By: Laurie L-G.
The idea of flavoured croissants first occurred to me after hearing about the blue cheese kimchi croissant at Momofuku, in New York. Their approach was simple and rather clever: to mix the flavourings into the butter that is then folded into the dough.
In my own experimentation, based off their method, I found that due to the additions in a couple of the croissant types (ex. the chestnut and pistachio croissants), the dough was actually a lot easier to roll and handle, as the butter was softened. The coconut croissant was the most difficult, as it was hard to break up the coconut, and when chilled, held together in hard pieces that were difficult to roll out and often broke through the thin skin of dough between layers. As a result, most of them turned out quite deformed due to the difficulty I had in stretching the dough. Additions to the orange-lavender croissant were minor, so this croissant turned out the best, whereas, possibly due to the quantity of water in the chestnut paste, the chestnut croissant collapsed after baking.
In the future, I would try using additions with little water content, or perhaps simply sticking with filling (in replacement of the scrap of dough used to plump the middle) as an adaptation less detrimental to the structure.
Croissants
Loosely based off Baking with Julia edited by Dorie GreenspanDough:
- 3 tsp active dry yeast
- ¼ cup warm water
- 3 ¾ cup flour
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
Butter:
- 1 stick butter + 1 tbsp + 1/3 cup chestnut puree + 3 tbsp flour + 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 stick butter + 1 tbsp + zest of 1 (large) orange + 1 ½ tsp dried lavender + 1 tbsp flour + 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 stick butter + 1/4 cup softened coconut + 2 tbsp flour + 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 stick butter + 1 tbsp 1/3 cup ground salted pistachio + 1 tbsp flour + 3 tbsp sugar
Let butter warm at room temperature, cut into pieces, until just soft enough to cream with additions. Mold butter mixtures into a 3” by 3” square—this will be messy and difficult if they are too warm. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1-2 hours.
Divide dough into four; each piece should weigh a bit over 200 g. Roll dough into a 6” by 6“ circle, with thinner edges than the middle. Centre butter, stretch and fold over dough to make a square packet, sealing the edges well. Hit dough with rolling pin to evenly distribute butter in packet. Proceed with first fold unless dough and butter are too warm.
First fold: Roll dough so that it is 7” by 12”. Fold the dough into thirds in order to end up with a packet around 7” by 4”. Return dough to fridge for at least one hour.
Second fold: Repeat process of first fold.
Final fold: Instead of folding into three, fold each edge into the middle and then fold the two sides together, folding the dough into quarters. It will be around 7” by 3”.
Preparation:
Roll out into a 15” x 10” rectangle. Fold in half so that it is around 7.5” x 10”. Trim off the uneven edges and divide the rectangle into two, widthwise. Divide each half in two along the diagonal, unfold each pair of triangles, and cut apart; you should have 8. Stack and well cover the dough so that it does not form a skin.
To form the croissants:
Arrange on parchment covered sheet pans—you’ll likely need three. Brush croissants with 1 egg beaten with a bit of water. Let rise, uncovered, in an oven to avoid drafts and prevent them from forming too much of a skin. You can put a pan of very warm water in the bottom so that the steam will prevent a skin from forming; however, you have to be sure that it will not pre-melt the butter in the croissants. Allow them to proof until well risen (around 1-2 hours).
Baking:
Divide oven racks into thirds, preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly brush once more with egg wash, and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate, and bake for another 5 minutes or until cooked through and well browned.
