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CHEF'S SPOTLIGHT
Gabriel Vasquez of Gabriel’s
Croissants Gabriel
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1.
Mix yeast with ¼ cup flour and 1 tbsp. sugar. Add enough water
to make a paste. Leave for 4-10 minutes until it bubbles freely. 2. Mix paste with the rest of flour, sugar, salt, and milk in a dough mixer for 9-12 minutes, or by hand 20-25 minutes. At first, dough should feel sticky. As it matures it should be elastic, not too sticky, not too hard. 3. Place this mixture in a bowl, cover with a moist towel or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours. 4. Meanwhile, cream butter with 2 tbsp. unbleached flour until fluffy. Use a mixer. 5. Once the butter has been creamed, mold it into a block measuring about 4” x 5”x½” and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 6. On a cold surface, dust with a bit of flour. (Marble is ideal since it is generally about 10 degrees cooler than room temperature, but cold stainless steel is also good.) 7. Using a rolling pin, extend the dough until it is about 1” thick. This will make a base for the butter block. 8. Place the butter block into the dough base at its center. Wrap the dough around the butter on all 4 sides, as if wrapping a package. It may overlap. 9. Using a French pin (a slender rolling pin without handles), hit the package evenly until the butter spreads through the dough. 10. When the package is down to about 1½” high, use a traditional, thick rolling pin to spread it back to its original size, just about 1” high. 11. Do the first folding: This involves folding the dough in thirds, and then spreading it as wide as possible. Use a bit of flour as necessary to avoid sticking. This process is repeated twice. If during any of the three foldings, the butter begins to break through the dough, don’t panic. Just refrigerate the entire package for 20-45 minutes. 12. After the third folding, do the “wallet fold.” Fold the left part of the dough to the center line and do the same with the right. Then fold at the center line. You should have four layers. Push it down with your hands. This is your croissant dough, which can de divided and frozen for future use, or simply cooled in the refrigerator from 2 to 24 hours. 13. Roll down the cold dough until it is just about ¼” high. Sprinkle flour over the top and fold the rectangle in half so that it is much longer than it is wide. 14. Mark notches at the top margin of the dough at 5” intervals. Mark the midpoint of each interval at the bottom margin and cut triangles from the bottom to the top. 15. Since the dough has been folded, the croissants made from the top will have to be cut when unfolded. 16. Roll up triangles from the wide end to the narrow end, twisting the edges to form a curve. (During this process, you may wish to sprinkle the dough with a bit of water, so that the dough layers stick together.) 17. Before baking, place croissants on a baking sheet and leave in a warm, humid spot until they rise and look puffy. (This process is called proofing and will take between 20 minutes and 2 hours, depending upon humidity and temperature.) 18. Brush egg white over the croissants and bake at 350 degrees for 16-20 minutes, or until golden brown. This recipe makes 15-20 croissants. |
