Nicolas Croissant

Overview

Among the many varieties of bread suitable for home baking, croissants are a bit more difficult. The main difficulty lies in the so-called folding quilt - wrapping a large amount of fat in the fermented dough, stacking it layer by layer, and rolling it out, so that the dough layer wraps the fat layer by layer, and the layer-by-layer crisping effect is presented during high-temperature baking, with a crispy mouthfeel and a mellow taste. Folding quilts in different ways and times will result in different crispy experiences. Nikolai croissant is the most basic type of croissant bread. In the words of the author of the original recipe, this is his original bread, which has both a crispy texture and a soft texture. Judging from the recipe and method, it is characterized by the use of a large amount of fermented butter and the three-fold quilt method. Stacked with fermented butter, not only the nutrients are easier to absorb, but the taste is also very unique; fermented butter has high fat content, low water content, and very good ductility, making it very suitable for folding quilts. When buying fermented butter, it mainly depends on whether there is a starter in the formula, and the oil content is above 80%. In fact, you can use ordinary unsalted butter with a higher fat content. Three folds are the simplest way to fold a quilt. It is not only easy to operate, but also has a very good puffing effect. The layers are distinct, the texture is crispy, and the internal structure is very soft.

Tags

• baking
• children
• bread
• breakfast
• afternoon tea
• all-purpose flour
• clear water
• fold in cultured butter
• instant yeast powder
• skimmed milk powder
• unsalted butter
• whole egg liquid
• fine sugar
• salt

Ingredients

Steps

1. 1 Put all-purpose flour, water, salt, yeast powder, milk powder, sugar and softened unsalted butter into the mixing bowl of a chef's machine;

   

2. 2 Start the mixer and slowly add water while stirring at a slow speed. Do not add it all at once. Leave about 20g to adjust the softness of the dough;

   

3. 3 Stir until the dough forms a ball, then stop the machine to check the degree of the dough. The dough is slightly softer and easier to handle. Add water as appropriate;

   

4. 4 Continue to mix at slow speed until the surface of the dough is smooth;

   

5. 5 Check the dough texture: take a small piece of dough and slowly stretch it out until it can be stretched into a thin film;

   

6. 6 Take out the dough, spread it out on a flat plate, cover it with plastic wrap, and freeze it in the refrigerator for 1 hour (yes! It’s freezing! It can delay the fermentation of the dough and make it easier to "fold the quilt");

   

7. 7 When the dough is almost frozen, take out the refrigerated fermented butter from the refrigerator, cut it into thick slices and put it in a plastic bag, and beat it into large thick slices with a rolling pin;

   

8. 8 Take out the dough and roll it out into a piece about twice as big as the fermented butter piece;

   

9. 9 Place the butter piece in the center of the dough piece;

   

10. 10 Wrap the butter slices with bread and pinch tightly;

    

11. 11 Use a rolling pin to beat the dough sheet so that the dough and butter are tightly attached. If there are bubbles, use a bamboo skewer to poke small holes;

    

12. 12 Roll the dough into large pieces;

    

13. 13 Fold into three folds;

    

14. 14 Drop the dough pieces one by one and roll them out again into a long rectangular piece;

    

15. 15 Fold into thirds again;

    

16. 16 Put it on a flat plate, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour;

    

17. 17 After 30 minutes, take out the dough and roll it out into a square piece with a side length of about 40cm and a thickness of about 4mm;

    

18. 18 Trim the four sides of the large dough piece and divide it into two large pieces about 18cm wide;

    

19. 19 Use a sharp knife to cut into an isosceles triangle with a base of about 9cm and a height of 18cm;

    

20. 20 Cut a small opening of about 1cm in the center of the base of the isosceles triangle and pull it slightly apart;

    

21. 21 Follow the "strength" of the pull and roll it up towards the top corner of the isosceles triangle. Don't be too loose or too tight, just roll it up naturally;

    

22. 22 After all the rolls are rolled, place them evenly on the baking tray (it is best to lay a layer of tin foil to facilitate cleaning of the baking tray), leave enough distance between the rolls, and perform final fermentation at room temperature;

    

23. 23 Don’t waste the leftovers. Braid them or dip them in sesame seeds and twist them into twists for final fermentation;

    

24. 24 When fermented to 2 times in size, brush a thin layer of egg liquid evenly on the surface. Be careful not to brush the layered parts on the sides to avoid affecting the puffiness.

    

25. 25 Place in the middle rack of a preheated oven at 220 degrees and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.