Croissant dough is very similar to puff pastry, yet the dough itself has yeast and is very fragile. Start by making a detrempe (dough). Mix flour, salt, sugar, yeast and milk together, being careful not to let the yeast come in direct contact with the salt or sugar. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 days. After that, roll the dough into a rectangle, and place a pound of butter in the center. Fold in the sides of the dough to completely cover the butter. Roll out three times to make alternating layers of butter and dough. Cut the dough into triangles and roll each triangle up into the familiar croissant shape.

A word about the shape. Evidently croissants can be made in three ways: all vegetable oil (a.k.a. margarine), a mixture of vegetable oil and butter, and all butter. Here in France, if a croissant is curved into a crescent shape, it means the croissant contains some amount of vegetable oil. If the croissant is straight, it means it’s made with all butter. The later is definitely preferred because the all butter version simply tastes better.

Once the croissants have been shaped, let them rise in a warm place until almost doubled in volume. Brush with two layers of egg wash and put them in the oven to cook. Out come beautifully flaky, butter croissants to start your morning.

Mine however, were not this successful, and now that I think about it, there were several reasons why. One, due to class scheduling, we made our croissant dough and baked it within 12 hours. In order for the croissants to rise properly, they must rest for at least 24 hours. Two, the chef (we call him Eyes because he has the most piercing blue eyes, plus he’s cute) had us roll our croissant dough too thin. A thinner dough results in a smaller croissant. Three, the chef had us refrigerate our croissants once they were formed before putting them in the warming oven. Being one of the first ones done, I think my croissants got too cold which prevented them from rising properly. Four, we simply ran out of time. We only got half the time needed for rising before we had to bake them.

When mine came out of the oven, I knew immediately that they were bad. Tasting them was worse. Since the dough hadn’t risen properly, it was like biting down into a dense, chewy, brownie. Thank goodness the chef doesn’t taste our creations in pastry practical or my grade would have suffered! Once my croissants were graded, into the trash they went. On one hand I felt bad for throwing away something I worked so hard on, but on the other hand, I learned some valuable lessons. Hopefully next time I can apply these lessons to make the perfect French croissant.

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