Once I decided to make croissants, I spent a good bit of time searching for the recipe I wanted to use. In the end, I opted for one from Fine Cooking (can be found here), and was very pleased with it. The recipe is quite lengthy, and therefor seems intimidating, but don't stress out after seeing the long process: it's honestly not that bad! One thing that I will say, is to read the instruction––all the way through––at least once before you begin baking. Along with that, make sure you're planning ahead if you make these croissants for a specific day, because the process takes three days total.
The first day (for me this was Friday), all you have to do is make the dough. This should take no more than 15-20 minutes, because you are just dumping all the ingredients into you mixer, with the paddle attachment, and letting it knead for a couple minutes. Once that's done, you pop it on a plate, cover it, and let it sit for the night. My recommendation for this step is to use a scale to measure out all the ingredients; the recipe from Fine Cooking does include imperial measurements, but by going by weight instead, you will ensure you are exact with your measurements.
Moving on to the second day, this is when you will fold the butter into the dough. This is a little more time consuming, but if you have an open afternoon it's no problem. The process is a little weird in the sense that you take 2 1/2 sticks of butter and form it into a square, and fold it into the dough. It's very easy, but the time consuming aspect is that you have to roll it out to a certain dimension, fold it, and put in the freezer for 20 minutes, and then repeat this process so that you do it a total of 3 times.
Finally, on the third day (the day of baking), you fold the dough out very thin, cut it into triangles, and start rolling your croissants. Once they are all rolled, you have to let them proof for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Letting them proof fully is very important, so don't rush into baking them. Allowing enough time to proof will ensure that they spring in the oven, giving them the airiness you want in a croissant. When I baked my croissants, I deviated from the recipe slightly and set the oven to 400˚ F (conventional) to bake for 20 minutes, and then turned it back to 375˚ F and baked an additional 10 minutes. This allowed the croissants to have really beautiful color outside, but not become too dark as they bake all the way through.
My mom and I sat on the kitchen floor watching the croissants bake through the oven door!
Along with the croissants I served a fruit salad with pineapple, strawberries, and blueberries, and of course it wouldn't have been breakfast without a cup of tea. These croissants had the ideal texture with a flaky exterior but incredibly airy and chewy interior. They have a very subtle sweetness, and because there are no additional ingredients, the rich, buttery flavor really comes through beautifully.
Though it is an involved process, I can say with certainty that I will be remaking these croissants for special occasions in the future. If you have doubts about knowing what to do with some of the steps in the recipe, definitely watch some videos on YouTube of other people making them, because this will give you a picture of how things should look throughout the process.
This was a fantastic breakfast for Valentine's Day, because it was both extravagant and comforting. After all what says "I care about you", more than serving a breakfast which took three days to complete?! I hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day, whether it was spent with a significant other, your family and friends, or Netflix and a heart-shaped box of chocolates ;)
xx
Erin
