few minutes of kneading I felt I had something I could work with and ultimately I was happier with this dough than the one I had made previously. The butter didn't even squish out the sides when I rolled and turned it- very encouraging. I refrigerated the dough overnight and got an early start this morning in the hopes that they'd be done in time for breakfast. I formed my plain and chocolate croissants and let them rise for 1 1/2 hours, popped them in the oven and crossed my fingers. 20 minutes later...


Success! I couldn't believe it. They looked really great and tasted even better. 2 months ago I never would have attempted croissants at home and now I can't wait to make them again. Sweet, buttery, flaky victory!
For great croissant tutorials and recipes, go here and here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those look absolutely beautiful. I've made puff pastry, but never croissants. They are on my list, though.

Anonymous said...

Your croissants look perfect. Great job!

Unknown said...

Hello, they look great. Hope the class is going well. - David