Feeling overconfident from my streak of smash hit dishes, I decided to take on the notoriously difficult (but irresistibly delicious) butter croissant. As you may know, croissant-making is quite technical, and takes 2-3 days to prepare. I’ll admit, I was really intimidated by the recipe; it seemed like an inordinate amount of commitment for some fancy buttered bread. But I freaking LOVE croissants and finally gathered the nerve to make them after discovering a well-received blog post with a 3 minute video tutorial that made everything look effortless. It wasn’t. I’m sure I used every swear word in the book during the folding process after my poorly laminated butter started oozing out from every side of the dough as I was rolling it. It was a very sticky, frustrating nightmare.

I thought the dough was - pardon my french - sans espoir, but decided to persevere under the assumption that even in the wake of a disastrous end-product, I’d have some interesting blog post material to work with. Halloween-themed blog titles for my ghoulish boo-tter croissants actually started coming to mind as I was rolling the dough.

Since it was a buttery mess, I was too disheartened to snap photos during the process (which I now regret), because by some stroke of luck everything turned out [better than] fine. I did manage to get this photo of the vast amount of butter that goes into a single batch though:

Things quickly went downhill after the photo was taken. I have gained so much respect for french pastry chefs over the last 48 hours. My sister-in-law even saw my look of defeat sometime during the first fold and suggested I run out to the grocery store for some Pillsbury® Crescents “just in case".

My shaped croissant dough looked pretty dismal going into the oven… so my expectations were fairly low. But when the kitchen came alive with the smell of buttery goodness, I couldn’t help but flip the oven light on for a peek. I wish I was kidding when I say I spent the next 8 minutes sitting in front of the oven like a kid watching the unbelievable transformation. My toad-textured dough somehow evolved into perfectly browned, flaky croissants fit for a French king!

The recipe is either really foolproof, or I got really, really lucky on this one. I was 8 the last time I had an authentic croissant from a Parisian Boulangerie, so I can’t really compare these to the real deal — but as a self-proclaimed croissant connoisseur, these are real close - if not better - than the stuff you’ll find in many Toronto patisseries. More than half the batch disappeared within the first hour!

Croissants are truly a labour of love… but once you take a bite through the crispy exterior and savour the airy, buttery layers of a freshly baked croissant, I’m sure you’ll agree that it is worth every single hour. I can’t wait to give this recipe another go so I can work on technique and start rollin’ up some cheese and chocolate!

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RECIPES

Ingredients (source)

Combine milk, brown sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 5 minutes until foamy.

Add the flour and sea salt to the foamed yeast and mix with dough hooks (or with your hands) until dough is smooth and soft (~ 7 minutes).

Transfer dough to a floured work surface and knead by hand, adding more flour if necessary to form a soft, slightly sticky dough. Shape the dough into a 1 1/2 inch rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold (about 2 hours. Weekend baker suggests refrigerating the dough overnight).

Shape the butter by cutting the butter sticks into quarters and arranging them into a square in between two pieces of wax paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the butter into a 17x17cm square. Refrigerate the butter (it’s best to keep it chilled so it doesn’t melt during folding process) and prepare to roll out the chilled dough.

Roll the refrigerated dough out into a 26x26cm square.

Place the chilled butter slab at a 45 degree angle to the dough slab (see image above) and fold the flaps of dough over the butter, meeting in the centre (like an envelope). Seal the butter in the dough by gently pressing down on the seams with your palms.

FOLDING: with a lightly floured rolling pin (try to keep flour usage at a minimum during the folds!), roll the sealed butter dough into a 20x60cm rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Start from the centre of the dough and roll towards (but not all the way to) each edge of the dough. This helps maintain an even thickness throughout the dough. You may also use your palms to shape or straighten the edges (you want to lengthen the dough without widening it). Fold the dough letter style, into thirds, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Repeat the folding process three more times (4 times total) with 1 hour between each fold. Make sure the 'open end’ is facing you each time before rolling. In other words, you should be turning the dough 90 degrees before each fold. After the fourth fold, wrap the dough tightly in plastic and chill for at least 8 hours.

SHAPING AND BAKING: Once the dough has been throughly chilled, cut the dough in half (you want it to stay cold when shaping, so rolling it one half at a time is ideal) and on a lightly floured surface, gently roll the halved dough into a long narrow strip (20cm x 55cm). Cut the long strip into quarters (producing four rectangles), and then cut those rectangles diagonally in half to form triangles.

Flatten the triangles gently with your hands or by applying very light pressure to a rolling pin. Score the centre of the short side of your triangle, and roll both sides outwards to form thin points. Then, with the palm of your hand, gently roll the crescent down the centre of the triangle. Try to keep the flap on the bottom of the croissant to prevent it from unrolling.

Arrange the croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart.

Combine the egg and water and whisk together to form the egg wash. Brush a thin layer of egg wash onto each croissant, and cover them with a tea towel.

Proof the croissants for 2-3 hours until they are kind of spongy (you should be able to faintly see the beautiful layers on the side of the dough). Brush another thin layer of the egg wash onto the croissants before placing them in the oven.

Bake the croissants at 425F for 12-15 minutes until golden.

Add the pumpkin spice and puree and simmer the syrup for about 10 minutes, then strain.

Steam your cold milk, or heat it on the stove.

Mix the syrup into your shot of espresso and add the milk.

Top with cinnamon (if desired) and enjoy.

Bon appétit!