Starting second attempt at laminated croissant dough, using Gesine's recipe. My library

marilynfl

Moderator
has Julia Child's book, but no one can find it, even though it's "available for check-out" meaning it should be sitting on the shelf. However, this is the FOURTH such "available, but unfindable" book I've run into. Since NC lets you borrow a book from ANY library in the entire state, I fear my Julia is sitting alone and unreachable on some other library's shelf.

Oh well, I have to say Gesine's recipe is working out exactly as shown on the video. I watched the hour-long demo a second time and just put my first fold/turn back into the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes after adding the butter block This dough needed absolutely NO extra flour to roll out. It didn't spring back, it didn't crack...it just rolled out beautifully.

Only 28-30 more hours to go.

I'll be back after I finish donating a kidney.

 
Just take your time - that is key IMHO.

We had to rush it in culinary school and make it and bake off our item in one 5 hour class period. To add to the problem, when we went to pull all the ingredients, there was 1# of butter so we had to wait while the teacher ran to the closest grocery store on a Saturday morning and buy butter which was not very well chilled. That was a bad experience. Making it at home and taking my time, it was not that hard.

 
If that isn't one of the most beautiful croissants I've ever seen!!

Bravo Marilyn - a work of art and I'm sure, sinfully scrumptious!

 
Thanks, all. I have to say this was Gesine's work. Her demo is very specific...and actually

you NEED to pay attention because the written recipe lists ONLY the ingredients, not of the process steps.

Thanks, Deb, for posting that here.

Demo is an hour long, so she's cutting back and forth between doughs already in the refrigerator for chilling, resting, etc. You, my friend, will have to sit and multi-task other chores while waiting for those chill-out periods. Like posting here, or doing a crossword, or playing solitaire. Maybe something mundane like laundry.

She said to run the initial beating of the dough in the mixer (dough hook) for 5-6 minutes. We were both using "lift bowl" KA and she specified "low". Mine took almost 10 minutes before it looked like her's. I think from my final roll-out, it could have gone even a bit longer.

Meanwhile, SaraBeth's used the paddle and left the pre-laminated dough quite wet and shaggy and then you added more flour as you rolled it out it. Unh-unh...that doesn't work for me. Gesine's was extremely specific to keep the dough hydration percentage at 56%, but no higher than 60%.

G's book fold-over to add the butter block was MUCH cleaner than S's traditional cloverleaf four-sided method.

At the final rollout, G was running out of time so she just loped off triangular pieces of dough and rolled them, then cut to finished baked croissants. I ended up cutting my bottoms to 3.5", which is what SaraBeth had specified. BUT, Gesine's dough was 10 wide (not 6"), so mine were actually too narrow at the bottom. I think that's why they fell over when proofing.

Also, mine kindof stretched (final test) at the roll-up. In the video you can't really tell how aggressive she's pulling the dough, but it lengthens. I could stretch mine a bit, but not too hard or it broke. I think that was another indication that I didn't knead it long enough.

All in all, it was a good tutorial and I'm not feeling quite so bad as I did after the SaraBeth fiasco.

I still have another half of dough to use up. SaraBeth was quite specific and said the unbaked dough only lasts about 4 days in the freezer. Gesine just said to pop it in the freezer (without any time restraints).

I'm going to try making almond filling and then par-bake them as Gesine's suggests (but gives no instructions, saying only that they are set, but not colored).

Oh...I tried the spiral pull test...mine unspiraled about mid-way and then stuck on the top crust. I think that was because I double-brushed the egg wash based on the recommendation from one of the 1,394 posts I read about croissants.

Final interior temperature was 204-206.

 
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