Leader's Sourdough Croissants
I completed a batch of Leader's Sourdough Croissants from Local Breads today. I used the metric weights and had no problem with the recipe; everything seemed to be correct as written. I baked one tray at the recommended 350º for 18 minutes but thought they weren't browning enough, so upped the temperature to 375º for the remainder.
They baked up fine--light, flakey and layered--, but have almost no flavor, being neither sour, nor sweet, nor buttery, nor anything else. I knew something was wrong when I couldn't smell anything when they were baking. What a disappointment! It's almost like the levain canceled out the flavor of the dough. I've tried at least 6 different croissant recipes over my lifetime and all have come out well except this one. I think they are destined for the trash.
If anyone has had experience with this recipe or has an idea as to their lack of flavor, please let me know.
--Pamela
Comments
Send them to me, hehehe, they look wonderful, far better than any of my long past trys. I don't know, never heard of this loss. I wish I could make a mistake that looked so good.
Robert
They look lovely, Pamela, I'm sure a little jam would fix'em right up.. Leaders Sourdough Croissants was the recipe I used the first time I made croissants/bear claws. The blog post I had with photos went when we changed to the new upgrade. They had lots of flavor but not my favorite and I will probably never do a sourdough version again...The recipe posted on Steve's Bread Cetera are lovely tasteing. I love making croissants and have the urge lately...your's are making it harder to resist that urge.
Sylvia
I too had the urge, which was why I made them. But the really worst thing is that my urge isn't satisfied. I could put some jam on and that might help, but won't satisfy my craving for these things.
Thanks for sharing your SD croissant experience. I just can't figure out why they are so blah. In any event, I probably won't ever try an SD croissant again either! I'm disappointed and still have the urge, which is the worst of two possible states!
--Pamela
Hi Pamela,
I've never tasted a true sourdough croissant before, but I would guess that the subtle complexities from a levain would be drowned by the buttery goodness from the dough itself... How much butter do you use for lamination?
There's some terrific info re: combining natural leaven and Viennoiserie in ABAP (chap. 9), so make sure you have a look there if you're not completely turned off the idea of sourdough croissants. Both the straight (with overnight bulk fermentation) and poolish recipies for croissant doughs in ABAP are brilliant (in my opinion).
Hi Hans. You're always a chapter ahead of me in Suas' book--I'm in ch. 8. Yes, something not too magic happened between the flavor of the levain and the butter. It was as if one canceled the other out such that all that was left was a bland choux-like taste. I will have a look at ch. 9. I'm not completely turned off by the idea of SD croissants, but think I will give them a rest for a couple of months.
Leader's recipe was less complicated than all the others I've tried. He used a block made of 14 tablespoon of butter without incorporating any flour. Basically the ripe levain was the detremp. I guess that works OK. But perhaps the degree of ripeness is key with a recipe like this. I'm not running a bakery in my kitchen, so perhaps I missed the window on the levain. The biggest disappointment was to glaze down on something that looked so good and tasted like nothing.
--Pamela
Heck, I'm in awe over your photography as well! What camera, lens, type of lighting, etc did you use?
Brian
It's not a new camera--think I've had it for at least 5 years. No special lens either, but I do try to find some natural light. Natural lighting is my only trick.
--Pamela
never made croissant with sourdough but yours look delicious (even if you say they have no flavor). what kind of texture did you get?
i agree, your pictures are clear and crisp!
Everything about these croissants was perfect; texture was light and layered, color was good, crust was flakey. Everything was perfect except the taste.
--Pamela
I swear ...Canon makes the best cameras. I used to have the PowerShot S40 I think. It was the 4Mb Powershot anyway. It took pretty good pictures when new, but I replaced it because even on a tripod, the pictures just weren't as clear anymore. Had to be the lens getting dirty on the inside, or damage. I did have it in a back pocket once and leaned on something ...and half wrecked the lens cover door. But looking at yours, I'd say you've got two things. First is a very nice touch for photography ...absolutely. The second is a nice camera.
Brian
PS: I have a Kodak EasyShare 10Mb camera now, and it doesn't take pictures anywhere near as nice as what you just posted. It was a gift ...one given with no consultation with me. Funny how gifts work like that. :)