Croissants

Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a nice holiday season and great new year. I am so excited to write this new post, about one of my favorite foods ever - croissants! I have been making croissants for about 11 years now. It has taken me a long while to find a recipe that I like, and even so, I am always making changes to the master formula. Along the way, I have found lots of tips and tricks that I would like to share with you. I also have included some of my favorite bakeries in Northern California that are producing some interesting and wonderful products.

Croissants fall under the category of Viennoiserie, which is a laminated dough full of les couches or layers, alternating between a yeasted pate (dough) and butter or beurre. The butter is folded in between the dough, which creates the wonderful and delicate layers that we all adore. There are many types of Viennoiserie; croissant beurre (butter croissant), Chocolatine or pain au chocolat (depending where your from), brioche, Danish pastries (which have an egg in the pate, so the dough is more delicate), and many more. There is an interesting history of all of these pastries, and now with the internet you can learn how these famous foods came into being!

Boulangeries

Here is a list of some of my favorite bakeries here in the Bay Area. We are very spoiled here as we don’t have to go far to find great products. And although there are many more that I have not listed, it doesn’t mean that they are not as good. I just don’t have enough time to visit them all!

Arsicault Bakery, 397 Arguello Blvd, San Francisco 94118

I first heard about this bakery because it was voted “best new bakery” in 2016 by Bon Appetit. This bakery just gets the classic pastries just right, that is why they are on my list as the standard favorite. There is an interesting article written by Eater about this bakery that I will link right here. Try their classic butter croissant, Kouign-amann (a delicious pastry from Brittany) or their ham and cheese croissant if your desiring something more savory. There will be a small line, but it goes very quickly and everything is always very fresh.

Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, 1042 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Mr Holmes Bakehouse is the funky innovator, a bakery where you can purchase a cruffin (a croissant muffin filled with assorted pastry creams) creative croissants (there is a matcha croissant) and to-die for doughnuts. Check out their Instagram page for updates on their products and selection as it changes depending on the location and time of year, @mrholmesbakhouse. The two pastries above are savory danishes - the one on the left is a french onion soup danish and the right is a mediterranean danish, both equally satisfying. Fun fact: there are two locations in Los Angeles.

Craftsman and Wolves, 2 Locations:

746 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA

1598 Yosemite Avenue, San Francisco, CA

Craftsman and Wolves is a wonderful patisserie that produces top notch, very high quality pastries and desserts. I have only visited their Mission district location, but every time I am greeted with kind knowledgeable employees and well crafted products. The photo above shows the pain au chocolat to the right, which has a dough that is made with chocolate and the traditional chocolate baton (stick) baked inside. The left pastry is the Breton cake - Kouign-amann, with its contemporary American translation resulting in a more vertical and yet still delicious variation. I would advise visiting the bakery with a friend or a book, ordering a coffee as well and sitting down to enjoy any of their delicious products.

Croissants: Recipes and Valuable Tips

I hope that you, dear reader, are not mad at me. I will not today give you MY recipe for croissants as one day (soon hopefully) I will publish a book with my recipes. I cannot give all of my recipes away. I will however give you some very valuable information that will save you much time and frustration. Through all of my trial and error, here are some of my most cherished tips that will help you along in your baking journey. Remember to not have too much expectations, croissants are a process and in a way an art form. Practice, make notes, and enjoy the journey along the way!

Tips:

1. Mise en place - the commonly used french term for having everything in your recipe set up and accounted for. You don’t need any surprises here, read over your recipe two, three times, make sure you understand the directions, have all the ingredients and equipment necessary to make your croissants.

2. Use good butter - What does this mean? Traditionally American butter has a lower fat content than European butter which will lead to a less flaky croissant (if using the American standard). I usually get my butter at a specialty store and use unsalted. The quality of American brands has greatly improved, so you can find really great butter at your local supermarket. I prefer organic grass fed dairy butter if you can afford/find it.

3. Weigh your ingredients, don’t measure!! - This tip is a huge one. There is a big variance between scooping/leveling a cup of flour and between using a scale. Scales are not expensive and I wouldn’t make any pastries without it. You want precision with baking, especially when you are first starting out.

4. Do not overmix your dough block - Your dough block is the dough that you will be folding around your butter block. This dough will be rolled out at least 3 different times and will get plenty of “kneading” from this process. This is one of my most crucial tips, as I couldn’t figure out why my initial croissants a long time ago were so dense and not flaky.

5. Layering - incorporating the butter into is a tricky process that takes practice and patience. If your butter and dough is different temperatures, it will be more difficult to handle. In-between folds, make sure you put the dough into the fridge to rest for an hour so that the dough can relax and the butter doesn’t get too soft.

6. Overnight rest - the final product will taste MUCH better with an overnight slow rise in your fridge. There is a whole scientific reason why doughs get a long fermentation process, which you can read about here. Follow your recipe instructions, but choose the longer rise if given.

7. Chilling before baking - after the croissants are in the final proof stage I always freeze the croissants for 12-14 minutes before putting in the oven. You are using a lot of butter in any croissant recipe and you don’t want the butter to leak out of all your hard work. This has happened to me before and your heart just drops out of your chest.

Recipes:

Here are some links to some fantastic croissant recipes, let me know if you try any of them.

The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet

Pierre Herme Pastries

King Arthur Flour’s Croissants

Here are some photos of the croissants and process of making them, I find that having photos helps guide me when making more difficult recipes. Bon appetit!

Les couches

Layers of dough and butter which give the croissant flakiness and rise.

Shaped:

Final proof and ready to be put in the oven