Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Croissant Makeup

So I realized that I really didn't have much posted in the last post in the way of how to roll a croissant and make it look presentable. Here are some pictures on just how to do this. First, the large sheet of laminated dough that you roll out you want to cut into triangles as I have here. Before you cut you generally want to wait about 20 minutes to let the dough relax. You have just stretched out the dough and if you cut immediately its just going to recoil instead of staying in its position. You should end up with tons of triangles that can then be rolled up. You want to take one triangle and cut a small slit in the base. This makes the base a bit wider and allows for the little wings that come out the side, otherwise you would have to cut very oddly shaped triangles out of your dough. When you begin to roll, make sure that if any of the sides are sticky or unsightly, they are facing up. Then you want to pull the "wings" out so that there is a wider base to the croissant. From here you can begin to roll up from the base. You want to roll with one hand and hold the tail with the other hand. Once you have rolled about half way you want to start stretching the tail to make it longer and thinner and continue rolling. This is how you end up with many revolutions that make the final product look fantastic. Keep rolling until the final end of the tail is attached to the body of the croissant. Place the entire thing on the tail so that it doesn't come up during baking. Then take the wings and fold them inwards. I have yet to find a very reliable way to keep the wings real tight during baking, but I will figure it out. Once they have been rolled and are looking good you want to proof them an hour at 80 degrees so that they get nice and light. From there they can be put in the oven until the inside reaches about 215 degrees and the tops are nicely brown. If you want a shiny crust, brush the surface of each one with egg yolk, it gives a great finished touch to the croissants. If you want a matte crust egg whites or milk is best to brush with. For a very flaky and plain crust use water or simply bake them the way they are. I also recommend putting in some chocolate to make a dessert croissant. Semi-sweet is best in my experience, but its all personal preference.

No comments:

About Me

My photo
I am a 22 year old graduate student studying nutrition to become a registered dietitian. I cook as much unhealthy stuff as possible to figure out how to teach people to live with temptation.