Rainbow Croissants (2020/01/12-14)

January 15, 2021

So! After 6 trials for original croissant and 1 tryout on chocolate croissant, I am still here! Trying the colorful, rainbow croissants this time! I baked this new batch of rainbow croissants with more precision such as desired dough temperature (24-26C), croissant shape measurements(4.5mm x 10cm x 25cm), proofing temperature (26-28C), listening to croissants etc. with tricks from the LONGER and more detailed croissant baking videos I watched.

Most importantly! It was my first time making croissant together with my friend, of course, via video chat during this special time.. But hey, a great way to hangout!

Overall, I think the colors did not turn out as expected and will get browned while baking. If not intend to impress guests, I would prefer traditional, plain croissants or pain au chocolat as the colored sheet/layer did not go through lamination process and its texture was more crispy, had a snap compared to the rest of croissant.

QUICK TAKEAWAYS

compared to previous attempts, I tried something new in this trial:
- butter sheet was around 1.5cm thick; butter square before lamination was much smaller than before
some kneading is needing to develop glutenous network, even do not have to be completely smooth or thin as a shear layer
croissant dough before shaping should be:
- thickness: 4-5mm
- base width: 11-12cm
- height: 25-30cm
pain au chocolat:
- thickness: 4-5mm
- base width: 8-10cm
- height: 17-25cm
colors need to be bright otherwise will be all browned in baking
415F for first 10mins might be too high as the top colored layer was very crispy, and colors turned brown 🙁
FUN FACT: listening to pastry (cake) like contestants of GBBO said might actually be a good indicator whether pastry is done baking or not. My croissants were bubbling when I took them out and the inside was indeed more moist than usual.
honey diluted in water can give croissants a shiny glaze and a sweet kick!

RECIPE

ingredients for 7-8 croissants following WeekendBakery’s recipe.

250g All Purpose Flour
70g water (RT)
70g whole milk (RT)
27.5-28g sugar
20g butter (RT)
5.5g yeast
6g salt
140g lamination butter

DAY 1: 15-20mins

Step 1: bring out yeast, milk and butter from fridge, warming out to room temperature (butter becomes soft and yeast activates)

different from chocolate croissant or previous trials: desired dough temperature for croissant is 24-26C according to the attached 3 videos. So I am trying to bring milk temperature higher as well.

Step 2: mix 5.5g yeast with 70g water, 5g sugar, set for 10-15mins (foam appearing = yeast activating). Mix 250g AP flour, 70g milk, 13g sugar and 6g salt, yeast water. Form dough and knead for 10-15 mins.

Step 3: add 20g soft butter, knead till butter completely blends in and dough is smooth.

I did not make it smooth/sheer enough when stretched, but did knead longer than usual.

Step 4: separate 1/4 dough, set aside. Shape the rest 3/4 dough into a round disc, wrap well with plastic wrap and store in fridge overnight.

Step 5: divide the small dough into 4 parts, add food coloring and mix well.

DAY 2: ~1.5-2 hours

Step 1: slice 140g European butter (>80% fat), place in square shape parchment paper. Roll butter into a butter sheet

this time I followed recipe strictly and folded a 10cm x 11cm square, butter sliced as 1.5cm thick, also almost twice as thick as before
- full recipe with 15 croissants, 500g AP flour will fold to 15cm x 15cm, I should have folded an even smaller square of 7.5cm x 7.5cm
folding square much smaller led to 1.5cm thick butter sheet

Step 2: bring out the croissant dough (not the colorful ones), roll out large enough so that croissant dough can completely wrap, seal the butter sheet. If they are not the same softness, put both back in fridge to make them hard and have the same consistency.

if butter is too soft, might not be easy for rolling out; butter might blend in with dough before baking, leading to lack of the honeycomb structure inside.

Step 3: wrap butter sheet with croissant dough, like wrapping mail with envelop. Then roll it into a rectangle shape long enough to fold as blanket. If there is air bubbles in croissant dough, poke it with a knife.

Step 4: Fold into blanket shape, rest in fridge for 30mins.

Step 5: repeat step 3 and 4 twice, so there are three rolling and folding in total. Rest in fridge overnight.

Step 6: bring out the 4 colored dough. Roll to de-gas and shape into small rectangle. Wrap well and put back in fridge to rest overnight.

DAY 3: ~3 hours

prepare all needed tools, ingredients before bringing out dough

Step 0: (if you do not have proofing oven) put hot water in a pan, and put in oven. Use thermometer to monitor oven temperature to make sure it is around 26-28C. If it drops below 26C, add more hot water.

Step 1: slightly press down croissant dough to get rid of air inside. Slightly rolling out to a small rectangle. Put back in fridge till colored dough sheet is completed.

Step 2: bring out colored dough. Press down to de-gas. Cut along the long side and divide each dough into two pieces. Roll out these 8 pieces (2 pieces x 4 colors) as the same length as croissant dough’s long side.

Step 3: line up these dough in alternating colors along the long side, stick them together by brushing with water, gently roll out to the same shape and size as croissant dough. Could roll out bigger to wrap the croissant dough’s edges.

Step 4: brush croissant dough with water, place colored sheet on top of the croissant dough. Press down on the four edges.

Step 4: roll out carefully for the final croissant sheet for shaping. Make sure each croissant triangle has thickness of 4-5mm, base of 10cm, height of 25cm.

if dough is hard to roll out, put back in fridge to rest
if dough skin broke, add some flour to bottom and top; remember to dust off excess flour when shaping

Step 5: put croissant dough sheet back in fridge for 15-30mins. All the rolling before might warm up croissant dough especially in summer, making croissant dough sticky and “skin” break.

Step 6: slice croissant dough sheet into triangles, cut a 1-2cm opening at triangle base’s midpoint.

Step 7: stretch croissant dough slightly. For the ones with chocolate fillings, put chocolate chips or bar at the bottom; roll up tightly.

Step 8: brush with egg, proof in room temperate or 26-28C for 2 hours or when size doubles. Do the wobbly test: slightly move baking pan, they should be wobbly.

if proofing in closed oven with hot water beneath, make sure the butter is not melting out and oven not too hot!
hot water in oven provides both 26-28C proofing temperature AND humidity

wobbly test

Step 9: brush egg wash again before baking. Bake at 415F for 10mins, 375F for 10-12mins.

videos below seem to use lower temp such as 180C/355F for 15-20mins. I could give it another try next time!

Step 10: remove from oven, brush honey diluted in water for the shiny glaze. Cool for 15mins before enjoying!!

Observation:

I baked for 10mins at 415F, 9mins at 375F because the exterior, especially the top layer was very brown.
When I listened to the croissants after they came out of oven, I can hear the bubbling/ sizzling inside them. It turned out the inside was more moist than usual.
- According to the contestants (John Whaite of season 3, Peter Sawkins of season 11) on the Great British Bake Off, if cake sounds bubbling when you listen was a sign of NOT thoroughly cooked pastry.
When I brushed diluted honey as glazed, I also heard sizzling. Temperature difference might be the cause.