French Food Friday - Making Croissants

 

You do not get much more French than croissants. There is nothing quite like a warm croissant direct from the oven.

They simply melt in your mouth and before you know it, you are reaching for another.

For those of you that would like to try making these at home, here is a simple recipe.

Yields 12x50g Croissants

Ingredients

250g bakers flour (high protein flour recommended)

100g unsalted butter (84% fat)

30g sugar

150ml luke warm milk

5g fresh yeast

Pinch of salt

Method

Place the flour in a basin and make a well in the centre. Pour in part of the warm milk and disperse the yeast in it. Add the sugar and a pinch of salt.

Mix to a fairly firm dough using as much as the remaining milk as required. Scrape down the sides of the basin. Cover with a cloth and allow to rest in a cool place for about 10 hours.

Flatten the dough with the fist on to the bench. Cover with the butter which should be firm but pliable, then fold the dough over to enclose the butter as for puff pastry.

Give two turns as per the diagram below and allow to rest for 15 minutes, then give a final third turn. Allow to rest again before shaping into croissants.

To shape, pin out the dough to a thickness of 2-3mm and cut into 12 x 7 -8cm triangles. Roll up each triangle, starting at the base, and curl the ends round to form a crescent.

Place on a baking tray with the point of the rolled triangles on top. Cover with a cloth and prove for 1.5 to 2 hours in a moderately warm place. Wash with beaten egg before baking.

Bake for 15 minutes at 220c.

Bon appetit a tous ♥

Leeann x