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The Fresh from the Oven challenge this month is Croissants. Brilliant, I thought. I’ve always wanted to make Croissants, I thought. How hard can it be, I thought…. Oh wow, for me, it was quite a mess!!!!! BUT, I am determined to figure out where I went wrong and try again. I have some ideas of what went wrong but please, feel free to comment and give advice!
You can find the original recipe over at Lavender and Lovage. I will write it out next time, or the next, whichever time I’m successful!
It all started off so well……
A dough like any other?
I think my first mistake was to over-knead the dough. I’ve since learned that croissant dough should not be over worked as the folding and rolling with the butter develops the gluten enough. Second mistake was using butter that was too cold (I think).
Things seemed to be going well up to this point. Then it went downhill 😦 So sad. Anyway, once I started rolling the layers together the hard butter in between started tearing through the dough and I ended up rolling butter. As I got into the later layering I kept running into spots of pure butter. The rolling pin was covered in butter, the countertop was covered in butter, I think there was butter in my hair, on my face, even in my belly button (joking but you get the point).
Butter poking through.
I’m not one to give up easily though. No, not me! So I rolled, layered, rolled again, cut the dough into triangles, shaped them into croissants. I was laughing like a mad woman throughout this fiasco, at this point there really was butter everywhere. I had no idea what these would turn out like but DAMMIT I was going to make croissants! Look at the picture below and you’ll notice that there are chunks of pure butter sticking out all over.
Look at all that butter everywhere!
So I baked them and some of them actually looked like croissants. The taste wasn’t bad either….but they weren’t flaky, they were rather dense and kinda chewy…. but I will press on and I WILL make these again before the challenge is over and try to redeem myself! 
Hilarious! I applaud you for even taking on such a task! I once watched someone make them with Julia Child and realized just how complicated the whole process is. She made it look effortless but I knew better. They do look good though!
Yeah, I figure I’ll just post my disasters too. That way people can see that baking is not all perfection! Usually the disasters taste good so there’s that….
OH what a shame! I can see from the photos that the dough was not as smooth as it should have been when you shaped them……and your butter seems to be too hard too, as you knew and said! However, well done for attempting them and they are NOT that bad, they do seem to have a flake…..maybe with less handling and softer butter they will be TOP croissants! THANKS for giving the challenge a go though…….Karen 🙂
Yes I’m pretty sure the cuplrit was the butter. I will try it again though…. can’t let a little french pastry be my master!
Poor thing. God bless you for venturing out and taking on that project like Donna up above said. I hope you get it right soon. I know my place in the kitchen and croissants as delicious as they are, are just not up my alley!
Thanks. I am determined to get it right at least once and then I will continue to buy them at the store!
You are so brave!!! I am sure you will conquer Le croissant soon 🙂
And for a first attempt these still look beautiful! I would have some mutated pastry thing which is why I don’t feel puff pastry or croissants are my type of baking 😉
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you! I felt deflated, not brave, although it was pretty funny after awhile. I kept telling Jason that they just couldn’t be right! But puff pastry comes in the freezer section. Does someone actually make that?!?! I guess I’ll have to try that at least once……one of these days.
I’m trying mine tomorrow 🙂
Good luck! Don’t use cold butter!
actually, I think you might have to! I tried the room temperature butter and got a MESS! but, I am not giving up ….
What?!?! I haven’t tried my second batch yet, I’m still recovering 🙂 but I thought for sure it was the temp of the butter. Hmmmmm, now what?!
Yummm! The butter is so needed though for flakiness. It is interesting that you did the butter in chunks rather than in a square block.
Knowing is half the battle – right?! Yes, the butter seems to be your main culprit. In pastry school we kept our butter in one block – definitely worth a try. I think with softer butter the flakiness will also be more uniform. Wondering what the rationale was for the cubes…
Kudos to you though, after I learned how to make croissant, danish and puff pastry in Pastry School I vowed never to make it at home – too much work and I don’t have enough space for a sheeter!
Your end product did look perfectly edible so all was not lost! Looking forward to your continued efforts!
They were edible, although perfect doesn’t come to mind! I’ve heard about the big block method, this was probably an attempt to make it more managable. I can’t see making this on a regular basis. I wonder if these started off as special occasion treats and then bakeries picked up on how yummy they were. How do bakers do this all the time?!?!
If their kitchen doesn’t have a Sheeter – I have no idea!
I didn’t know what a Sheeter was so I looked it up. That makes so much sense. I bet that makes it a snap!
This was in response to “Fillingawaycupcakes”. That was how the original recipe did it. I know I’ve seen where they use a big hunk of butter too, maybe I’ll try that next time…..although….that might be even messier!
omg omg omg omg!!! I KNEW IT! I knew these French bread weren’t as easy as they seemed!!! Damn… I’m kind of worried now.. ahhhhh.. But kudos to you! I’m sure when you do it again the next time it would be much better!! Practice makes perfect!!! Try watching some videos! Might help.. I always watch videos first when I attempt scary foreign (literally) recipes like these! 😀 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lugtc-K_QA&feature=fvst Pretty good demo despite the somewhat annoying music!! Good luck!!! 🙂
Oh good idea! I will watch some videos first. Are you going to make these?
yes i will!! can’t seem to find time these days though! too much work and yoga.. My yoga pass is expiring tomorrow! So I will definitely make it some…. time…. soon… hahaha.. 🙂
Good luck and I look forward to seeing how you do.
Congratulations on trying and not giving up. They look pretty good to me, but you know better….
Well….I must admit I photographed the best looking ones, but the texture wasn’t right. I expected flaky and got rather tough and chewy!
Haha oh dear, your post made me smile! Bet they tasted pretty good though and, as they say, practise makes perfect 🙂 I’ve only ever used the method where you take a big block of butter – maybe try that next time?
Yes I think I will try that. I’m planning for this weekend so I can still post them in the challenge! Hopefully this time…..
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Yes! Mine turned into a bit of a buttery mess too, but not quite so thorough as yours seems. I used my grandma’s method of creating a slab of butter, rather than dots. I think this helped keep the butter from tearing through the dough since it was more flat. (Although, I didn’t seal the ends well enough, so it still managed to get everywhere.) After a bit of rolling, the dough did start to stick to the rolling pin because of the layers of butter, but a very well floured surface and rolling pin helped remedy this a bit.
Thanks for a great post! I’d love to see how your second attempt turns out.
Me too! I’m so busy these coming weeks that I’m not sure I’ll have a chance to get to it for awhile. I will post it though, whether successful or not… I think I need to take more time with it and plan better.
I chucked the whole lot in the bin last time I made croissants so was glad of a second chance. Getting the right temperature is really tricky – I haven’t got it right yet.
Oh that is too bad. I haven’t had the time to try them again, this month is busy but I will get around to it at some point. Hopefully with a better result!
I’m sure you will – mine were much better second time round…and third time….!
Same here… I actually mixed my dough by hand. I know, but I don’t have a fancy stand mixer just an old fashioned mixmaster! Anyway, I thought I started out brilliantly, my dough was smooth (how I thought it was supposed to be) I let it rest etc. Everything was going well until the final fold when the dough started tearing and the butter started peeking through. I, too was determined. I was baking this mess because I had too much time and butter invested! I wound up with the same thing you did- more brioche like, a few layers but mostly dense. My shaping was hilarious, I gave up streching and started rolling mounds of dough about 5 inches high! Still they tasted good and I plan on tackling this challenge again sometime soon. I agree with regards to the butter being too cold and possibly the dough being over worked even with hand mixing. Anyway, good luck with your future endeavors
I have a great appreciation for people who can make croissants now! I must admit I’m intimidated to try again and don’t know if it’s worth all the bother….except for bragging rights of course!