So I woke up one morning feeling good and had this crazy idea of making fresh butter croissants from scratch. Now let me tell you, I have never made croissants or rather any puff pastry dessert by scratch, therefore I was fully unaware how much of my day would be taken up.
A dear friend of mine bought me Julia Child’s Master the Art of French Cooking years ago and I decided to crack it open for the first time (sorry Maria!!)
I started at 9:00 am, wished my husband well on his way to work, propped Emilia next to me in her little chair and I began gathering the ingredients.
The first step was to make the dough and let it sit for an hour to 1.5 hours. I decided to stop by quickly at Crate and Barrel to pick up a few things while I waited and had Emilia sleeping in her car seat.
I got home and started the second step. Then the third. Then the fourth.
Before I knew it, it was 4:00 pm, I had just completed rolling the dough into crescents and had to place them on a baking tray for them to rise for ANOTHER HOUR!
At this point in my day, I am exhausted and wished I had joined Emilia on her afternoon nap as she was waking up. I then realized I had to get dinner ready and was hoping to try a new recipe that very night (I was way over my head!).
Let’s just say it was 7:00 pm and I pulled out the croissants out of the oven and they were overcooked. I guess Julia Child’s oven and my Viking range aren’t quite the same.
I was so tired and disappointed that I barely took a good photo of the croissants (my father enjoyed them, but he likes everything crispy and burnt).They weren’t bad, but I was not satisfied. I will definitely tackle this recipe again, but maybe in a few weeks while I recoup from the last time.
Recipes aren’t always perfect. There are always circumstances that need to be modified, whether your oven is different from others. The flour you are using can change the consistency, or even the temperature outside can affect the outcome of your result. Sometimes you need to stick to your own intuition rather then the recipe.
Have any of you attempted to bake croissants form scratch? What are your tricks when doing so?
Find me on: Web