Comments on: croissants 1 (tartine)

By: Kristin

Kristin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:17:52 +0000

I have made croissants many times (I’m a professional pastry chef), and I can tell you that the above recipe is missing at least one turn. All the recipes I’ve ever read (and I’ve tried several) call for either three or four turns (*not* counting the initial fold to enclose the butter block.) So I’m sure you’d have a better final product if you rolled and folded the dough out one more time. If you only fold the dough three times total, including the first to enclose the butter, you will only end up with nineteen layers of dough (and eighteen layers of butter.) In culinary school they had us fold three times after the butter enclosure, and in two other recipes I’ve tried it was four times. Three folds would give you fifty-five layers of dough, and four would give you 163 layers. Try this and see if you get a better croissant. Also, the proofing method makes a big difference in the butter-oozing-out problem. A cool proof might solve this.

By: bridget

bridget — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:53:29 +0000

richard – They are similar, but in my experience, puff pastry is easier. Since croissant dough is kneaded, it has more gluten development, and so the dough is more elastic. When you roll puff pastry dough out, it pretty much stays rolled out, but croissant dough springs back.

By: -richard-

-richard- — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:43:46 +0000

Would I be wrong in saying that Croissant dough is essentially the same as a puff pastry dough with yeast added. I have made puff pastry but never croissants… I have been thinking about it and think ill give it a try now. Thanks.

By: Noah

Noah — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 07:46:04 +0000

not bad for a first attempt, haha proud of you
here are just some pointers to take note
- do not need to knead the dough that much once ingredients come together that is it. as the rolling process also will work the gluten
- work fast with the folding
- keep the rolling pin very cold ( trust me it helps!)
- always use french all purpose flour
- add a little vinegar ( it helps lighten the dough)
- try to find french butters cause most of them are beurre sec

By: dani

dani — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:39:24 +0000

I just found your blog, and although this was posted a few months ago, I would like to give you some tips:

1) make sure the edges are sealed when you originally put the butter in, that makes ALL the difference.
2) The refrigerator is your friend. Cold dough is soooo much better than warm dough.
3) Watch how much flour you add when you are folding the dough. You really don’t need that much, and the more flour that is added, the tougher the dough becomes.

Hope this helps in the future!

By: Irene

Irene — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:54:37 +0000

I too have tried various croissant recipes; I’ve had the most success with ones from Rose Levy-Berenbaum’s “Pie and Pastry Bible” and from “Baking with Julia”. I found the Tartine recipe to be overly complicated (and I’m not one to shy away from complicated recipes) and to produce too large a quantity of dough. Good luck and keep at it!

By: Ellie

Ellie — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:37:30 +0000

Croissants are on my list of things to make this week. I can’t wait! Yours look beautiful! What a wonderful pastry to try and perfect!

By: Sara

Sara — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:59:40 +0000

Great job. There is no trick to laminated doughs. You just have to have practice and experience, so keep at it! This stuff is always so worth the work

By: Margaret

Margaret — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:51:23 +0000

You made croissants. I am impressed. They look way better than mine ever would.

By: Paula

Paula — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:36:32 +0000

I made the same recipe and alas had the same problem with the butter running all over Perhaps the recipe calls for too much butter. I have not tried it again.