Croissant Class

At the beginning of October, my really good friend - the intrepid Little Z - started what was to be a few weeks of road tripping. I was so excited that a visit to me was in her plans! Naturally, when I started to plan our weekend, the first thing I checked was the schedule at the local cooking school. There was a croissant class scheduled for Saturday morning and a cannoli class scheduled for Sunday morning. I had already done the croissant class, but I didn’t remember much from it, so I wouldn’t be opposed to doing it again. The cannoli class would be a new adventure, but I was a little wary of deep frying in a class setting. So I asked Little Z which she would prefer. After a few rounds of text messages, we decided on the croissant class - and I crossed my fingers that our favorite chef instructor would be teaching!

After croissant class was booked, I went about planning the rest of our time together. I could take her out to dinner downtown either near the train station or on Main Street in my town. At some point, I could take her out to my favorite Main Street bar for cocktails. And we could also go to the cider works either on Friday night or Saturday afternoon, depending on how things worked out with her train and our class. I already had plans with Bea and her crew to take advantage of Restaurant Week, so I just tacked Little Z onto the posse. Finally, I checked the schedule at the local yoga studio to see if there were any classes or workshops that Little Z might be interested in. Sure enough, there was a two hour myofascial release class later that weekend that was calling her name.

Little Z was a bit nervous about learning to make croissants, because she thought that they might be too complicated to do at home. But, right at the start of our class, my favorite chef instructor showed up to teach and assured us that making croissants was not as difficult or as complex as the recipe package may make it seem. Basically, you make the dough, you make the butter block, and then you combine the two. From the time you make the dough to the time you incorporate the butter block should only take about an hour; otherwise, it takes about two hours total to complete the dough. However, most of the time that it takes to make croissants is hands off; the dough does a lot of resting and chilling in the process. And the same completed dough can be used to make plain croissants, chocolate croissants, or even savory croissants.

Rolling and Shaping the Dough

We started the class with a defrosted dough that was premade by the class a week or two earlier, and then later in the class we would make a dough to be used by a future class. Although each of the four woman teams would roll a complete dough, we would only be working with half a dough at a time. The other half would stay in the refrigerator to maintain its structure.

Despite being defrosted overnight in the refrigerator, the completed dough was very stiff because of all the butter layered into it. So we would really need to get in there and roll the dough roughly and strongly with our muscles. It’s important to work quickly when rolling out the dough because the friction from too much rolling with the rolling pin can melt the butter. If the dough gets really sticky during the rolling process, it is possible to sprinkle a little flour onto it to keep the butter from bleeding out of the dough. If the butter melts too much, it is also possible to put the dough back into the freezer for a short time to restructure.

Our chef instructor encouraged us to roll the dough thicker than we thought necessary because the thinness and delicacy of the croissant comes from the push/pull of shaping it the cut dough triangles into individual croissants. The ideal size of a rolled out half recipe of dough is approximately the size of a small sheet pan. Unfortunately, our chef instructor warned us that we won’t get as many croissant triangles as we would expect (or want!) from the dough.

We were provided with cardboard templates to cut the dough so as to avoid measuring and minimize waste. Because of the lamination in the dough, it wasn’t possible reroll the scraps as we would with a basic cookie dough. However, our chef instructor promised to show us a way to use the scraps so that our work on making the dough wouldn’t go into the trash. Our little team of four used two templates at a time to see what would best fit on our dough rectangle. It reminded me in a way of planning to cut shapes from fabric for making a quilt, or other sewing projects. We were trying to get the maximum number of triangles cut from the rectangle of dough with minimum waste. When it comes to cutting the dough, it is possible to use pretty much anything - a bench scraper, a pizza cutter, a knife. Of course, they didn’t trust us with knives, so I chose the pizza cutter over the bench scraper.

After all the dough triangles are cut from the dough, the scraps should be set aside in the refrigerator to work with later. Fortunately, there is a trick to forming the dough triangles into actual light and flaky croissants. First, place the triangle with the wide base facing you and cut a half inch slit into the middle of the base. Gently pull the corners of the base apart so that the slit opens up to a triangle. The dough triangle will now look more like an Eiffel Tower. Then turn up the corners at the interior triangle and roll the dough from the base over the folded edges. Once that step is complete, slip a hand under the dough triangle and gently stretch the dough toward the tip as you continue to roll toward the tip. If you go slowly, you will avoid tearing the dough while still getting a decent stretch.

Savory fillings for the croissants can include thinly sliced honey ham, thinly sliced smoked turkey, shredded gruyere cheese, and/or shredded grano padano cheese. Although it is also possible to use shredded cheddar cheese, it is actually best to use a drier less oily cheese. If using a deli meat, that should be cut into triangles that are about a quarter-inch skinnier on each side than the triangle of dough. The triangle of meat should be lined up with the top of the slit in the short wide bottom of the triangle of dough. If also using shredded cheese, that should be placed in a thin line along the bottom of the meat. Once the filling is properly lined up on the dough triangle, you would push-pull-roll the croissant just like a plain croissant. The trick is to totally encase the filling in order to prevent it from leaking out and burning.

Sweet fillings for croissants can include chocolate and almond paste. The best chocolate to use is a small baton, about the width of the pinkie finger and shorter in length than the short base of the croissant dough triangle. If you can’t find small batons of chocolate, you can always use bittersweet, semisweet, or milk chocolate chips. Starting from a quarter inch inside the edge of the dough triangle, run a line or two of chocolate chips above the slit to about a quarter inch inside the other edge of the dough triangle. Just like a savory croissant, once the filling is properly lined up on the dough triangle, you would push-pull-roll the croissant just like a plain croissant. The trick is to totally encase the chocolate in order to prevent it from leaking out. To use almond paste, you should first beat it until it is smooth and then load the smooth beaten paste into a pastry bag. Pipe out small batons about the width and length of your pinkie finger onto parchment paper lined baking tins. Freeze the batons until solid and then treat them as if you would treat a baton of chocolate.

Other sweet fillings - like jellies, jams, and fruits - have too much moisture to work in croissants. The best way to have a jam filled croissant is to cut a completely cooled croissant in half widthwise, slather the bottom half with the jam, and then replace the top half.

After all the individual croissants were shaped, we placed them on a small sheet pan lined with parchment paper and put them into the refrigerator to chill and tighten for about ten minutes prior to setting them on the back bench to rise. This chilling step is important because it prevents the butter from puddling out when the croissants get hit with the super high heat during baking. But if you are chilling the croissants in the freezer, you really should set a timer because they will quickly freeze solid! However, if refrigerator or freezer space is at a premium, you can set the croissants super close on the pan and then spread them out onto a few different pans when you take them out and set them out to rise.

The croissants will absolutely rise while sitting in a warm place, but don’t expect them to rise to twice their size. It’s best not to overproof the croissants; in fact, it would be better to underproof them than to overproof them. The croissants are temperature sensitive due to the amount of butter in them: on a cold dry day, it will take longer than average to proof, and on a hot humid day, it will take shorter than average to proof.

Although the recipe said to egg wash the croissants before setting them out to rise on the back bench, our chef instructor didn’t think that was all that necessary. So we didn’t do it! The only time we applied the egg wash was after the rise was complete and the shaped croissants were ready to go into the oven.

The croissants actually do their final rise when they hit the hot 400F oven, which is called oven spring. If a little butter puddles out in the first few minutes of baking, don’t worry about it. It will get reabsorbed by the dough as it bakes. It is possible to bake two or three trays of croissants in the same oven. It is also possible to bake in a convection oven; however, if the convection oven doesn’t autocalibrate the temperature, it will need to be set 25 degrees lower than a regular oven to achieve the same result.

Croissants bake for approximately 22 to 25 minutes. They are done when they are nice and toasty at the bottom. At home, it is best to let them sit undisturbed on the baking tin for about twenty minutes after removing them from the oven so that they can continue to cook through while resting. After that, they can be removed from the baking tins to cook completely on a wire rack.

Using Up the Dough Scraps

Although the scraps of the completed laminated dough cannot be re-rolled, they can be used to make a delicious little treat. The tiny scraps that might burn in the oven should be thrown away. If necessary, the fatter and longer scraps should be cut into ribbons roughly the length and width of your index finger. It really doesn’t matter if they aren’t all perfectly the same; in fact, it is more fun if they aren’t. Sprinkle one side of the scraps with a cinnamon and sugar mixture, and then roll the scrap up with the cinnamon and sugar on the inside. Place three or four of these little snails into one cavity of a muffin tin pan, which doesn’t need to be greased because all the butter in the dough will prevent the pastry from sticking. Repeat until all the scraps are used up.

Once all the scraps are dusted with cinnamon and sugar, rolled up, and nestled into muffin tin cavities, set the muffin tin(s) aside to let the scraps rise for about an hour or so. The scraps will rise just like croissants. After the rise, go straight to baking at 375F (not 400F) for about 15 to 18 minutes. These pastries don’t need an egg wash before they go into the oven because they will be glazed after they cool off.

While the scraps are baking, you can make a glaze out of confectioners’ sugar, a little bit of heavy cream, and a little bit of vanilla bean paste. You don’t need to be exact about measurements; you can start with about a half cup of confectioners’ sugar and then gradually add in the cream until the consistency is correct (i.e. thick like good honey). Once the scraps are baked and cooled, remove them from the muffin tins to a plate and then drizzle them with the glaze.

Making the Butter Block

Croissant dough is a laminated yeast dough, which basically means that layers of butter are encased in layers of a a dough made with yeast. Overall, the croissant recipe uses a full pound of butter, but making the butter block only requires three-quarters pound of butter. The remaining quarter pound goes into the dough.

Although the recipe stated to make the dough before making the butter block, our chef instructor prefers to make the butter block first so that she can use the bowl of the stand mixer twice with only having to wash it once. It’s okay for extra butter to get into the dough, but not okay for extra dough to get into the butter block.

While the type of flour that goes into the dough doesn’t matter all that much, the type of butter that goes into the butter block is supremely important. Using a good unsalted butter with a low water content will prevent the butter from shattering in the lamination process. Our chef instructor recommended a brand - and also recommended buying it in bulk when on sale. Of course, if there is room in your freezer, the bulk purchase of butter can be stored there too.

Making a butter block is super simple. It basically involves beating the butter for a minute or two to soften it, dumping it onto a sheet of parchment paper, beating it a bit, and then rolling it into the proper shape. Tossing the butter with two tablespoons of flour while softening it helps the butter be incorporated into the dough during the lamination process. Our chef instructor was adamant that, while we were working the butter in the stand mixer, we were only looking to soften it, not to cream it.

After the butter is softened, it gets scraped out of the bowl - and off the paddle - onto a sheet of parchment paper. The finished butter block should be be about the size of a small sheet pan, which is about the same size as a single sheet of parchment paper folded in half along the long side. However, when starting to make the butter block, you should leave about a half inch around the edges when you dump the butter onto the paper to give the butter space to spread as it gets beaten and rolled. Beating the butter with the rolling pin before rolling it out was one of our chef instructor’s tips to help get the shaping started. In the end, there should be a smooth even layer of butter rather than a perfectly rectangular shape.

The butter block can be put into the freezer to chill quickly; however, it will also freeze quickly if left in the freezer too long. Frozen butter will be almost impossible to work with during the lamination process. Therefore, it is best to set the completed butter block into the refrigerator to chill while making the dough and allowing it to rest.

Making the Dough

Croissant dough starts by activating the yeast in warm milk, which is actually best done before starting the butter block. The milk should be hot enough so that it can be touched without feeling an ouch; any hotter and the heat will kill the yeast rather than activate it. Although the recipe calls for whole milk, it is possible to use any milk that you have on hand. There is absolutely no need to buy special milk for the recipe! I thought it curious that the recipe had different measurements for active dry yeast and instant yeast. Our chef instructor explained that the instant yeast has smaller granules than the standard active dry yeast, so less instant yeast is necessary to get the same rise as the standard active dry yeast. She didn’t express a preference for which type of yeast to use; however, she did stress the importance of activating in the warm milk before starting on the dough. Of course, in order to properly activate the yeast, the sugar should really be stirred into the milk first to ensure it dissolves completely before sprinkling the yeast over the milk and stirring that in.

Our chef instructor was adamant that we use a paddle attachment rather than a dough hook for mixing the croissant dough. Because the dough is so rough and shaggy, it requires the additional surface area of the paddle attachment. Although we used super cool KitchenAid stand mixers to mix our dough in class, it can definitely be done by hand in a bowl. That would be a better option than mixing it with a hand mixer.

Using basic all-purpose flour in the croissant dough will result in the best gluten development. Of course, our chef instructor had another bargain tip here: we can buy all-purpose flour in bulk when it is on sale and store it in the freezer to maintain its freshness.

Again, our chef instructor stressed the importance of not overworking the dough. The mixer should really be stopped when the dough is barely mixed. The dough does not need to be kneaded until the gluten develops because the gluten development will take place when the dough is rolled out on the bench during the lamination process. Even after a brief knead on the bench, the dough still will look pretty funky; however, the look and texture will improve after it rests in the refrigerator for 30 to 40 minutes. While it rests, the gluten will moisturize, resulting in a much improved texture. Therefore, it is important to wrap the dough with a little space so that it grow a touch while it moisturizes. If the dough is left to moisturize in the refrigerator for more than 30 to 40 minutes, it may expand too much.

Laminating the Dough

Personally, I thought that laminating the dough was the most fun part of the class. The lamination process starts out by rolling out the fully rested and moisturized dough into a rectangle that is about a half inch bigger than the butter block on each side. We didn’t pull out rulers to measure the gap, but it looked like about the length of my thumbnail. In fact, we didn’t pull out rulers to measure anything! Our chef instructor was of the mind that we could estimate sizes well enough using commonly available articles - a sheet of parchment paper, a gallon ziplock bag - that rulers were unnecessary.

Once the dough is rolled out, it is time to take the butter block out of the refrigerator. The butter block should be stiff but still somewhat pliable. Peel off one side of the parchment to expose the butter and then line up the butter block in the center of the dough. After the butter block has been properly positioned, peel off the rest of the parchment paper and throw it away. Using your fingers, gently smooth out the edges of the butter block to neaten them up and bring them within a half inch of the edge of the rectangle of rolled out dough.

Laminating the dough only requires three different turns - a three-fold, a four-fold, another three-fold. It is possible to roll and fold the dough more than this, but why bother? It is just extra effort that doesn’t markedly improve the end result. If you do all the folds correctly, you will end up with over twelve layers of butter and dough, which is more than enough for a super flaky croissant. Of course, because the two different types of folds can be difficult to visualize, we practiced using kitchen towels before actually trying it with the dough.

The first three-fold was the easiest for me because we could draw on the exposed butter. Basically, we drew lines on the butter to divide the rectangle into thirds lengthwise. Then we literally folded the bottom third up to the center and the top fold down over the bottom third, and then rotated the dough so that the short side was parallel to us. When laminating the dough, always keep the short side of the dough parallel to the edge of the bench, the long side of the dough perpendicular to the edge of the bench, and the open seam of the dough on the right. We patted the dough a few times to seal it, and then wrapped it tightly in plastic wrap before tucking it into a gallon sized ziploc. After the first three-fold (and each subsequent fold), the parcel of dough and butter should be able to neatly fit into a gallon sized ziploc bag. The ziploc parcel must either go into the refrigerator to rest for at least 30 minutes or into the freezer to be completed later.

After the dough chills, it is time to do the book fold, which is the four-fold. That was a little more challenging for me to comprehend. Basically, we set the dough on the bench with the short side parallel to us and then rolled the dough back into a rectangle that was a little larger on all sides than a folded single sheet of parchment paper (roughly the size of a small sheet pan). With our finger, we drew lines on the dough to divide it into quarters lengthwise. The bottom quarter folded up and the top quarter folded down, leaving about a half inch space in the middle. Then the top half folded down - to close the book. Again, we rotated the dough so that the short side was facing us and the seam was open on the right. We gave it a few pats to seal it, wrapped the dough tightly in plastic wrap, and tucked it into a gallon ziploc bag. Just like after the three-fold, the dough parcel must either go into the refrigerator to rest for at least 30 minutes or into the freezer to be completed later.

The last step in the lamination process is another three-fold. However, we didn’t have time in class to do that step. But it is just the same as the first three-fold, so our chef instructor didn’t think she was cheating us out of any learning - and I agree! However, she did clearly label the ziploc bag with permanent marker to indicate that the dough we made needed another three-fold so that she would remember to do that before giving our dough to the next class.

Working Ahead

Our chef instructor gave us a very simple formula for working ahead: (1) complete the dough, (2) shape the dough into croissants, (3) freeze the shaped croissants, (4) defrost as many croissants as you need in the refrigerator overnight, (5) let the croissants rise for about an hour, (6) bake as usual. She also said that it was possible to freeze both the plain croissants and the chocolate croissants after baking. (The savory croissants should not be frozen.). A frozen baked croissant should be thawed overnight in the refrigerator - not on the counter! - and then refreshed in a 350F oven for about five minutes.

It is also possible to freeze the dough at any point after the first three-fold. The butter must be somewhat incorporated into the dough before freezing. However, be sure to label the ziploc with what stage the dough is in so that it can be properly finished it before it gets rolled out and shaped. It is also possible to cut a complete dough into two halves so that the halves can be frozen and defrosted separately; however, an incomplete dough must definitely not be cut in half because that would ruin the lamination process.

Our chef instructor strongly recommended freezing the completed dough if there were no plans to use it within 24 hours. It is possible to defrost the dough and hold it in the refrigerator for about a day, but it shouldn’t be left in the refrigerator much longer than that. Otherwise, it will start to ferment and turn an off-putting grey color.

The Verdict

Little Z and I had a terrific time at the croissant class! Not only was our chef instructor super informative (I got made fun of for the three pages of additional notes that I took) but she was also super practical and kind of funny. The croissants that were baking while we were laminating the dough smelled absolutely heavenly. Little Z was a little concerned by how brown the croissants were, but our chef instructor assured us that they were the perfect color. And they tasted like they had come from a bakery! The process was easier than I remembered it, so croissant making may be in my future - for one of the upcoming winter holidays….