Modern French Croissants in 4 hours

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Modern French Croissants in 4 hours

This method of making French Croissants was developed by me for my first book, The New Pastry Cook In 1982 where I developed my 4 hour processor method of cutting frozen butter into chilled dough.

Prep Time4

Total Time4

Course: Bread

Cuisine: French

Keyword: Croissants, French Croissants, Modern Method

Servings: croissants

Calories: 239kcal

Author: Helen S. Fletcher

Equipment

Food Processor

Ingredients

Basic Croissant Dough

1/2 pound unsalted butter (225 grams or 2 sticks)
1 cup buttermilk*
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
3 cups bread flour (420 grams)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (25 grams)
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 egg for the egg wash
* If using dry buttermilk powder use 1 cup of cold water + 1/4 cup powdered buttermilk (35 grams).

Instructions

Basic Croissant Dough

There are two things that will ensure your success. Using a scale to weigh the flour and following the pictures.
Cut each stick of butter in half lengthwise. Cross cut into 8 pieces. Repeat with the second stick of butter. Freeze until rock hard.
Combine the buttermilk, water and oil. Set aside
Place the bread flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a processor. Process about 5 seconds to mix everything.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients in the processor and process until the dough comes together. Process another 30 seconds It should be soft and slightly sticky. If it is still firm, add another tablespoon of water as needed.
Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it several times. Shape into a ball and then flatten to about an 8" circle. Place it on parchment paper in a tray and freeze for 60 to 90 minutes. It should be hard about 1/2" around the edge of the dough. Wipe the processor bowl out with a paper towel.

Cutting the Dough and Butter Together

When the dough is ready, divide the disc into 4ths and each fourth into 3 pieces making a total of 12 pieces.
Place 4 pieces of the dough in the process or with 1/3 of the frozen butter. (if you have a smaller processor use 3 pieces of dough and 1/4 of the butter.) Pulse the machine until the dough and butter are cut into various size pieces of each of them.
Some butter and dough should remain larger, some medium. It is important to keep them large and medium size. Do not cut them in small pieces. Dump the mixture onto a work surface and continue with the remaining ingredients.
Once everything is cut together, lightly flour the surface. Do not use a lot of flour as you don't want it incorporated into the dough. Push the mixture together into a rectangle 6" wide by 10" long.
Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll it into an 18" x 6" rectangle. Keep the sides as straight as possible by placing one hand on each side of the dough and pressing in slightly towards the center. Square up the top and bottom also.

Making the Double Turns

Brush the flour from the dough with a soft brush so the pastry will adhere properly. Fold into fourths by bringing the top and bottom ends of the dough to the center, leaving about a 3/4" empty channel.
Brush any flour off again and then fold in half. Turn the dough 90° so the folded edge is to the right. This completes the first double turn.
Repeat the rolling, folding and turning in this manner for two more times making 3 turns in total. Because the butter is frozen and the dough well chilled, it should be possible to complete all 3 turns without chilling the dough between turns. However, if at any point it starts to soften and the butter gets a bit melty, place it back in the freezer or fridge to firm it up again.
After the 3rd turn, place the dough in a plastic bag and freeze it for about 90 minutes before shaping.

Shaping the Croissants

It will be particularly helpful to view the step by step photos.
Place parchment paper on two baking sheets and set aside.
Divide the dough into quarters. Return 3 to the fridge.
On a lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into an 8"x 12" rectangle. Cut into 2 pieces 6"x 8". Cut each of these rectangles in half on the diagonal from the 8" side. Each piece will have one square and two pointed corners. Gently pull the square corner to the side to even up the triangle somewhat. Chill the triangles but do not freeze them hard.
Taking one triangle at a time, make a 5/8" cut in the center of the top of the triangle. Gently stretch the top sideways to widen the dough.
Roll it up tightly lengthwise stretching the point at the bottom gently to lengthen it more once the initial roll is started. Place it on the baking sheet and tuck the "tail" well underneath so it doesn't unroll when baked.
For the traditional crescent shape, bend the ends toward the center . Alternatively, the rolls can be left straight. Place on one of the parchment paper baking pans.
Cover the rolls loosely with a tea towel and let rise until doubled.
If the room is cold and to speed up the rising, place the rolls in the oven with the light on. This is the perfect proofer. Check it after about 30 minutes to make sure temperature is not so hot the butter is melting out of the rolls. Immediately, pull them from the oven if it is. If the oven is over 75° or 80°F, prop the door open with a wooden spoon.
If you don't have an oven light, place a 9x13" pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven. Watch the oven temperature and proceed as above,

Baking

Place the baking rack in the middle of the oven.
Remove the croissant from the oven if they are in there. Preheat the oven to 350°F. While the oven is preheating, beat and egg until it is completely combined with no white showing. Brush the croissants with the egg. Try not let it run down the sides to the parchment as that can prevent them from rising as they should.
Double pan them and bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch, turning them if necessary about 1/2 to 2/3 through baking.. Cool on a rack.

To Make Ahead

To freeze unbaked, place on a baking sheet and freeze solid. Transfer to a freezer proof container and keep frozen up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and continue with the rising and baking instructions.
Freeze after baking and cooling completely. Freeze until hard, transfer to a freezer container for a month to 6 weeks. To serve, thaw on a rack at room temperature. Refresh in a 350°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Yield: 16 croissants

Notes

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above. If you have questions, look at the photos or read the header of the article. Many of them will be answered there.

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest.

Unless otherwise noted, salt refers to table salt.

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

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While European butter is often suggested, I find that it softens much faster than American butter because it has a higher fat content. I prefer to use American butter for its ability to remain cold and harder longer extending the time the dough can be worked.

Bread flour is used for its strength when using yeast and ability to rise higher given its high protein count.

Instant yeast is used for its fast acting rise.

Buttermilk is used to temper the bread flour yielding a softer baked roll and for its flavor. Because the buttermilk is thicker than water and milk, water is added to thin it down. Dry buttermilk powder can also be used.

A bit of granulated sugar is food for the yeast to maximize its growth.

The oil helps keep the strands from breaking while allowing them to stretch to their limits.

Keep everything really cold. If anything starts warming, place it in the freezer or fridge to get it cold again.

For the best results use the ingredients listed without substitutions.

Despite the many pictures and text, these go together easily and quickly. Just follow the directions and pictures and you'll have croissants in no time.

Nutrition