Breakfast pastry of France - Croissant

The croissant is the quintessential breakfast pastry of France and is ingrained in the daily French culture as much as the baguette. In the culinary inventory of the Patrimoine Francais, mention is made of a cake in the shape of a croissant served during a banquet given in Paris by the Queen of France in 1549 to commemorate the alliance of François ler with le Grand Turc.

It is a time-consuming labor of love, requiring more than just a few passes of the rolling pin.

Croissant pastry dough must be repeatedly folded, not stirred or kneaded numerous times over the closure of several hours. This folding produces layers in the dough, alternating layers of butter and dough.

When baked, the moisture in the layers of butter cerate steam and acts as the primary leavening agent in the croissant, puffing out to separate the layers of dough and creating that famously flaky texture so sought after in a croissant.

Croissant dough is softer, therefore requiring a soft roll in fat. Finished croissants also are a softer eating product, requiring fat with low solids.

To maintain the desired softness, croissant roll-in fat also usually has an emulsifier to enhance the shelf-life of the finished product.

The wheat flour should a pure one with strength and baking qualities slightly superior to ordinary bread flour.

Fats used for croissants – whether butter or margarine – should have good plasticity and stability. The moisture content of the butter should be 15% at most, and the point of fusion of margarine should not be higher than 36 ° C.
Breakfast pastry of France - Croissant