We all know such a variety of pastries as delicious, fragrant and ruddy croissants made from yeast dough and shaped like a crescent. France is their homeland, where they are an essential attribute of any breakfast. This pastry is also very popular with us: it can be ordered in most cafes and restaurants, bought in culinary, and even cooked by yourself. Today we will tell about how to make croissants at home.
Classic recipe
If you want to learn how to make croissants at home according to all the rules, then this cooking option is perfect for you. So, this baking according to the classic recipe has no filling. In order to prepare delicious croissants, we need the following ingredients: wheat flour - 230 grams for the dough plus 3-4 tablespoons for sprinkling, 15 grams of fresh yeast, half a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of sugar, 110 grams of butter and three tablespoons milk.
Cooking process
First, sift about a quarter of the cooked flour into a large bowl. We collect it with a knoll, in the center of which we make a recess. In a separate bowl, we brew yeast with a couple of tablespoons of warm water. Then the yeast solution is poured into a depression made in the flour, mix and roll the dough into a ball. We cut it crosswise, put it in a deep bowl and fill it with warm water. The rest of the flour is mixed with sugar, salt, milk and half the prepared butter. Knead the dough until it becomes firm, uniform and elastic.
When a ball dipped in water rises to the surface and doubles in size, we catch it, dry it and mix it with another part of the dough. Knead until smooth. Then we transfer the dough into a saucepan pre-sprinkled with flour, cover with a lid and leave overnight for proofing in a cool place.
We continue to learn about how to make croissants according to the classic recipe. So, the next day we take out the dough and roll it into a rectangle. Mentally divide it in height into three equal parts, then coat the middle part with the remaining butter. Then we cover the central part with the first right and then the left third. We turn the dough 90 degrees and roll out again. Then again we fold three times, turn and roll. Then we send it for a quarter of an hour to the refrigerator. Then this procedure should be repeated hedgehog three times.
We turn to the formation of croissants
So, we have almost learned how to make croissants from the dough. Roll the resulting puff pastry to a thickness of 3 mm, cut lengthwise into two identical strips, each of which is then cut into triangles. From the obtained figures we roll the bagels, roll them in the shape of a horseshoe and put them on a baking sheet sprinkled with flour. We heat the oven to a temperature of 220 degrees and send our croissants to it. After five minutes, reduce the heat to 200 degrees and bake another 15 minutes. Ready-made pastries should increase in size and acquire a golden color. So, we learned how to make croissants according to the classic recipe. Of course, the process cannot be called fast and simple, but the result will surely please both you and your household and guests. Bon Appetit!
How to make croissants from puff pastry with filling
With how to cook this delicious pastry according to the classic recipe, we figured it out. Now we offer to learn how to make croissants with condensed milk, chocolate and other filling. So, some more recipes for delicious French pastries.
How to make croissants with chocolate
In order to prepare this delicious pastry for breakfast or just for tea, you need to take care of the following products in the kitchen: for dough - 10 grams of dried yeast, 300 grams of butter, a pound of wheat flour, 4 grams of salt, 50 grams of corn starch, 200 ml of milk, 50 grams of sugar, two chicken eggs; for the filling - 10 grams of butter, 50 grams of dark chocolate, 10 ml of cream; for shaving brush - 10 ml of milk and 4 grams of powdered sugar.
Go to the cooking process.
First, dissolve the yeast in a small amount of warm water and leave it for 10-15 minutes. Then sift the starch and flour, add sugar, salt, egg yolks, milk, melted butter (50 grams) and yeast mass. For about 10 minutes, knead the dough, which should become uniform and elastic. We roll it into a ball, wrap it in film and put it in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
We take 250 grams of butter, wrap it with cling film and beat it well with a rolling pin. Thanks to this procedure, the oil will change its structure, becoming softer. Add 40 grams of flour and mix well. We spread the butter on parchment paper and carefully roll it out, forming a square. Then we put it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
We extract from the refrigerator the dough that has been displaced and increased in volume. We cut the ball crosswise. Then we stretch the dough into a square and carefully roll it into a layer. In the middle we spread a plate of cold butter. Wrap the dough around it and pinch the edges of the seam. Roll out the dough into a rectangle, then fold it into three layers. We pack it in film and put it back in the refrigerator for one hour. Shake the cold dough from excess flour, roll it into a rectangle and turn it into three layers again. In this case, it is necessary to roll out in one plane. Again, wrap the dough in film and put it in the refrigerator for an hour. This procedure should be repeated four more times. Then we remove the dough in the refrigerator for the night.
Final stage
If you’re not tired yet, we suggest finding out until the end how to make croissants with chocolate filling. So, the next day we take out the cold dough from the refrigerator and roll it into a thin layer, which we divide first into strips and then into triangles. We proceed to the preparation of the filling. To do this, in a small saucepan we combine chocolate, cream and butter and heat the mixture, stirring constantly, until it acquires a uniform consistency. In the middle of the triangles from the dough, lay out a little filling and wrap in the shape of a bagel. Put the croissants on a baking sheet, cover with cling film and leave for 40-50 minutes. Then coat them with milk and sugar and send to the oven preheated to 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Delicious pastries are ready! Bon Appetit! By the way, as a filling, you can use not only chocolate, but also condensed milk, jam, jam, dried apricots and many other products to your taste.
How to quickly cook croissants from ready-made puff pastry
If you suddenly wanted to treat yourself to pastries, but don’t want to spend a lot of time and effort preparing it, or guests are on the doorstep, and there is nothing to tea in the kitchen, but there is puff pastry in the refrigerator, then this recipe is for you. You can quickly and easily make fragrant croissants that will appeal to everyone. So, in addition to the ready-made puff pastry, you will also need butter, one chicken yolk for lubrication, as well as the filling of your choice (chocolate, condensed milk, jam, etc.).
Start the cooking process
Defrost puff pastry. This is best done at room temperature. Then we roll it out half a centimeter thick. Cut the dough into triangles. Holding each triangle by the base, gently pull it at the top, thereby slightly extending it. At the base of the figure, we make a small incision. We spread a little filling on the dough, you can also add a small piece of butter. Gently roll the rolls (this must be done, starting from the base). Lightly wrap the tips inward, giving the culinary product a crescent shape. According to connoisseurs of French cuisine, a real croissant should be twisted in six layers. However, if you have failed to achieve just such a result, do not despair. Baking will still be very tasty. So, we turn the rolled croissants onto a baking sheet covered with baking paper and grease with whipped yolk. We heat the oven to 200 degrees and send our product to it. We bake croissants for about 20 minutes until they turn golden. We take our goodies out of the oven and sit down to drink tea! Bon Appetit!
So, today we learned how to make croissants with a variety of fillings based on both ready-made and home-made dough. We hope that our recipes will appeal to you, and you will regularly pamper yourself and your family with this delicious pastry.