I seriously have not had an urge to "nest" over the last month...I mean sure everything is ready and washed and now just waiting...but I wasn't on my hands and knees cleaning the grout in the shower (that's what husbands are for). The only strong urges I have had, recently, is to bake. Last week I was hoping and praying that the muffins I whipped up would be the the final bake until the wee bairn arrived...but...nope. I am now 6 days overdue and NEED baked goods in the house.
To remedy both my urge to bake, and my desire for homemade baked goods I decided to do something a little bit crazy over the weekend...I made croissants...from scratch...with my own fair hands.
During one of my many hours watching Food Network over the past weeks Anna Olson dedicated a whole episode of her Bake programme to making croissants. Having watched her make them step by step gave me the courage to actually make them at home!
I'm not sure why I have shied away from making croissants before (especially with my love for anything yeasty). I mean legit patissiers must leave their dough to rest and proof for ages, something that might be a bit tedious for the home baker...but the recipe I followed gave the option to leave the dough to rise anywhere from 1-8 hours.
I started my dough around 6pm on Saturday and decided to leave it to rest for an hour between folds, leaving it overnight in the fridge for the final rest...before shaping it, leaving it to rest again, and then finally baking!
I was really happy with the outcome. I halved the recipe (although I could have easily devoured the 30 croissants the original recipe promised) so I'm not sure if my tinkering did anything to the quality of the dough. They didn't rise as much as I would have liked, and probably could have done with a couple more minutes to really crisp up...but they are seriously buttery, flaky and delicious.
As I type this the news is reporting that the Royal Baby is on its way...I'm a little bit jealous...but at least I've got croissants!
Way to go! I've made homemade croissants once, using the Great British Bakeoff recipe. It was a two-day process, my husband and I did it over a Christmas break. All the steps, hard word and waiting was worth it though, they were fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAbout proofing (proving?), we make our pizza dough in the morning before work and leave it to proof all day; it's so light and crispy, and makes a beautiful crust!
They look very crumbly and perfect!
ReplyDeleteThese look fabulous! I have never made croissants but seeing these look so fresh and delicious has got me thinking.....!
ReplyDeleteI hope all is well with you?? The croissants looks amazing, I did try some once from the most complicated recipe ever invented - and they were a disaster!
ReplyDelete