Definition of an expert: a person who has already made all the mistakes. My best lessons have been from my mistakes, not my victories. That's so true, even in the kitchen.
Trying these today for the first time. Helen is such an amazing teacher, I have had great success with other recipes I thought I could never do because Helen is an amazing teacher, so I’m feeling pretty confident. Im also excited because I haven’t had a decent croissant in years. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Helen should have a network cooking show
BTW dear I showed my husband your 68$ Misens chefs knife and the man bought me the entire set. Just a fact that you should know, I've been using poorly crafted knives for years and was so astounded by my new Misens. But believe me when I say, I had to buy surgical glue and steri strips for the slices I have received for not realizing the sharpness of those knives. It took over a month for me to know not to talk while cutting and don't hold one in my hand when expressively talking. I love your videos and truly enjoy all your cooking abilities. Do not diminish your baking skills.
Your opening is so funny! lol Your intelligence is off the chart. You’re a female Alton Brown but you don’t come off as a nerd. Every detail is mentioned. Fabulous job! Love your videos! Thanks
Croissant was originally inspired from Austrian , KIPFERL a crescent shaped baked goods which had lots of butter, sugar and sometimes almonds. The French innovation came by adding yeast to make it puffy and soft hence it became very French . Croissant is usually part of what French called Viernnoiserie which are breakfast pastries made from yeast leavened dough or puff pastry in the style of Vienna, Austria .
@@johnsimon8738 I love u... thank u for that bit of info that I can pass on.. I'm now going to Google what that looks like.🥰..I just did ... it looks like a puffy cannoli. 👍😘💗
Helen is so honest! I like when she mentions the sources: I found the recipe in this book; this is how X does in this video, etc Kudos to you and keep up the good work.
I have to compliment your written recipe in the description. I've looked at lots of recipes, and yours manages to include all the critical details yet keep it succinct. Fabulous.
How funny you mentioned Joshua Weismann, I found his RU-vid recipe last week and made croissants. The first recipe I used Land O Lakes butter and the 2nd time I used Kerry Gold. Both results were good. I couldn’t believe I was able to produce such a light, flaky and buttery roll. I wish I had seen the ziplock storage bag method to form the beurrage. I’m now hooked on making these. I also used Joshua’s suggestion on using the oven with the oven light on and the door ajar to proof the dough. I sought out your recipe because you’re such a good teacher.
There is nothing I love more than Kouign-amann and croissants. I don't think I would ever attempt making these, but your video is great! I love watching you show us these wonderful recipes and giving such great tips. Thank you for sharing with us.
Wow, Helen, I watched this with my breakfast coffee and it was almost as good as having the croissants right here to eat. The visuals are amazingly good. Those golden, flakey things look better than anything I've seen in a bakery around here, where they tend to be overdone at best.. It's almost enough to make me try making these again. But not quite. For some perverse reason, I always used to attempt them in the middle of a heat wave. Perhaps the idea of eating them on the porch in the cool of a summer morning enticed me to sweat copiously all the afternoon and evening before. They were okay because nothing with that much butter in it can be bad, but ultimately not good enough to feel like a success. If I do try again, I'll be coming straight back to this video. You are the Conqueror of your Croissants!
I was shocked at how well these turned out! Thanks again, Helen! I had a little butter squish out at one end but I closed it up and kept going. Keep it coming, wow, can’t wait for the next recipe!!
This. Was. Incredible. I am pointing all my fellow noob bakers to you now (well, you and Erin McDowell). The first time we made kouign-amanns we got so lucky with everything working out that we thought it was easy! The next 3 attempts were very humbling but necessary to develop a proper respect. I filled lots of little gaps on knowledge thanks to your video. Oh and congrats -- "origami project with butter" won the internet today.
Helen, thank you so much for the gram measurements on the small amounts! Here is a tip for those without a rimless cookie sheet: use an upside down sheet pan.
The only thing I did that I would have never done before is send my kids off to the grandparents for almost two months since I and their mom work in ICUs. But I have had them back for the last month and I love it! I have three in school (elementary and preschool). Its fun! Now that I am back to being a full time student instead of full time work, I have more time to cook. My son asked for a fish stew, so I'm doing that this weekend! I hope you are staying safe! Covid has run its course through this house already. I had my first day back in the hospital yesterday for nursing school and it was enjoyable :) I'll start back my part time ICU job next week. Oh! I got my violin repaired. It broke while shipping it to England over ten years ago. I'm horrible, but its been fun!
@@helenrenniedefinitely doing both! The crazy thing is that I've worked with covid patients since the very beginning of May and never got it since my ex did. I've taken military PT tests with the flu and done ok. This has been different. Its no joke! My ex, (who I got covid from) also works in a covid ICU. She only got it going to a family gathering and ended up spending time in the ICU for it. The good news is that normal hospital precautions work. The bad news is that disregarding masks and social distancing is a close guarantee to getting infected.
your tutorials are easy to follow and you are always keeping it real by mentioning your own mistakes! Thank you for your passion to teach ! Happy Baking or cooking!
Clair Soffritz (New York Times cooking) also has a great video about making croissants. Hers are easier and she usually sets it up so that there are minimal steps with increased chances for success. But I appreciate Helen showing how to make Kouigh-amanns. My local coffee shop had those prior to Covid, and since Covid started, they have not had them. I loved them, as theirs had some cream cheese and blueberry fruit/jam in the middle. The cream cheese was nice contrast to the sticky sweet and the berries were a nice tartness too. Flaky, gooey, creamy and tart-fruity...what was not to love? I will try hers just so I can make the Kouigh-Amanns. Thanks, Helen.
thank you so much for making and uploading this. This is a very thorough explanation, very in dept. I have followed your other pasty recepis and they came out great. I like your precise approach .
enjoyed this video! your sense of humor is spot on. and the instructions on a very difficult pastry were extremely detailed and helpful. not that I plan to try them soon - still afraid. however, i can proudly say that i overcame my fear of the oven during quarantine and am happily baking treats for my family. thank you! will go check out the rest of your videos.
Just made croissants for the first time. I think they came out well... for a first timer. There's obviously plenty of room for practice and improvement. It seems like developing a feel for the butter temperature is critical. I must have a warmer-than-average kitchen because I had problems with the butter getting too soft fairly quickly and oozing out the edges and corners, and making it very difficult to get the right size after rolling. But they came out pretty fluffy and delicious even if they aren't quite the right shape.
great job on your first croissants! it gets better with practice and the good news is that we are heading into the colder months, which will help (unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere ;)
Funny you mention taking up a musical instrument. Fender and Gibson guitar companies are having an amazing year. Seems a lot of women want to play elected guitar! As for croissants however I did well my first time with American butter. This was 30 years ago and we didn't have European butter available. I used the recipe from the first year of fine cooking magazine and it went very well. I lived in an apartment and I was able to open my windows in my dining room during the winter so I was making the croissant in a 45° environment. It went amazingly well. So it can be done, you just have to be in a refrigerator. Thanks Helen, you're great! As for what I have done during The Covid? Got a new huge monitor, mechanical keyboard, illuminated mouse, and rededicated myself to playing EverQuest. I'm two boxing a druid and a necromancer and having a blast and finding it a relaxing way to ignore reality. Thanks for asking!
I had baked them few times before covid-19 era but since shutdown gave me time and space and already knew how long and hard can be to do some good croissants, I thought this is the time, and I did it again, and I did it so many times, I even started selling them to my neighbors hahaha
Helen, I have followed some of your videos and wanted to let you know that I am going to attempt croissants tomorrow (have to get the yeast). BUT, I have made your recipes of pasta, cream puffs, dangerous chicken, ragu bolognese, sous vide steaks and purchased "00" flour, a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer, a pasta roller attachment for the Kitchen Aide stand mixer, as you suggested. I am a first-year culinary student and have learned a ton in class, but also from you!!! After the COVID CROISSANTS, I am lining up pelmeni and "this is not falafel". THANKS A ZILLION, Mike
I always enjoy watching your videos.On my way to work, to the hospital,watched this video . So much work but it’s challenging and fun. Those are the recipes I like to do and record for my RU-vid videos. Living in Hollywood,Florida, I tried croissants but last month when we visited Paris, I tried them in a restaurant for breakfast and it totally changed my perspective about them. Thank you and Happy New Year.👨🍳
I have spent my CD 19 time learning new cooking methods and recipes, including air fryer and instants pot. And new recipe...steak Diane, Demi glacé,Chicago deep dish pizza, Veloute (fish and chicken)., Parker house dinner rolls. Thanks for lessons...I am going to make your. Croissants shortly
I'm French but live somewhere where I cannot get good croissants (no, that's not in France :D ), and I've been toying with the idea of making my own for months now. I like that your video was detailed and well explained, as per usual, but also, that you've made mistakes and told us about them, it actually make it a lot more informative and reassuring! Thank you Helen :) I'll try making them once I've made a bit of space in my kitchen!
Great video again! Have you heard about the method of using a light wash of sugar syrup on the croissants right after it comes out of the oven? I ate it once and it was super shiny&crispy with an addicting hint of sweetness. I went home and tried to find information on it but I could only find a forum post (which I cannot seem to find anymore), theorized that it was a method for bakeries with lower turnover rates to extend the duration of the croissants crispness, shine, and moisture. Perhaps it's a method looked down on but man was it great.
Thank you so much for this video. I’ve wanted to make croissants for years and this definitely inspired me to actually give it a go. I did it this week and they turned out really yummy. Not perfect because I think I may have not had the dough and butter at the perfect temperature when adding the butter to the dough. I will definitely try again and keep practicing though. I only found your channel last week and I’ve already memorised your egg pasta recipe which I made twice and now crossiants! I live in Melbourne Australia but I wish I could go to one of your cooking classes in Boston. Thanks so much for your informative videos and all the small details you cover!
I've made croissants with regular no name butter (I live in Canada) and they came out incredible. I made them using this same 3 day timeline at one point early in the pandemic also because I had so much time on my hands.
What a great video, Helen, this is truly one for the master class and one of your very best. You should put this one in your "Helen's Cooking with the Hard Drugs" cookbook. I've always thought making croissants was such an insurmountable culinary feat, but you just helped to shrink that in my mind a little bit. I will do this someday soon. Thank you for this valuable resource!
Thank you Helen! I'm going to try this soon. I'm in a small town in the US, and nowhere near (not even an hour away from) any store that has the Plugra butter. But I CAN get the Kerrygold butter -Irish butter - right here in my town, and will try that. It is pliable even when refrigerator cold, so I think it may work (sure hope so!).
Well, I started to bake at home, something I never did back when I used to work as a baker. I had left baking way behind me. We didn't make croissants ourselves, we got those frozen and just baked them, but we made different kinds of Plunder (Danish pastry it seems to be called in English). Same basic process but the batches were much larger. One difference I noticed is that we didn't refrigerate in between folds but did that pretty much in one go. That was of course using a machine that rolled the dough evenly and quickly. So I'm not sure those refrigeration steps are necessary. Thanks for the video, it gave me one or two ideas for home proofing that are less insane than mine, which were steaming up the bathroom or getting a (extradimensional) sauna.
I want to try these so badly! You encouraged me to purchase a pasta machine (pasta is so much fun to make), miso sesame green beans, grey tea chiffon cake...and now croissants, although I want to simply make each one a small rectangle, put some semi sweet chocolate it them and fold them over and seal. 😋 I’ll let you know how they turn out. (My chiffon cake is upside down on my counter right now)
Wonderful video, as always, Helen! No slight on croissants but I would take a good kouing-amman over a croissant in a heartbeat. There is something about that butter, sugar and pastry trinity that is magical. The sum is greater than its parts.
Helen, your charm adds so much to the lessons! I know we should all be using metric measurements, but is there any chance you could also provide recipes with cups and tablespoons/teaspoons ( you do this for certain ingredients now).
I was wondering if you had tried Ghee with this recipe. It is at 100% fat. I happened to have some in the fridge, but thought I'd check first! BTW, I truly enjoy your videos and your teaching style. Thank you.
I finally did not understand how much dough should be kneaded? Many videos say that it should be kneaded enough to window pan test successfully , but you say that it is not necessary!
Please please do a video on bagel making!! I have learned so much from you in techniques, bagels keep giving me grief. I need help. There are no bagel instruction videos currently available,, the ones that are on, are not helpful at all. Thanks! Vicki
Possibly putting the dough on an aluminum sheet in the freezer will cool the dough substantially faster, particularly if there is space surrounding the sheet.
As someone else here has also suggested, I would love if you could do a video on making caneles. I think maybe I could handle making caneles. (I think.) Thank you.
Thank You - You have given me the courage to give it a try to do some Origami with Butter.. Using a heating pad to make a proofer is one very cool trick.
Oh my gosh -- so excited to get a comment from you. I am a huge fan of yours on instagram. Your images of food and travel are so inspiring. If this pandemic ever ends, I would love to meet you. I haven't been back to Moscow since my family left in '91 and would love to visit some day.
Anyone who can follow directions and learn basic physical skills can learn to cook or bake. Plenty of cooks are good bakers, and plenty of bakers are good cooks. That said, most people are drawn much more towards one or the other. My mother was an indifferent cook but an excellent baker. I am a good cook and a very indifferent baker. It's one of those Mysterious Mysteries of the Universe. Or maybe cooks are drawn to the Ancient Element of Fire while bakers are drawn to Air :) I look at what it takes to make good croissants starting with "Cover every surface and vessel in your kitchen with a fine paste of butter and flour, then...." And I consider that a quarter mile away Le Petit Provence sells perfect you-bake croissants 6 for $12 made by people who are incredible bakers. Some day I will attempt the Koign-amann. Some day.
Many good pointers! However, Kouigns-amman are nicer with a sprinkled layer of salt-sugar that gets folded into the third turn. Yes, getting the timing wrong can mess up that stage but it takes them in flavor/texture to the best level if the outer sugar-salt sprinkle isn't the only usage that they get.
I can't agree enough that European butter is much more forgiving compared to regular butter when it comes to Croissant. In Canada the fat content for butter is only about 80%, it's very expensive and difficult to get European butter as a home baker. Having said all those, I have had success baking light and airy croissants with honeycomb structure using the recipe and instruction created by another RU-vidr Magic Ingredient.
Hi Ms. Helen, could you please explain the reason egg is added in this croissant dough? Most of croissant dough recipes that I see around do not contain egg, except for egg wash before baking.
I was just wishing that you had a croissant class, and guess what popped up?! Still unsure that croissants are in my future, but at least I can consider it 😀
#realcomment i know this does not really apply to this video. You have awakened the "bread bug" in me.i used your Tangzhong bread into rolls. In that video, you mentioned other things that could be made with it. Please do more bread videos? Ciabatta in particular. Also Povitica if possible. I watch most of your videos and they are fantastic. I recommend your channel to others. And this is the only channel i have ever commented on.
Whoa!!! You add egg to yours!? I've been making croissants every weekend this year, trying to get consistent results and trying new things. I've yet to see a recipe use egg, or maybe I ignored those. Many of the recipes I see have no egg other than egg wash right before baking. What does the egg add to this, and why is it used? Maybe it adds some fat and protein while also adding moisture? Thanks for the video! Even though i knew most of this already, you present it so well that I really enjoyed watching! Im going to try this recipe now and compare it to my favorite recipe. Cheers!
The egg amount is tiny. Many recipes replace it with water. I'll be honest with you that this is the only recipe I've tried (though I've tried it many times). I used this book because the author is the owner of the pastry school where one of my friends went who runs an amazing bakery in Boston and her croissants are outstanding. After I told her that I've had good luck with this recipe, she told me that this is not the recipe they taught them in that school! She doesn't use egg. She also uses 100% bread flour instead of a combination of AP and bread. To make a long story short, I think there are many formulas that can work.
Helen Rennie I have that book, too, Helen, and I really love it. Btw, why not try canelés next? I promise, they’re nowhere near as hard as some say (also, I don’t think they’re in Jacque Pfeiffer’s book, if memory serves).
I thought you were going to say "If you want Croissants in the morning....go to the bakery". Which is what I do!!. Wonderful video but NEVER making them, like I'm never gonna brew my own IPA.
You are a great teacher, I thank you for this video. However, I rather find a good quality bakery and buy them. Too much time and worries to make a croissant. Still, I enjoyed the whole video. Thank you again 💝
Just as a note, I have made croissants, Kouign-amann, puff pastry, etc with American Butter. You usually just need to use a bit more of it, and be more careful about chilling between folds than you might be otherwise.
I would have never guessed that kouign-amann is known outside [French] Britain or France. Eating it is soo delicious, but makes you feel a little guilty ;-)
Thank you for your detailed explanation. I’ve tried to make croissants 3 times and each time the butter shattered and leaked out everywhere. I’ve tried different brands of butter but failed each time. Could you please share what the fat content of european butter is compared to ordinary butter ? I’m in Australia and it is difficult to find the brand of butter you mentioned.
You could use a European butter like Lurpak, that has a fat content of 82%. I’m in New Zealand and our Anchor and Mainland brands have around 82% fat content. You should be able to buy these brands in Oz
American butter is different? :O Now I wonder if my european "standard" butter ever affected the outcome of any american style recipe I tried in the past, like cookies or brownies...
I also had this problem with the butter breaking into many many small pieces. So if I understand well I should let the dough with the butter at room temperature for maybe 30-60 minutes so that the butter will soften and mix into the dough? Thank you and I love your videos.
Letting this dough sit at room temp would be risky. It all depends on your room temp. Here is what I'd suggest. Make your dough and butter block on day 1. On day 2, you are going to get all the rolling and folding done. The dough should be straight from the fridge. The butter might need a bit of time at room temp. Definitely not 30-60 minutes! Check it every couple of minutes until it just starts to yield. It's a thin block. It should lose the rock hard consistency quickly. The key is not to refrigerate too long between folds. 45 min to 1 hour is enough. If things get too cold after the rolling and folding starts, it will require some judgement how long to keep them at room temp to make the package rollable.
While I love your recipes (and I've tried several successfully), I don't bother when the ingredients aren't "easily available" to me. No way I can find "European butter" as I don't live in a manor metropolitan area. I guess you can't please everyone, right? I still like your videos. Cheers.
