‘and then the waiter came with the coffee and croissants’ (Mary Stewart, Madam, will you talk?)
In my last post I wrote about the romantic suspense novels of the 20th century novelist Mary Stewart, with a focus on the wonderful French food that permeates her first publication Madam, will you talk? Out of all the delicious-sounding foodstuffs that Stewart describes, I decided to focus on ‘croissants’ – they recur throughout the novel, they are viewed as a classic French food and I also learnt to make them in France.
Whilst the croissant is regarded as a French staple, it – along with other French yeast-baked classics such as ‘ pain au chocolat’, ‘brioche’ and ‘pain aux raisins’ – comes under the umbrella heading of viennoiserie, highlighting the fact that they actually originate from Austria (Vienna). These pastries only arrived in France in the nineteenth century, with the opening of a Viennese bakery – Boulangerie Viennoise – at 92 rue de Richelieu in Paris, in 1838/9.
The croissant is thought to descend from the kipferl, a yeast roll made into a crescent shape which dates back to 13th century Austria, though some people claim its origins go even further back to Ancient Egypt, to a flaky pastry consisting of layers of dough and ghee, and an optional filling (sweet or savoury), called feteer meshaltet.
Whatever its geographical origins, nowadays the croissant is viewed as the quintessential French pastry. So, when I embarked on my first formal cookery class – at the wonderful La Cuisine Paris (https://lacuisineparis.com/) which I can highly recommend – I chose the ‘croissant and breakfast pastries’ class, and spent a fantastic three hours learning to make croissants and pains au chocolat. And whilst I’ve done other classes at the same cookery school, and really enjoyed them, the croissants class has stayed with me and, seven years later, I still – now and again – set time aside to make my own croissants.
Despite appearances – and the length of the recipe – they’re not that difficult to make. But you do need time and patience – and a willingness to make them time and time again in order to improve (which isn’t difficult when the end result is so delicious).
CROISSANTS FOR AN ADVENTURE
Ingredients (makes 12-14 small croissants)
For the dough
250g plain flour
5g (1 teaspoon) salt
35g caster sugar
5g instant dried yeast
120g warm water
25g (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
125g unsalted butter block at room temperature
Method:
You begin by making what is called the detrempe (or starter dough). This will need to prove for a minimum of 6 hours (and a maximum of 72 hours), so you will need to factor that into your timings.
Melt the 25g of butter and set aside to cool. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and then stir in the yeast. Stir in the sugar, and then pour in the warm water and melted butter. Mix to combine, and then knead the dough (either by hand or in a food mixer) until it is firm and springy.
Place the dough in a clean lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea-towel and leave to rest on the side for 20 minutes. Then wrap it in clingfilm, or place it in a sealed freezer bag (which is bigger than the dough), place in the fridge and leave to prove for between 6 and 72 hours. The dough will rise during this time, which is why the bag needs to be bigger than the dough (the clingfilm – if used – will expand as the dough grows).
About one hour before you are ready to make the croissants, place the 125g butter block between two sheets of greaseproof paper and, using a rolling pin, pound it into an approximate square of about ¼ inch thickness. Then refrigerate until cold and firm.
Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to make a square of 1 inch thickness – it should be slightly bigger than the butter block.
Remove the butter block from the fridge and place it onto the dough, so it looks like a diamond. 
Fold the corners of the dough around the butter making an envelope and firmly press the dough together, making sure the dough completely seals the butter.
Carefully roll out the dough to make a rectangle approximately 8 inches by 16 inches. Turn the dough so that the shorter ends are at the top and bottom. Then fold over the top third and bottom third of the dough so they meet in the middle (this is called a single turn).
Wrap the dough in clingfilm – or place in a plastic bag – and return to the fridge for 20 minutes.
Remove the dough from the fridge. Turn it round so the fold is on the vertical, then roll out again to a rectangle of approximately 8 by 16 inches. Do another single turn and return to the fridge for 20 minutes.
Remove the dough from the fridge. Turn it round again so the fold is on the vertical, and once again roll out to make a rectangle of approximately 8 by 16 inches. This time do a double turn: do the single turn and then fold the top half of the dough over the bottom half. This time return to the fridge for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes the dough is ready for shaping into croissants. Roll out the dough thinly (no more than ¼ inch thickness) to make a long rectangle. Mark out the dough into a series of interlocked triangles, each with a 3 inch base (approximate).
Take one triangle. Make a small cut in the base and stretch both bottom corners of the triangle slightly so it resembles an Eiffel tower.
Fold up the two bottom corners next to the cut like a collar, and then roll up from the base.
Place each croissant on a lined baking sheet with the ‘loose end’ of the pastry on the bottom (as far as possible). Make sure there is plenty of space between each croissant.
Cover with a tea-towel and leave to prove at room temperature for 1 – 1 ½ hours until they are slightly puffy. In the meantime preheat the oven to 205C, 185C fan, gas mark 6. Before baking, brush the croissants with egg wash. Bake for 20 minutes, turning the tray around after 10 minutes.
