Croissant

Making pastry is hard work. A lot of PATIENCE is needed! But the satisfaction you get afterwards is indescribable. The method in making puff pastry and croissant pastry is the same. The difference is that puff pastry does not contain yeast.

My several attempts at making croissant had been disappointing. They did not 'poof' like they were supposed to. And in order not to feel the disappointment again, I never tried since then.

It was the last few days of Ramadhan and one of my friends mentioned having pastry for Iftar (break-fast) but I only had bread at home so I thought why not try making Croissant! Make them all fat fat! This time with British ingredients! I googled for a good recipe, and came across one posted by Paul Hollywood (the male judge in The Great British Bake-Off). And that's it!

Overnight in the fridge, and 2 hours of proofing in room temperature

Ingredients

- 500gm strong white flour
- 10gm salt
- 80gm sugar
- 10gm instant yeast
- 300ml cool water
- 300gm butter


Method

1. Mix all dry ingredients and water. Knead till smooth. Wrap loosely in cling film and chill in fridge for 1 hour.

2. Shape butter into think rectangular shape.

3. Remove dough from fridge and roll out as wide as butter and double the length of the butter. The aim here is to wrap the butter in the dough nicely.

4. Do at least 3 turns. Roll out dough and fold into three as if closing a book. Make sure to chill the dough at least 1 hour between each turn.

5. Chill the dough overnight or for at least 8 hours.

6. Remove from fridge and roll out dough into long rectangular shape, roughly 0.5cm in thickness.

7. Cut the rolled out dough into equal triangles. Make a 1cm slid at the centre of the base of the triangle. Roll the dough tightly.

8. Let proof for 2 hours in room temperature and then bake at 200 degrees celsius for 12-20 minutes till golden brown.


I personally do not like to egg wash my croissant because I notice they brown faster without cooking through. That is just personal preference.

Baked till golden brown