Homemade Croissants!

I don't remember when I had my first taste of croissants but I do recall that I liked it a lot.  It would have been one of those trips I took abroad when I was still young. I loved the buttery flakey texture of croissants. It was not like any bread I had ever tasted before.  It was something that was not readily available in Manila at that time.

As the years passed, croissants made their way to the Philippines.  I don't recall when it happened.  Perhaps it was Johnlu Koa's French Baker that introduced croissants to the usual pan de sal eating locals.   Admittedly, if there was a choice between regular bread and croissants, I would almost always take the croissant.   

I often wondered if I could make croissants at home.  I knew that Sister Deer had made some puff pasty from scratch so I figured I had hope.  I would occasionally check out videos on how to make croissants.  It did not seem impossible but it also did not seem easy.  Then in February, I chanced upon the book entitled Tartine.  I decided that once I bought bread flour, I would take on this challenge. 

I started on the weekend and managed to work through the steps until I had my dough all mixed.  I packed it away in a ziplock bag and placed it inside a plastic container then parked it in the fridge.  

Thae next day,  I got this picture from MacGyver while I was at the office.  Thank goodness he was at home to discover the dough's attempt to escape.  He was able to transfer it into a bowl before it got away.

I worked on it that evening, making the butter block and preparing the dough.  I froze one half and worked on the other.   I went through with my plan to bake some croissants also

I proceeded to form the croissants ...

  

then I baked them. 

Some of the croissants were not rolled up properly but they all tasted DELICIOUS!

The first batch of croissants were baked on 02 March.   Soon after that, the grocery shelves emptied out and I only had a finite amount of yeast and flour.  I could not do any unnecessary baking and the second batch of croissant dough will stay in the freezer in case we are unable to get any bread from the outside world.

In the midst of this pandemic, having something special in the freezer gives me something to look forward to.