Croissants

So when I am not backstage, I am a coffee roaster/barista/whatever. The shop i work at is farm to table as much as possible. We even make our own bagels, breads and deserts...oh and we smoke our own brisket.

So on my day off Monday, while roasting coffee, I decided to try my hand at doing croissants from scratch. It was really like being a stagehand....hurry up and wait.

My dough sat for 4 hours before the first fold, 4 hours for the second fold, overnight for the last fold. And then, 2 mores hours after rolling/filling, and then 10 min in the oven.

The big problem i had, was cutting them for shaping...it took me time to figure out the right size before rolling.

I am very happy with how they turned out: buttery, flakey, nice thin layers.

So to my question: we have a large customer base who eat gluten free for whatever reasons. Any body have a recipe or tips for gluten free? How does gluten free flour bake?

I just put in my second attempt today. On top of plain and cheese, I have done chocolate and almond. I am also using scraps of dough to try a garlic egg wash.

Question 2 (or 3): any ideas for other types of croissants?

Thanks y'all, have a great day...unless you have other plans.

a reply to: theatreboy

Saw this place on Field Trip With Curtis Stone, they are considered one of the best croissanteries in the world. Owned by a former F1 engineer, her croissants are insane.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Thanks Augustus! I do stretch mine like that, but I love how she throws it down.

a reply to: theatreboy

Try to catch the episode of the show I mentioned, she has a whole process and they come out perfect each time.

a reply to: theatreboy

Question 2 (or 3): any ideas for other types of croissants?

Growing up in Europe this was a breakfast staple for me.
I have yet to find an American bakery that comes close. I think there are things about the water and air of certain places, and that is why food is so much better at the source.

Back to croissants, there is a classic croissant with chocolate in it.
Also I remember them making a rectangle type of croissant that was kinda like a pizza, it had tomatoes and vegetables.

Also look into confeitaria Garcia

a reply to: JAGStorm

I think it's the butter and flour. My friend is GF but when we go to Europe she has no issue with the pasta or the bread.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: JAGStorm

I think it's the butter and flour. My friend is GF but when we go to Europe she has no issue with the pasta or the bread.

Glyphosate and less genetically modified foods- I can guarantee it's the flour
Have her try something made with Kamut Flour. If she can stomach it, it is 100% the glyphosate.

I think this is why it is so important for people to travel if they can.
It will open their eyes to a lot of things. Maybe things they don't even want to admit to themselves.
I can tell you for a fact Asian food manufactured here is NOT the same. Not even the candy. I love this one brand of rice candy.
The imported version is so soft and chewy. The American version is gritty and super super sweet, and just awful.
Same with soy sauce and sesame oil. It's not the same, and don't buy it in the plastic bottles either yuck!

a reply to: JAGStorm

When I want real Asian food I had to this Japanese market in Edgewater, NJ, all they have is the imported stuff. I can get real wasabi, fruit/veggies and dry goods.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: JAGStorm

When I want real Asian food I had to this Japanese market in Edgewater, NJ, all they have is the imported stuff. I can get real wasabi, fruit/veggies and dry goods.

Yes! Most people don't realize the wasabi they are eating is just dyed horseradish!
Chicago has a Chinatown that has authentic Korean, Japanese and Chinese food. It is not the crap you see in stores.

They also have the coolest kitchwares. I'm like a kid in a candy store there.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
They also have the coolest kitchwares. I'm like a kid in a candy store there.

Same by me, I have an entire set of Japanese tableware; bowls, spoons, matts, plates, etc. Plus a couple of great sushi knives.

Makes my sushi and Japanese dishes look more authentic.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: JAGStorm
They also have the coolest kitchwares. I'm like a kid in a candy store there.

Same by me, I have an entire set of Japanese tableware; bowls, spoons, matts, plates, etc. Plus a couple of great sushi knives.

Makes my sushi and Japanese dishes look more authentic.

Are you talking about Mitsuwa? If so we have that here too, one of my favorite places.
I recently went to Mitsuwa and saw they also have a place in NJ and thought that must be what you are talking about.

Isn’t it amazing to see how much respect they have for food, the presentation, the cleanliness, the scale? Ours has a nice cafeteria that has some decent stuff. I also love their bakery.

a reply to: JAGStorm

That's the place. Absolutely the only supermarket I will go to. The philosophy on food and the products themselves are so much better than going to a Kroger or some other American ****hole supermarket.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: JAGStorm

That's the place. Absolutely the only supermarket I will go to. The philosophy on food and the products themselves are so much better than going to a Kroger or some other American ****hole supermarket.

I took my friend and she was instantly in love. I told her that is a different respect for food, respect is the main word that comes to my mind. To value what you prepare and consume… Mitsuwa really drives that point.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Thanks JAG...if you are ever in CNY, look us up and let me know how they compare.

3 hours and they are all sold for the day!

a reply to: theatreboy
We did hundreds of croissants very fast with the rolled out dough one elbow to wrist length wide, on a long table. Then mark with a knife, with your stretched hand and fingers one fingertip to wrist distance alternating on the side you stand and the far side. Preferable you do set the knife at the fingers, not at the wrist, just saying for safety.

Then cut through with a roller or dough knife. This way you get triangles consistent very fast and when you step back along the table, you roll them up simply and rotate 90°. Next time stepping back pick them up. We did hundreds like this in tandem two person each table you cut, mark and roll them in one go along the table. Some with fillings, some different shapes.

Fastest way I know to make them, because in a bakery time is money too.

Add: No, sorry, there is a second method with two dough spatula and a colder dough, with a angled start, one can (but I could not) cut and roll in one go, croissant after croissant. But I couldn't do it and was more in the cake and sweet department were the dough was folded and not rolled.

a reply to: TDDAgain

As a German with an attention to detail, yeah, that's very redundant, you should check out the episode of the show I mentioned earlier on how they make croissants. I'm sure her F1 background will interest you as well.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I know, I had that dejavu when I read the thread and croissant I remembered this. In a few posts someone will ask me about aero dynamics and this time I can say well yes I have read up on it .

There is a real queen of croissants, you gave me her website, or rather posted the link here. She was former F1 mechanic and now does this with passion.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Ah.. redundant post but:

They were still handmade and not all the same throughout. It was just we had huge orders on those for hospital breakfast and normal water based buns, lye buns, bretzeln and such had to be made fast. But all hand formed.

The cakes and other sweets I could take time for that, unless I was finished at 6am with the first batch, when bakery officially opened fully stocked. There's a special recipe I have developed, it's a thicker croissant with walnut-honey filling with just trace elements of cherry schnaps. It's needed for this food reaction in the mouth, because it was sold with a can of coke. I discovered the effect while playing with recipes and drank from a cola and then built up on it.

When you take a bite, chew and swallow, then wash it with coke, after around a second or two there's a dark, nutty taste coming up the back of the mouth. The reasons seems to be the nut-alcohol and phosphor or CO2 helping the effect. It only works with coka cola and I guess the coka nut flavor inside it helps it too. It can work with cold afri cola, I tried that too but it tastes different. Orange lemonade or any other type like pepsi does not bring the flavor.

I might type up the recipe, I developed it a bit further. It's a bit hard to replicate at home even for me because I was used to do huge batched reliable and some things like the cherry schnaps (really just a tiny bit for a batch of 100) does not scale down good. It either overpowers easy or is not present.

originally posted by: TDDAgain
I might type up the recipe, I developed it a bit further. It's a bit hard to replicate at home even for me because I was used to do huge batched reliable and some things like the cherry schnaps (really just a tiny bit for a batch of 100) does not scale down good. It either overpowers easy or is not present.

There are some of my old restaurant recipes that also don't scale down well so I have to make a monstrous batch and then freeze or give away the rest. I think it has something to do with surfactant aspect of fats and/or air to surface ratio of ingredients and how they oxidize/interact.

Food chemistry was always one of my favorite topics.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

As a German with an attention to detail,

My dads favorite story was getting an oil change in Germany.

They steam cleaned his entire engine. Something you wouldn’t see in the US, that’s for sure!