CHAPTER 15

THE PERFECT CROISSANT

MASTERCL ASS
Chapter 15 Dominique Ansel MasterClass • 50

THE PERFECT CROISSANT

“Making croissants is a labor Croissants begin with a levain, which is essentially

the sourdough starter used to make bread. In the
of love and dedication—
croissant, however, levain contributes a more tangy,
a lifelong baking project.” acidic flavor, balancing out the richness of the butter
fat. You will learn how to mix, proof, and fold the
Chef Dominique likens the croissant to an omelet: dough; how to make perfect lines and edges to keep
“It’s just a few ingredients,” he says, “but you need everything neat; and how to build the hundreds of
skills and to understand how everything works tiny layers that give croissants their rise. (Pro tip: buy
together.” This humble French pastry is all about a ruler, if you don’t have one already!)
mastering time-intensive techniques to produce
perfect results. But do not be intimidated by this task; Mastery over pressure is essential to making a perfect
rather, with Chef Dominique guidance, you will learn croissant. You must exert gentle pressure on the roll-
how to make croissants, hone your skills with each ing pin while flattening the dough so that you don’t
subsequent batch you create, and spot the difference crush or tear the layers in the dough, and you must
between a good croissant and an exceptional one by use barely any pressure at all to gently stretch the cut
understanding how the intricate pastry is constructed. dough triangles and roll them into the final croissant
shape. As Chef Dominique notes: “Making croissants
is really difficult, but it’s not impossible; it just re-
quires a lot of patience. If you make them for the first
time at home, and they’re not perfect, don’t be afraid
to make them again and again and again.”

Baking Timeline

I WEEK BEFORE 2 D AY S B E F O R E 1 D AY B E F O R E D AY O F

Make levain Make dough Make all folds Bake

Make butterblock Roll and shape
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THE PERFECT CROISSANT

METHOD
1 Week Before:
MAKE LEVAIN STARTER

Day 1:
In a large mixing bowl at least twice the size of your
mixture, combine 50g (3⅓ tbsp) flour and 50g (3⅓
tbsp) water and mix with a spatula until evenly com-
bined. Loosely cover with a dish towel or cheesecloth
and leave at room temperature spot for 24 hours.

Day 2:
Add another 50g (3⅓ tbsp) flour and 50g (3⅓ tbsp)
water, mix with spatula to combine. Loosely cover and
leave at room temperature for another 24 hours.

Makes: 12 to 15 croissants Day 3:

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes two days before; 2 hours one Add another 100g (6⅔ tbsp) flour and 100g (6⅔ tbsp)
day before; 1 hour the day of. (This timing does not in- water, mix with spatula to combine. Loosely cover and
clude at least 4 to 5 days needed in advance to make leave at room temperature for another 24 hours.
the levain starter.)
Day 4:
INGREDIENTS Remove 20 percent of the levain mixture from the
Levain Starter container and discard. Loosely cover and leave at
200g (¾ cup + 1 ⅓ tbsp) all-purpose flour, room temperature for another 24 hours.
plus more for feeding
200g (¾ cup + 1 ⅓ tbsp) water, room temperature, Day 5:
plus more for feeding Check if your levain is ready to use. It should be light,
bubbly, and fluffy, and have a pronounced fermenta-
Croissant Dough tion aroma without any acidity. If it’s not quite there,
12g (4¼ tsp) dry instant yeast “feed” the levain again each day with equal parts flour
(preferably SAF Gold Label) and water that’s equal to the weight of the levain,
203g (¾ cup + 1¾ tbsp) cold water, cold until it’s ready.
560g (4¼ cups + 2½ tbsp) all-purpose bread flour,
plus more as needed for dusting
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THE PERFECT CROISSANT

Croissant Dough Continued Day 1:

29g (2 tbsp) high-fat “European-style” or Vermont MAKE DOUGH
(preferably 83 to 84 percent butter fat) unsalted
butter, softened In a small bowl, stir together the yeast and room
72g (1/3 cup + 1¾ tsp) granulated sugar temperature water until dissolved. Combine the
29g (1 each) large egg flour, butter, sugar, egg, cream, salt, 68g levain, and
15g (1 tbsp) heavy cream yeast mixture in a stand mixer fitted with a dough
12g (2⅛ tsp) kosher salt hook. Start mixing on the lowest speed and mix for 1
68g (1/4 cup) prepared levain minute, then increase the speed to medium and mix
As needed nonstick cooking spray about 3 to 4 minutes more, until the dough is just
combined. When finished, the dough will be rough
Tip: Instant yeast is often used for doughs with higher and have very little gluten development. It will also be
sugar content, because this yeast needs less water to elastic and come out of the bowl as one piece.
react and sugar tends to pull water from dough. You can
substitute the same quantity of active dry yeast, but you Lightly grease a medium bowl with nonstick spray.
may get a denser final product. Transfer the dough into the bowl and cover with plas-
tic wrap pressed directly on the dough, to prevent a
Butter Block: skin from forming. Proof the dough in a warm spot
284g (2½ sticks) high-fat European-style or Vermont until doubled in size, 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours.
unsalted butter, softened (83 to 84 percent butter
fat) Remove the plastic wrap and punch down the dough
by folding the edges into the center, releasing as
Egg Wash: much of the gas as possible. Invert the bowl of dough
2 eggs, 1 pinch of salt, and a dash of milk, and allow the dough to fall onto a piece of plastic
beaten together wrap, then shape the dough into a 10-inch (25cm)
square. Place the dough, still on the plastic wrap, on
EQUIPMENT a sheet pan and cover with another sheet of plastic
Stand mixer with dough hook attachment wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
Plastic wrap
Parchment paper
Ruler
Sheet pan
Large offset spatula or bench scraper
Pastry brush
Whisk
Large rubber spatula
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THE PERFECT CROISSANT

MAKE BUTTER BLOCK to seal the butter inside. You should have a square
slightly larger than the butter block.
Draw a 7-inch (18cm) square on a piece of parchment
paper with a pencil. Flip the parchment over so the Lightly dust the work surface with flour to ensure that
butter won’t come into contact with the pencil marks. the dough won’t stick. With a rolling pin, using steady,
Place the softened butter in the center of the square even pressure to roll out the dough from the center
and cover with another sheet of parchment paper. so that it triples in length. This will take several passes
Use an offset spatula or bench scraper to spread the and you may need to add more flour in between
butter evenly to fill the square. Refrigerate overnight. rolling to keep the dough from sticking to the surface
Tip: It’s important that the butter is truly softened to and rolling pin. When finished, you should have a rect-
make forming the butter block easy. Once perfectly angle about 20 by 10 inches (50 by 25 cm) and ¼ inch
room temperature, the butter will be spreadable and (6 mm) thick.
have the consistency of cream cheese.
Place the dough so the shorter sides run left to right.
Day 2: From the top side, fold one-third of the dough onto
MAKE THREE FOLDS itself, keeping the edges lined up with each other.
From the bottom side, fold the remaining one-third
Remove the butter mixture from the refrigerator of dough on top of the side that has already been
and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes to become pliable folded. Line up all the edges so that you are left with
enough to work with. It should still be soft enough to a smaller rectangle. This technique is called a “letter
bend slightly without cracking. If it is too firm, gently fold,” since the dough is folded as if it were a piece
beat it with a rolling pin on a lightly floured work of paper going inside an envelope. Wrap the dough
surface until it becomes pliable. Make sure to press tightly in plastic wrap and place on a sheet pan. Re-
the butter back to its 7-inch (18 cm) square after frigerate for about 1 hour to relax the gluten.
working it.
With the seam always facing to the right, repeat steps
Lightly flour your work surface. Remove the dough 3 and 4 for your second and third folds. After the
from the refrigerator, making sure it is very cold third fold, refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
throughout. Place the dough on the work surface.
Arrange the butter block in the center of the dough Tip: If you don’t have enough space in the refrigerator,
so it looks like a diamond in the center of the square you can gently fold the dough in half to fit.
(rotated 45 degrees, with the corners of the butter
block facing the center of the dough sides). Pull the Lightly flour the work surface and lay the dough flat.
corners of the dough up and over to the center of Trim about ½ inch of dough from each side to make a
the butter block. Pinch the seams of dough together neat rectangle. Using a ruler, start from the left side
Chapter 15 Dominique Ansel MasterClass • 54

THE PERFECT CROISSANT

and score the dough every 3 inches (8 cm) along the croissants on the sheet pan about 4 inches (10 cm)
bottom edge until you reach the right side of the apart. Lightly lay a piece of plastic wrap over the
dough. Make the first score on the top edge 1½ inches croissants and refrigerate overnight.
(4 cm) from the left end. Continue scoring the top
edge every 3 inches (8 cm). These staggered marks Day 3:
should give a nice guideline for cutting triangles. Use BAKE
a large chef’s knife to connect each score mark on
the top with the two at the bottom on either side of Remove the tray of croissants from the refrigerator.
it. The isosceles triangles should measure 3 inches (8 Keep them lightly covered in plastic wrap. Let stand
cm) wide and 10 inches (25 cm) long. There will be at room temperature until tripled in size, about 2 to 3
narrow triangles of dough left over at each end. Place hours.
the cut triangles on a parchment paper-lined sheet Tip: This step is called “proofing”, a step in bread and vi-
pan, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for ennoiserie baking that activates the yeast in the dough.
30 minutes to 1 hour. When proofed at the proper temperature and environ-
ment, you’ll see the croissant dough triple in size and
Remove the dough triangles from the refrigerator, become light, fluffy, and jiggly. What’s most important
and make sure there is no flour on your work surface. in the proofing step is to make sure the dough is nei-
Working with one triangle at a time, hold the base of ther overproofed (where it’s proofed up so much that it
the triangle with one hand and use the fingertips of eventually collapses, causing the layers to separate and
your other hand to lightly grasp the triangle near its the butter to leak) or underproofed (which will result in a
base and gently stretch it an additional 2 to 3 inches tight crumb and you won’t get those fluffy, flaky layers).
(5 to 8 cm) in length, pulling your fingers toward the
tip and being careful not to tear the dough. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat
Tip: Stretching out the dough not only gives you more to the oven to 375°F (190°C) for conventional or 350°F
roll, it also relaxes the dough. (175°C) for convection. In a small bowl, make the egg
wash by whisking together the eggs, salt, and milk.
ROLL AND SHAPE Gently remove the plastic wrap from the croissants.
Lightly brush the croissants with the egg wash, mak-
Starting at the wide end, roll the croissant dough to- ing sure not to apply too much pressure to prevent
ward the tip, keeping steady and even pressure as you deflating the croissants. Bake on the center rack for
roll, until it comes to a rest on the tip of the triangle. 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from
When finished, make sure the tip of the dough is on the oven and let cool briefly.
the bottom of the croissant or else it will unravel in
the oven. STORAGE
Best served fresh and hot out of the oven. Croissants
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the should be eaten within 5 hours of baking.
Chapter 15 Dominique Ansel MasterClass • 55

LEARN MORE

“Flour, butter, and the levain are the three critical cold from the refrigerator, trying not to handle it too
ingredients to making a good croissant,” Chef Dom- much with your hands to avoid warming. Work quick-
inique notes. As such, take care to buy quality ingre- ly, but calmly, and keep everything as neat as possi-
dients so the finished croissant is equally exemplary. ble. This both minimizes the amount of waste from
Buy fresh, all-purpose flour and use high-quality, Eu- the dough, but also keeps the dough in the perfect
ropean-style butter that has the highest fat content shape to give you the beautiful croissants you’re after
you can find. Good butter is like clay: it’s malleable in the end.
and elastic, even when cold from the refrigerator.
Once the croissants are rolled, be careful not to
The quality of the levain depends on how long it destroy all those beautiful layers you worked to build
ferment, so follow Chef Dominique’s recipe closely. up. Be gentle when rolling and shaping the croissants
To make levain, you must first let flour and water and use a light hand when applying the egg wash–you
capture the natural yeasts in the air, which will give don’t want the brush to to drench the dough or crush
the croissants the same slightly acidic, pleasing it. Once baked, allow the pastries to cool to room
smell you normally get from a freshly-baked loaf of temperature and use a sharp serrated knife so
sourdough bread. This process takes about 5 days it can cut through, not crush, all those flaky layers.
to get going. Then, once it is, you must add new The layers inside should resemble a “honeycomb” in
amounts of flour and water to feed the yeast, literally, that they should not look dense, and the air pockets
and allow it to grow, thus producing more and more should be of an even size from the inside to the
of itself and developing layers and layers of flavor. outside. Smell the croissant; it should smell yeasty
Once the levain is ready, you will take some of it to and buttery.
use in making Chef Dominique’s croissants, but you
will be left with much more, so be prepared to either If you cut into your freshly-baked croissant and find
give it away to other bakers and friends or continue that it’s hasn’t come out as you’d imagined, exam-
feeding it to make more croissants. The levain, after ine its interior structure and look for these common
all, is the “DNA in the croissant,” as Chef Dominique signs that things might have gone wrong while mak-
notes. ing your croissants:

Once you’re working with quality ingredients, make • If the croissant has air pockets that are very small
sure to follow the steps closely to make sure the and the texture is “bready” (chewy and tough),
dough you’re working with is the proper tempera- that means the croissant dough was overhydrated.
ture. If the dough gets too cold, it can be difficult to This can happen when there’s excess moisture in
roll and the butter layers inside can break apart and the air or too much water was added to the dough
become brittle, which will impede the development in the beginning. To correct this, add a little less
of flaky layers in the finished croissant. Keep the water than the recipe calls for and see how the
countertop cool and work with the dough while it’s dough absorbs it. If it looks and feels well-hydrated
Chapter 15 Dominique Ansel MasterClass • 56

LEARN MORE

and supple, it’s likely that you don’t need the extra • If the croissant has a slightly concave bottom and
water. Keep in mind that a humid environment uneven air pocket size inside, that means the crois-
could contribute to overhydration of dough. sant dough was under-proofed and did not develop
the strength necessary to stabilize the dough that
• If the croissant has a dry ring of crumb on the comes from proper proofing time. If you’re unsure
outer edge, that means the croissant was baked for about whether your dough is proofed long enough,
too long because the oven wasn’t hot enough. The it is better to give the dough a few more minutes
faster you bake the croissant, the better because than to pull it too early and risk working with
you want the outside to set and turn deep gold- dough that isn’t ready.
en brown at the same time the inside is cooked
through.