Croissant please

Hi does anyone have a good croissant recipe? I have tryed many but the rising is a problem. One recipe (french) said mike roll out encase with the flattened butter (rectangle shape) put in the fridge fo several hours then repeat the process and leave over night then repeat the folding again then cut the triangles and roll leave for an hour to rise more then cook. Other recipes dont wait so long. I am just having problem with rising. The dough just doesnt rise enough. Is it because of such a long time? What is the best time span for the process??

I let the dough rise first, then fold in the butter as described. Put in the fridge for 1 hour, repeat folding and rolling 3 times. The more turns you do the flakier the pastry, like puff pastry. Once the croissants are shaped let them rise again on the baking tray. The whole process takes nearly all day, that's why I buy my croissants from the baker.

Yeah I would buy mine too, only I live in China and they dont have a clue how to make them let alone know the true meaning or value of them.
You said you let it rise first? For how long? And after that, 3 times an hour inbetween each one?
Thanks for the help by the way. Any more help would b great.

These are really time-consuming to make as Zeppi says. The recipe I looked at says mixing time 10 minutes, cooking time 16 hours!.

The initial rising time is usually around 2 - 3 hours, and all the steps in between need half an hour or more in the firdge between each one, without including the handling time. I appreciate you are in China, so you may have to just be prepared to do the time, or go without as presumably imports are not available either.

Good Luck

Thanks, however alot of recipes say overnight. But no matter.
Imports are expensive and one must go to special western markets which are few and far between. I like baking and this is challenging.

I have a French recipe here somewhere. I'll look it up for you.

Ok, here goes. This recipe is from the French patisserie chef Michel Roux, from the book "Pastry: Savory and Sweet". This is a great book, full of mouth watering recipes with step-by-step instructions and photographs.

25g fresh yeast (I use dry yeast, 1 sachet of 7g)
250ml whole milk
500g plain flour
12g fine salt
50g caster sugar
275g butter, cold but not too hard
eggwash (1egg yolk mixed with 1 tblsp. milk)

Dissolve the yeast in the milk in a bowl. Put the flour, salt and sugar in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix at low speed, gradually adding the yeast mixture. Stop working the dough as soon as it comes away from the sides of the bowl, the texture must not become too elastic.

Cover the bowl with cling film and leave the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, this should take 45-60 minutes. Knock back the dough by flipping it over with your hand to release the carbon gas, but do not overwork it. Cover the bowl again with cling film and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but not more than 8 hours.Knock back the dough in the bowl again, then transfer it to a lightly floured work surface.

Shape the dough into a ball and cut a 3cm deep cross in the centre. Roll out the 4 sides to make flaps. Bash the butter into a rectangle with the rolling pin and place it in the centre. Fold the flaps over the butter to envelop it completely.

First turn: Lighly flouring the surface as necessary, roll the dough out to a 60x30cm rectangle. Fold in three. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

Second turn: Give the chilled dough a quarter turn, roll out to a rectangle, fold again, wrap and chill as above.

Third and final turn: Roll the dough out in the opposite direction from the previous turn to a rectangle and fold as before. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 1 hour.

Lightly flour the work surface and roll out the dough to a 65x40cm rectangle, 3mm thick. Lift it slightly off the work surface and flap to aerate it and prevent it from shrinking. Trim the 4 sides with a knife, then cut it in half lengthways to make 2 even-sized bands. Cut the dough into triangles.

Lay the dough triangle on the work surface with the base towards you. Use the knife to male a 1cm deep incision in the middle of the base, pull the 2 points slightly, then pull the point of the triangle.

Roll up the triangle from the base to the point. Immediately place on a baking sheet and turn the points inwards to make a crescent. Repeat to make the other croissants as quickly as possible.

Lightly brush the croissants with eggwash, starting on the inside and working outwards, so that the layers of dough do not stick together and prevent the croissants from rising properly.

Put the baking sheet in a warm, preferably slightly humid place and leave the croissants to rise for 2 hours until the have almost doubled in size. When they are nearly ready, preheat the oven to 170 C. Lightly brush the croissants with eggwash again and bake for 12-14 minutes.

As you can see, this is very time consuming. But these are the best croissants I have ever made myself. Give them a go and please let us know how they turned out. Sorry for any typing errors.

P.S. Depending on your flour, you might need a bit more milk.

Thank u so much for your time there. I will get to it within the hour. I look forward to the result even if it is a desaster, as baking is for me most of the time, and let you know.

My pleasure!

Wow, this is real food devotion, guys!

Enjoy every mouthful, belcant!

A.

You can use the same pastry to make delicious 'pains aux raisins'. Just roll out the dough and spread with creme patissiere (a rich thick vanilla custard) and sultanas. Roll up tightly, wrap in cling film and freeze for 30-45 minutes. Then cut the roll into 2cm thick slices. Let rise for about 1 hour and bake as above.
You can also use a savory filling like ham and cheese.

Zeppi,

Stoppit! Temptress!

A.

You are lucky I don't have any photos or you'd be running to the bakery

I am not sure what to respond to that! The imagination is running riot - You win!

A.

16 hours of cooking? Whoa.. that takes too much to prepare huh. What recipe is that so?

belcant2,
did you ever make those croissants and how did they turn out?

LeonardVice,
what's the point in asking for the recipe if you find the cooking time too much?

Yes I did, and it was another disaster. They didnt rise and they tasted of flour.

I'm sorry to hear that