Croissants

I've been thinking a lot about the life I left last May. It's taken me some time to realize that despite all of my frustrations, I wouldn’t mind returning to la belle vie by the sea. I don't miss the heartache from the later months, and I don't miss the constant urge to jump in the water and swim back to Virginia shores. What I do wish for is to go back to the weekend market at the bottom of my street and chat about curry with the woman who sold me spices. Without a doubt I would fly straight to Provence for another sunny afternoon picnic on the jetties with my housemates. But most of all, I would drop everything in an instant for one more early morning croissant from my favorite boulangerie.

Truthfully, I’m not sure how I managed to wake up at 5.30 am most days to travel one town over and teach hundreds of young French children. I remember my first morning alone in front of the students, feeling especially ill-equipped to be commanding a classroom. Fearfully, I rambled in English, loudly and slowly like strangers sometimes do to the blind in movies because they’ve confused them with the deaf. In this case, those 30 pairs of eyes might have very well been hard of hearing because their faces showed no signs of understanding. Though I towered over the desks, I felt significantly small among the seven-year olds. They terrified me with their Bonjour Madame’s. In their hands, they wielded fountain pens and for-construction-paper-only child safe scissors. Their silence was menacing in the way only a quiet mob can be before the destruction.


Teaching became my life. My classes were the first thing I thought about in the mornings and the last before I fell asleep. The single hall where I traveled from class to class permeated my dreams and my days off. All of a sudden, I could only speak of lesson plans and disciplining the misbehaved. I couldn’t explain enough times how there are only so many different techniques to teach the correct pronunciation of I am so that these kids didn’t grow up announcing to everyone, I ham! It was almost ridiculous how I agonized about arming a youth with existential crises of identity and deli meat.


After all of that, I made it. I survived the paper cuts and chalk dust; I endured coloring days and bingo games. Maybe it’s the time and distance, but now I fondly think about the friendship bracelets and drawings I’ve collected from my students.


I think a lot of my sanity was preserved in the quiet moments of respite that distanced me from foraging through foreign languages and cultural anomalies. There were naps during lunch among the library books and breezy Saturday mornings when the sounds of life below my apartment floated in through my tiny attic room window. Then there are the memories that I want to remember most.

Give me one perfect croissant and I am right back in those moments of clarity and purpose. They are always the same: the smell of butter rises in the cold air as I make my way past the clanking trash truck and closed post office. Holding a delicately warm wax paper bag under the weight of another navy sky, I try not to think about how today I will enunciate horse, human, and head. And as I wait for the last 6 am regular to saunter up just in time to see the bus pull in, I bite into an unmistakable balance of butter and pastry. First comes a crackle, then the soft and sweet, followed by a salty creaminess and a pocketful of air to tame the tongue before another mouthful of perfection. The taste is almost as pure as hanging a brightly colored Thanksgiving hand-dinosaur on the blackboard.

Croissants
Adapted from Julia Child via Cafe Fernando
Yields 10 to 12 croissants

3 teaspoons active dry yeast (about 1 1/2 envelopes)
3 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk

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1 pound butter (I use 1/2 lb salted, 1/2 lb unsalted)

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Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon cold water)

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Note: I divide the process into three sessions, but days 2 & 3 can be combined if time permits. Dough may be frozen at any time after each completed turn. To prepare frozen dough, allow to thaw overnight in refrigerator before continuing to next step.

Day 1
Proof yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar for 10 minutes. If yeast does not double in size then start proof process again. 

Put flour, sugar, salt, milk, and proofed yeast in bowl of stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed until loose, moist dough forms (about 1-2 minutes). If the dough is too dry, add an extra spoonful of milk one at a time until all flour is incorporated.

After dough has come together, increase mixer speed to medium-high and work about 4 minutes until smooth and elastic. Dough will pull away from sides of bowl and have a slight resistance to the touch. Be careful not to over knead at this point or the croissants will be tough instead of flaky.

Remove dough from mixer and wrap in plastic wrap. Let dough rest in plastic bag at room temperature for 30 minutes to relax and expand slightly. Then refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours. 

Day 2

Prepare butter by stacking 2 sticks of butter on top of remaining 2 sticks. Pound butter between two sheets of parchment or wax paper to form an 8 x 5 inch rectangle. Butter should be soft and malleable but still cold. 

Place cold dough on floured surface and lightly sprinkle with flour. With a floured rolling pin, roll dough to a 12 x 10 inch rectangle. Place butter in the middle of the dough and fold sides over to snuggly cover butter and meet in center. Press edges slightly to seal dough over butter. Turn dough over so that the seams are underneath and the smooth surface is facing up. Gently pound or roll butter to fill the edges of dough, trying to maintain rectangular shape. If you are comfortable with working quickly, move on to the next step or refrigerate dough and butter for at least 1 hour. 

First turn:

Roll dough out to about 24 x 14 inch rectangle. With the long side as the horizontal edge, fold dough into thirds from left to right like a brochure. Turn dough and flour surface as necessary to avoid sticking. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Mark paper with a “1” to indicate first turn and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

Second turn:

Repeat the same process as above. With 14-inch edge running left to right, roll dough out to 24 x 14 inch rectangle on floured surface. Fold dough into thirds and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Transfer to baking sheet and mark paper with “2” to indicate second turn. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

Third turn:

With 14-inch edge running left to right, roll dough to 24 x 14 inch rectangle. Fold left and right sides of dough to center, leaving a small space in between the two edges. Then fold left side over right to form a “wallet”. The dough should look like a closed book with 4 visible layers of dough. Mark paper with “3” and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 

Day 3

Place dough on floured surface like a book with the fold on the left and opening on the right. Cut the dough in half horizontally; wrap and refrigerate one half while working with the other.

Roll dough to 20 x 8 inch rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or very sharp knife, start cutting a thin strip of dough with a diagonal stroke on the left side of rectangle. Continue cutting triangles from dough, alternating from top and bottom until you have about 5-6 triangles from the dough, each with a 3-4 inch base. Make a 1-inch vertical cut in the middle of each triangle base; separate and spread the bottom corners.

Shape croissants by slightly stretching each triangle. Press about ½ inch of dough over with the corners pointing outwards and start rolling forward. Stretch the triangle more as you push the base forward, making sure each roll is tight. When finished rolling, turn the ends down and inward towards each other to create the crescent shape. Repeat with remaining triangles and second half of dough.

Arrange croissants on parchment-lined baking sheet (with raised sides if possible to avoid butter leaking onto bottom of oven) about 2 inches apart. Brush with egg wash and allow to rise uncovered for 2-3 hours at room temperature. Croissants are ready for baking when ends are not resistant and feel hollow. 

Divide oven racks into thirds and preheat oven to 350°F. Brush croissants once more with egg wash and let dry for about 10 minutes. Place trays on first and second racks; bake croissants for 12 minutes. Rotate trays front to back and bake for another 6-10 minutes until croissants are a deep caramel brown. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes to allow pastry layers to set.

Leftover croissants can be stored in an airtight container for 2-4 days and reheated in 350°F oven until warm and crisp.