January 11, 2017 - 4:37pm
Croissant production...what type of flour do you use?
Hello! Pleased with the way these came out but wanted to further tweak it. Used hi gluten All Trumps flour from King Arthur. Thinking about going 50/50 All Trumps and Sir Galahad. Wondering what type of flour you've had best results with in regards to texture. Thank you.
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I use Dakota Maid AP. I don't know the specs on it but it's 12.3% protein. Works like a charm for me. I make 300 or so a week.
First of all, those look really nice. In terms of flour choice, pastry flour is the absolute classic flour to use. French bakers really only had access to low protein wheat, until the late 19th century. All French breads and pastries -- from croissants to baguettes to eclairs -- before that time used pastry flour when they used wheat flour.
And it's not at all unheard of to use pastry flour. I came across a blog entry from someone who was working on entering the LeSaffre cup, and he said incorporating at least some pastry flour was the key factor in achieving the result he wanted: http://www.bakersjournal.com/pastries/quintessential-croissants-4586
At minimum, only use AP flour. No bread flour or hi-gluten. Pierre Hermé, the most beloved of all living French pastry chefs, uses the French equivalent of AP in his.