May 2025 Bake - Croissants, a Paul Hollywood recipe

Croissants - Paul Hollywood recipe
https://www.paulhollywood.com/post/croissants

For our May recipe, we are going to bake rich, buttery, flaky croissants using Paul Hollywood's recipe.

Please read the recipe before you begin. Expect this project to be done over 2-3 days. A majority of the time is the dough proofing, resting, and chilling in the refrigerator. Temperature, time, and humidity are all important factors in making croissants.

Baking temperature is 200 C or 392 F.

Notes on some of the ingredients:

• Strong white bread flour (SWBF), this is the British term for U.S. Bread flour which has 12% - 14% protein in it. SWBF develops more gluten than other kinds of flour. You want a higher protein content for croissants because a strong web of gluten in the dough will trap gas bubbles as the dough rises.
• Instant yeast, if you use any other type of yeast (fresh or active) you will want to see if there is a quantity conversion
• Unsalted butter, Paul H recommends using a Normandy butter. His recommendation is because Normandy butter contains at least 82% butterfat. A higher butterfat content contributes to a richer flavor, softer texture, and lower melting point
• Eggwash - used to enhance appearance (beautiful shine and a rich, golden-brown color) and to slow down moisture loss, helping to maintain freshness

Brief history of croissants, from https://www.ice.edu/blog/brief-history-croissant
Croissants, known for their flaky and buttery layers, have a history rooted in Austria and were popularized in France in the 19th century.

The earliest recorded introduction of the kipferl to France occurred in 1839, when Austrian artillery officer August Zang founded a Viennese bakery in Paris. Parisians fell in love with the kipferl (and with Viennese baking as a whole), and imitated the bread in their own shops. The name "croissant" also began appearing in historical record, referring to the crescent shape of the bread.

In 1915, Sylvain Claudius Goy recorded the first-known French version of the croissant recipe. Instead of brioche dough, as August Zang used, Goy transformed the recipe to use a laminated yeast dough. Lamination involves folding butter and dough to create thin, flaky layers of pastry.