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croissant - attempt 2

Here it is. My second attempt at croissants, and boy have some improvements been made. I made some significant changes to the proofing schedule and size of this batch. The result was a very flakey and large croissant. I’ll go ahead and dive into the pros and cons for this attempt.

positives

  • good rise
  • distinct, flakey layers
  • browning on the outside
  • buttery flavor
  • overnight rise before shaping, no overnight rise before baking

improvements/notes for next time

  • still no honeycomb!
  • some butter breakage during lamination
  • dough was very difficult to roll out.

INGREDIENTS

  • 605 g bread flour
  • 66 g granulate sugar
  • 12 g kosher salt
  • 7 g active dry yeast
  • 214 g room temperature water
  • 120 g room temperature whole milk
  • 57 g chilled, diced unsalted butter
  • 340 g butter with high butter fat (at least 84%) for lamination
  • egg wash: one egg whisked with a splash of milk

METHOD

recipe: Claire Saffitz, new york times cooking

butter: Plugra, 220 g

flour: King Arthur bread flour

mix dough: mix all dough ingredients except butter until a shaggy dough forms, cover with a damp towel and set aside for 10 minutes. Add butter pieces mixing on medium-low speed. Mix on medium speed until a stretchy, elastic dough forms (8-10 minutes)

1st proof: form dough into a ball. Allow to rise for 45 minutes to an hour at room temperature. Transfer dough to the refrigerator and chill for 4 hours

lamination: 3 single turns with 20 minutes chilling in between. Make sure to seal the dough before rolling out and allow to sit for 5 minutes after removing form the fridge. Otherwise, the butter will break when you try to roll it out

shaping:

  • roll the dough into a baking sheet sized slab. Transfer to a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, freeze for 20 minutes, then chill overnight.
  • remove from the fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Use a wheel cutter to cut 4 4x14-inch rectangles.
  • cut each rectangle across the diagonal to create 8 triangles.
  • extend the base and tip of each croissant, then roll onto itself and transfer tip down onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Arrange 4 croissant per baking sheet.

2nd proof: cover croissants with plastic wrap. Proof in a humid, 70-75 degree oven for 2-2.5 hours until they have doubled in size. Remove from the oven and egg wash, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes while the oven preheats to 375°F

bake: remove croissants from the refrigerator. Egg wash a second time before transferring to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate pans, then bake for another 10-15 minutes until croissants are deeply brown