Croissants are tricky little buggers. We tried to make them in the summer and although they proved scrumptious they were right assholes, slopping around all over the place in the heat. So we tackled them in the winter this time. They were a fair bit of work but there is really nothing like a fresh croissant. We used the Bourke St Bakery cook book, which is generally pretty good but takes lots of deciphering. I'm convinced they make it sound more complex than it is so you'll still go to their bakery, and if we lived around the corner I'd certainly be tempted to buy a few and pretend I did the hard yards. I tell myself this so I don't feel so bad about it taking me a solid 30 minutes to make sense of the recipe.
They weren't quite as crispy as I would have liked, but I guess that comes with practice. From what I gather, the real croissant-y flavour comes from a yeast starter that is made the day before. I would recommend using a recipe that has the little starter, even though it takes a bit of time, the taste is well worth it.
We made quite a large batch, so froze the rest and they came up a treat under the grill and in the oven. With some of the remainder I also made a Bread and Butter pudding with the croissants and our quince jelly. Croissants are one of those things that make you feel like royalty, slathered with butter and jam first thing in the morning or in the middle of the night for a snack. I don't know how Marie Antoinette was so thin... I think I'd take a croissant any day
No comments:
Post a Comment