Croissants revisited

Always eager to try a new technique or two when it comes to croissant making, I opted to give Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel’s recipe from “Bouchon Bakery” a try. With its decidedly French flair and way of doing things I figured what could be bad about that, eh?

I haven't made croissants in some months, and, now that our kitchen remodel is finished (a much improved and fantastic work space!), it was definitely time.

I looked back to my October, 2014 croissant post written soon after I first started this blog.  At that time I compared my usual method with Philippe Conticini's of Pâtisserie des Rêves and found his sorely lacking, both in process and in final product.

This time I compared Keller/Rouxel's method with the one that I had developed for myself some years ago.

WARNING!  Technical stuff coming up!!

Here are just a few things in the Bouchon recipe that vary from my usual method:  a pre-ferment (poolish) that sits for 12-15 hours; water instead of milk; higher butter:flour ratio; slightly higher in sugar; long kneading time (20 minutes!); different technique to envelop the butter; freezing the dough for 20 minutes in between all steps; different shaping technique; lower oven baking temperature - whew, that's a lot!

This post is geared to those of you who are familiar with the steps of croissant making.  If you've never made croissants, there are tons of resources available that will help you understand the process.

Let's go through some of the steps in pictures.  Once past the poolish steps I show comparisons between Bouchon's dough and mine.

Bouchon poolish

poolish after a 15 hour overnight

lengthy knead of Bouchon dough

smooth, tight Bouchon dough vs. my more lax and open structured dough

Below are two commonly used ways of enveloping the butter - what I like to think of as rectangle vs "baseball diamond".  They both work, so you choose.

ready to envelop the butter

packages ready to roll

first turn completed

second turn completed

The Bouchon dough on the left is smoother and tighter than mine, however rolling it was a more arduous task since it was more elastic and required more rolling pressure.

Freezing the Bouchon dough for 20 minutes in between each step didn't seem detrimental, but I must admit that I prefer my usual method of resting the dough in the fridge as opposed to the freezer. For me the primary issue is that the butter be cool yet malleable and not too cold and hard to break apart during the rolling.

Once all turns were completed I divided each dough into two in preparation for final rolling and shaping.  Check out the layers below.

The Bouchon dough is tighter and the laminations look more precise . . . .

Bouchon dough

whereas my dough looks more rough.

my dough

Once the doughs were rolled out and cut into triangles, I shaped them using the approaches below.  I had never seen the Bouchon method of turning the corners IN before rolling the croissant.  Interesting.

Here are the rolled up end results.

I egg washed and proofed . . . .

ready for the oven

then egg washed again and baked just a few of each (the remainder of the shaped and unbaked croissants went into my freezer).

Unusual for me was the 325ºF oven temp recommended for the Bouchon version, whereas I bake my croissants at 400ºF.  I was taught that the hotter oven temp helps the initial oven rise when baking laminated dough.

The Bouchon version required 40-45 minutes before I was happy with the degree of browning.  Mine looked good after the usual 20 minutes or so.

Bouchon on left, mine on right

The size difference is due to the fact that Bouchon's recipe is a slightly larger amount of dough cut into 16 portions, whereas mine is cut into 12 portions, yielding larger croissants.

Once cooled it was time for cutting and tasting.  The Bouchon croissants felt heavy.  What a disappointment when I found the interior to be doughy with flat layering and a vacant space in the center!

Bouchon version

My version felt light to the touch and exhibited a honeycombed, airy interior.  While I would like to see more distinct laminated layers, the appearance still beat Bouchon's.

my version

While the Bouchon version had a crisp, shard producing exterior and a decent flavor with a hint of sweetness, the texture was doughy and unpleasant, and the croissant left a greasiness on my fingertips and lips that suggested too much butter for my taste.

Bouchon version

My version had some decent crisp exterior shards, although not as impressive as Bouchon's.

my version

When all was said and done, it was clear to me that I should stick with what I know.  I'd still consider tweaking my approach with perhaps a slightly longer kneading time, but otherwise I'll move forward with my standard recipe and technique.

I always love experimenting - it's one of the best ways to learn!!

And remember - there's never an end to the story.

Petite Pavlova

For last weekend's Mother's Day a friend asked if I would make a Pavlova with fresh berries for her Sunday dinner celebration with family.  As I was in the mode, I decided to make some small versions for my own use.  Et pourquoi pas?!

Pavlova, reportedly named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova who danced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is a baked meringue that is typically filled with whipped cream and topped with fresh fruit of choice.

The French also use the word vacherin (NOT the cheese) for a similar meringue based dessert, often filled with ice cream and topped with fresh fruit.  Ice cream?  Whipped cream?  Either one works, so you decide!

A general meringue formula uses approximately 2 parts sugar to 1 part egg white, often with a pinch of salt or cream of tartar added to help the mixture hold its shape once whipped.

My base recipe for an 8-9 inch Pavlova calls for 4 large egg whites, a pinch of salt and a cup of superfine sugar whipped to glossy peaks.  Since I was making an 8 inch-er plus a bunch of small ones I made 1.5 times the recipe.  Plenty for my needs.

There are three methods of making meringue.

The French method, which I use here, involves whipping sugar and room temperature egg whites to glossy, stiff peaks, piping out shapes and drying them in a low oven to achieve a crispy exterior with a somewhat chewy interior.

love those peaks!

The Swiss method involves heating the sugar and whites over a barely simmering bain marie and then whipping them until cooled, glossy and peaked.  This version is more stable and can be piped and shaped.

Side note:  I used the Swiss method when I made "Baked Rhode Island" (a Kenyon's white cornmeal cake/coffee ice cream version of "Baked Alaska") at Gracie's in Providence many years ago.  I piped a lot of those little babies!  Reminds me of a hedgehog or sea urchin!

Gracie's "Baked Rhode Island"

And last but not least is the Italian method.  This calls for boiling a sugar syrup to the soft ball stage (240-245ºF), cooling it slightly, then pouring it over stiffly beaten whites while continuing to whisk until completely cool and glossy.  This is the most stable of the three and can be used alone or as a base for buttercream for cake icing or folded into mousses and creams to lighten them.  Some French macaron recipes call for Italian meringue as well.

Let's get on with the petite Pavlovas!

Once my French meringue was nicely whipped I blended in a mixture of 1.5 teaspoons each of cornstarch, water and vanilla extract.  This served to add a bit of flavor from the vanilla as well as enhance the crispy tenderness of the meringue.

For piping I used a simple trick that I had learned back in 2007 during my stage at Pâtisserie Pascal Pinaud in Paris - use a round cutter or tart ring dipped in confectioner's sugar to provide a size guide for your desired shapes.  Pretty nifty!

Psst!  I prefer to bake meringues (macarons included) on Silpats - they pop off very easily once baked.

I piped simple circles with a star tip while my oven was heating to 300ºF . . . .

. . . popped them into the oven, turned the temp down to 250ºF and left them in to bake (i.e. dry) for 1.25 hours.  Then I turned the oven off and let it cool down before removing the meringues.

all dried out

 Invariably there will be some cracks in the finished product, but that's par for the course.  Don't worry.

These will keep for several days in a covered container in a cool, non-humid environment OR can be frozen for several weeks.  Just pop a few out as you need them!

I chose to fill my petite Pavlovas with a whipped ricotta cream (one cup ricotta whipped with 1/2 cup heavy cream) to which I added seeds scraped from a vanilla bean and my homemade caramel sauce.  What's not to like!

see those vanilla bean specks?

I must confess that I'm not a big meringue fan (sorry you macaron lovers), but I found this combination quite pleasing.  The meringue was crisp with a hint of chew inside and the ricotta creamy and luscious with vanilla and caramel.  Yum.  And, of course, you simply CAN NOT go wrong with fresh fruit.

And to top it off, as a test I put several of these (uncovered no less) in my fridge for a day.  Boy oh boy, were Steve and I pleased!  The flavor was superb, the exterior of the meringue still crisp, the interior had softened to near gooey-ness and even the fruit was none the worse for wear after a day sitting next to leftovers.

Yes indeed.

And wouldn't you know I still have several meringues in my freezer and some freshly churned lemon ice cream waiting to go?

Now what do you think of that?!