the absolute best way to eat a croissant
aside from fresh from the oven, is twice baked.
Once you start working in a bakery, you’re quick to realize that there is a very sweet spot for when a croissant is absolutely perfect. About an hour out from the oven- still warm, perfectly set and crisp. There’s nothing quite like it. The longer I work with croissants, and the more I think about wholesale croissants the more my heart aches for those who will never know that perfect croissant moment. After that it’s kinda all downhill for a croissant. Sure- still delicious and buttery but the more its handled, from being packed, delivered, unloaded, shuffled around in a display case, sitting in the display until the end of the day. It’s not the same croissant it was at 5AM. Kinda like me at 21 vs me at 28. The more I face the world the less of myself I feel I’ve become, but that is a conversation for my therapist. I guess.
I’ve been consulting with Out of Thin Air on these croissants for almost a month at this point. We’ve had some really amazing croissants come out of the oven- a lot actually. But, it’s not *perfect*, it’s not checking every box I have for the croissant. So we trudge on, until it is as close to perfect as I can get it. Which is kinda bullshit- the idea of perfect. Because to me things are only perfect for a short while and then I remember theres always room to improve and make tweaks. All my recipes are forever evolving, upgrading, growing- as am I.
Whatever- what I’m trying to say is there are a lot of croissants. On Sunday’s we’ve been sending them off to Atwater Village Farmer’s Market starting around 10AM because it’s kinda the only day we’re able to do so. Which- obviously Alex is gonna push for since, they are good croissants and testing is expensive lol But, they’re still not my ideal croissant so I feel a little shame in sending them out. But, they are good and people have been loving them which is nice, because one day they’ll be even better and they’ll love ‘em even more! During the rest of the week, the tests are divvied up by the team and taken home- or saved for yuzu almond croissants. This week I even start posting on the paid subscriber group chat thread offering them up to you guys (so, I highly recommend hoping on that if you’re interested, there’s plenty to go around!!)
The thing about me though- is I do get sick of the taste testing process fairly quickly. I’m rather fatigued over tasting plain croissants every single MF day. But, I must- it’s literally my job and that is so cool. But, I go home with a few croissants every few days and dream up ways to bring a new life to them. Because by day two they’re really sad and soft. Which is where the actual best way to have a croissant comes in- twice baked. Lovingly brushed in simple syrup, filled with nutty frangipane and baked again until crisp. A twice baked ham and cheese is exponentially better than most ham and cheeses you find in bakeries and coffee shops.
Sure- almond is the standard for a twice baked croissant. Don’t let almond limit you though, swap out almond meal for any finely ground nut flour. Pistachio, hazelnut and pecan are some of my faves. Gently toast the flour before using in the frangipane for even more flavor. Have fun with the syrups as well, a splash of yuzu, rum or espresso can go along way. Earlier this week I even made a caramel syrup to pair with a chocolate almond buckwheat frangipane.
Here is my *current* golden ratio for frangipanes, this is enough to fill about 6-8 croissants depending on how stuffed you like ‘em:
200 grams unsalted butter, softened
175 grams granulated sugar
100 grams egg, approx 2 large eggs
250 grams nut flour of your choosing
1/2 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt
Directions:
Cream together the 200 grams of unsalted butter and 175 grams sugar until fluffy.
Mix in the 100 grams eggs. One at a time until fully incorporated.
Adding in the 250 grams nut flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt, mix until combined.
Load into a piping bag for ease of use. But, you can also use a spatula or butter knife to slather.
You can use any croissants for this as well, you don’t have to make them fresh yourself, unless of course you want to. You can go to Costco, buy the 12 pack from the bakery and get ‘em a little face lift if you want.
To assemble:
Cut the croissants in half length wise. Open them up.
Brush the insides with simple syrup, this helps to keep the inside a moist while the outside crisps up.
Fill with frangipane in anyway you choose whether it be with a piping bag or slathered on, to the bottom half of the croissant.
Place the tops back on. Place a little of the remaining frang on the tops of the croissant.
Place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to give the frang and minute to setup before baking. You can also wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge up to 2 days before baking off.
Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes. Until the frangipane on top is nice and golden brown.
Cool and Enjoy!
Here are two ways I riffed on the ratio earlier this week!
Chocolate Olive Oil Buckwheat:
I was making a chocolate almond frangipane but ran out of almond flour whoops and I wasn’t gonna run out and get more since this was kinda just a pantry clear out moment. I had a small bag of buckwheat flour which is gluten free and has nutty flavor to it. Figured it wouldn’t hurt.
115 grams softened unsalted butter
85 grams olive oil- I used Graza’s Drizzle oil
30 grams dutch processed cocoa powder
200 grams granulated sugar
100 grams egg, about 2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
160 grams almond flour
40 grams buckwheat flour
For the syrup I made a dry caramel with about 200 grams of sugar. Once deep and amber in color I deglazed with 250 grams of water and let them come to a boil while the caramel dissolved. Once cooled I dipped the croissant halves in and carried on as you normally would!
Almondy Olive Oil Cake
If you’re here from Tik Tok then you probably know I’ve got a little series going on where we are developing an olive oil cake recipe from nothing other than ratios! Which means I’m also usually sitting on a decent amount of olive oil cake that- I once again am kinda sick of. YAYyy perks of being a recipe developer. So I took some of the left over cake and ripped it into chunks and toasted them until they were essentially cake croutons. Ground that up into a “flour” and used it in place of some of the almond meal in the frangipane.
115 grams softened unsalted butter
85 grams olive oil, once again Graza’s Drizzle
175 grams granulated sugar
100 grams egg, about 2 large eggs
125 grams cake crumbs
125 grams almond meal, toasted
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Same mix, prep and bake method. You can have a lot of fun with it, or keep it classic. Up to you :) My all time fave is a croissant with rose water syrup, pistachio frangipane and blackberry jam, ooofffff too good.
You could also go the savory route with it. My favorite way to have a ham and cheese croissant is twice baked. Loads of creamy béchamel, thinly sliced ham, gouda and gruyere. damn.
For the béchamel:
60 grams unsalted butter
60 grams all-purpose flour
600 grams whole milk, warm
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and fresh nutmeg- to taste
Directions:
Heat the milk and keep warm while you prepare the roux.
In a heavy bottomed saucepan heat the 60 grams of butter over medium heat.
Stir in the 60 grams of flour and cook while stirring constantly until a paste forms. Once it start to bubble continue stirring and cook for 2 more minutes.
Slowly add the 600 grams of warm milk to the saucepan- whisking to combine.
Bring to a boil, still stirring until the sauce thickens.
Add in the salt, cracked black pepper and nutmeg to taste.
Reduce to low heat and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Remove form heat.
Store in a heat safe container with plastic wrap directly on the surface to keep a skin from forming.
Allow to cool completely in the fridge before using for croissant filling.
Same assembly as you would for almond croissants just using béchamel in place of the frangipane lol. Add the sliced ham and shredded cheese- as much as you seem fit. Top the croissant with even more shredded cheese. Bake off at 365 for 25-30 minutes and enjoy!
TYSM!! XOXO Kassie ♡
I so appreciate your flavor exploration - rose water syrup, pistachio frangipane and blackberry jam sounds insanely delicious ~ I've been wanting to make croissants for awhile now but haven't landed on a recipe that feels like a good starting point, are there any base recipes you'd recommend or ways to approach discovery in this case?
i loveee it when you inspire us with new flavour / ratio profiles but let us do some of the thinking too! do you have a recipe for croissants you could share for home bakers - maybe a lazy version?