The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

croissants

himter's picture
himter

croissants

Does the original croissant recipe have milk?

mutantspace's picture
mutantspace

i use a 50% water/,milk recipe that works well - not sure if its the original - some are all milk others all water. Id hazard a guess and say it was originally a regional/easonal issue and whether milk was readily available

himter's picture
himter

thanks

julie99nl's picture
julie99nl

What's the original recipe? I think only an in-depth historical search could answer that.

I have a croissant recipe with milk and water, a recipe with milk, water, and egg, a recipe with water and milk powder.

My most successful recipe is a recipe with half water and half milk at 40% of the flour and 10% levain.

himter's picture
himter

I saw a chef make croissants without milk. Never heard of that. My recipe has milk. Just curious. thanks.

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

Wasn't the forerunner of croissants the rugelach?

himter's picture
himter

that's funny

AlamedaSteve's picture
AlamedaSteve

that one cannot produce a proper croissant using water rather than milk, that KA Sir Lancelot flour is too hard for making croissants, that one should never bake croissants directly on a baking stone, that croissants require a 3-day process to turn out right(?), and that one must include an egg in the dough mix.

I am breaking all of these "rules", yet people who have tried my latest iteration tell me they are among the best they've tasted.

So, I believe there are, in fact, many recipes that produce great results; and that hoping to find any "original" recipe will be a disappointing journey, because recipes begin changing at conception.

Here are pics of my latest "original" croissants -

 

 

The outside shatters when bitten into, the moist and tender inside easily yields without complaint to being pulled or bitten, and it presents with aromas and tastes of slightly sweet dairy that is moist yet not doughy.

I think not bad considering all the things I am doing incorrectly.  ;-)

Steve

 

 

julie99nl's picture
julie99nl

That is a  lovely crumb!

I for one being stubborn and hard headed don't believe in absolutes in bread baking. To me it doesn't even make sense because if everything had to be one way and one way only, we'd all be baking one kind of bread with one kind of flour and that would be a very boring world!