We offer you our recipe for a French croissant like the one you find at the café, in the comfort of your own home. For a great start to the day.
What better way to start the day than with a nice warm, crispy croissant with a cup of coffee?
Today we are going to show you how to make one just like the one you get at the café in the comfort of your own home.
But what are the origins of this much-loved and popular sweet in the Old Continent?
Contrary to popular belief, it originated in Vienna, Austria, but the most successful one is the French variant with puff pastry.
One hypothesis regarding the arrival of this cake in France seems to be attributable to the union between Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of Austria, who brought the recipe for the croissant from her native country to the court in 1770, but without it being particularly appreciated.
The spread of the croissant in France, on the other hand, can be traced back between 1837 and 1839, when Austrian artillery officer August Zang founded the Boulangerie Viennoise which quickly became popular and inspired French imitations.
Cornetto or croissant?
Traditionally, the French croissant dough is composed of a few (and quality) ingredients such as flour, butter, water, brewer’s yeast and very little sugar (so as not to weigh down the dough and give it its characteristic fragrance).
Particularly the egg is only used on the surface to give the croustillant effect and give colour to the crust.
The cornetto all’italiana, on the other hand, has a traditionally richer dough than the croissant: eggs are added to the dough, natural yeast is often used instead of brewer’s yeast, which gives the product a particular flavour, it is richer in sugar, it can have different flavour profiles depending on the Italian regions, vanillin, or vanilla tending to be more characteristic in the northern regions, citrusy in the south.
Therefore the added fat may be butter or margarine, in a smaller quantity than in a croissant, the final dough is in fact less flaky, softer, and fluffier with a denser and more regular alveolation.
It can be filled with custard, various jams (apricot is typical) or chocolate/hazelnut creams.
Ingredients French croissant recipe:
- 400g of èViva all-purpose flour Italian type “0” Pizza W270-300;
- 100g of èViva all-purpose flour Italian type “0” Lievitati W390-410;
- 250g of Water at Room Temperature;
- 10g of Fresh Brewers Yeast or 3g of Freeze-dried;
- 50g Fresh Cream;
- 60g of Sugar;
- 12g Salt;
- 300g high quality butter.
Procedure for French croissant recipe:
Pour the two types ‘0’ wheat flours into the planetary mixer, add the fresh yeast and start kneading using the first speed of your mixer. Gradually add the water, when a homogeneous mixture is obtained, increase to medium speed and allow to knead for at least 5 minutes.
Then switch off the planetary mixer, add the cream, salt and sugar and knead at minimum speed. Continue at medium speed for 8 minutes until well incorporated.
When finished, form into a ball and leave to rise 2 hours at room temperature or 1 hour at room temperature and in the fridge overnight.
After letting it rest, take the dough and roll it out into a 45×25 rectangle. Take the butter and use the rolling pin to make a 25×25 rectangle and place it in the centre of the dough rectangle.
Fold the dough until the ends touch and leave in the fridge 15 minutes covered with cling film.
Now roll out the dough in the direction of the openings and proceed with a 3-fold.
Bring one piece of dough to 3/4 and then cover with the other piece. Leave the dough to rest 30 minutes in the fridge covered with cling film. Repeat the same operation two more times, but the third time let it rest in the fridge 2 hours, again covered with cling film.
Take the dough, roll out a 40×60 rectangle, fold it in half widthways.
Cut a mark on the upper side of the two rectangles every 10cm and underneath every 5cm. Cut out many triangles.
To shape them, take one triangle, stretch the tip with your fingers and cut 3cm on the base.
Roll the croissants outwards on themselves, turn them over towards the tip and place on baking paper in the baking tray. Leave to rise again, brush with egg yolk and a drop of milk and finally bake at 200° for 25 minutes, ventilated oven. Static, same time and temperature.
Tips:
You can fill your croissants with hazelnut cream, pistachio cream or custard, chocolate custard or even jams and marmalades.
You can also sprinkle icing sugar on top and add cream.
We recommend leaving the dough in the refrigerator overnight to make it more elastic and easier to work with.