In a hard fought battle, the
Austrian armies defeated the forces of the Ottoman Empire. To celebrate, the
French chef employed by the Emperor of Austria decided to make a pastry in the
shape of a crescent. When this was eaten, it would become a symbol of the way in
which the Austrian forces had consumed their enemies.
On his eventual
return to France, the chef introduced the pastry to the French who immediately
made it very popular.
It's important
to remember that when in France, butter is not eaten with croissants.
CROISSANTS ARE MADE FROM
LAMINATED DOUGH:
Croissant,
danish and puff pastry are all made
from laminated (layered) dough.
That is encasing butter in dough, and taking it through a series of folds,
rolling and turns to produce layers of butter in between sheets of dough.
The leavening in laminated doughs is derived
mainly from the steam generated by the moisture in the butter during baking. The
laminated fat acts as a barrier to trap the water vapor and carbon dioxide
formed during baking. As the steam expands in the oven it lifts and separates
the individual layers. While croissant and
danish dough do contain a small amount of yeast to aid in leavening,
puff pastry relies solely on steam and requires a higher percentage of butter
and a more elaborate folding process that creates nearly 800 layers.
There seems to be two ways of making croissants:
The first one is to make a dough (détrempe) and leave it in the fridge
overnight. The next day, you incorporate the butter do the turns etc. This is
the method found in Baking With Julia, The Brother Roux on Pastry and How To
Bake by Nick Malgieri.
The second one, advice you to make the dough, let it rest in the fridge for an
hour or so then incorporate the butter, doing the turns. This is found in Nancy
Silverton’s Pastries From La Brea. Rose Levy Beranbaum in The Pie And Pastry
Bible says you can leave the dough in the fridge between 2 hours or overnight.
The first method would produce a slightly more
flavorful dough since the detrempe is given the chance to slowly rise overnight.
Also, the long rest would ease gluten formation or relax the dough. Chilling
does the same. The less the yeast and the longer the rise is always
better with yeast breads in developing flavor.
For the second method, I let the dough rest about an hour and a half and then
proceed with the butter. Obviously the second method is faster, but you'd still
have to rest both dough overnight before forming.
You can combine the two techniques. Make the
dough, add the butter and do the first turn. Then let it rest overnight
well-wrapped in the refrigerator and do the next turns the following day. It
usually wasn't until the third day that you can divide the dough, and roll
croissants.
Laminating is accomplished in croissant and
Danish dough by encasing a 3/4" x 12" x 14" block of butter in dough creating 3
layers, 2 of dough and 1 of butter. This is then rolled out and folded several
times creating a total of 81 alternating layers of butter and dough. The key to
success in this process is maintaining the integrity of each layer. If the
lamination is successful and the layers are maintained the product will be light
and flaky.
There are other factors that affect the
success of the lamination. The dough must have a well-developed gluten structure
to be able to support the expansion in the oven. The fat must be rolled evenly
in continuous layers. To accomplish this the butter must be in a "plastic" state
when laminating. That is, able to be rolled out easily without breaking into
pieces (not too cold) but firm enough that it won't squeeze out of the edges of
the dough layers or allow moisture to seep into the dough (not too warm). The
butter and dough should be at approximately the same temperature, and the layers
of each must remain distinct from each other or the product will resemble
brioche more than delicately layered and flaky laminated dough.
Allowing the dough to rest between turns
allows the gluten structure to relax, making the dough more extensible and less
likely to tear. Puff pastry, lacking yeast and its dough conditioning benefits,
is more susceptible to tears and shrinkage during baking. Since it is also
laminated to a further degree, the rests between turns are even more critical to
ensure extensibility. If any of these doughs are overworked without being
allowed to rest, the gluten structure will tear, the dough will become tough and
the finished product won't have the desired volume or texture.
TROUBLE SHOOTING
AND PROBLEM SOLVING FOR CROISSANTS
Most
people would consider a Croissant to be an example of a French Breakfast. It is
important to remember that croissants are a special treat and are often
purchased only for Sundays or special occasions. 
