Friday, April 17, 2009

Getting in Shape, Pastry Style

Cinnamon Pecan Croissant Roll

Almond Croissant

They say never to trust a skinny chef. Silly as it sounds, one of my biggest fears about starting a career in a pastry was gaining weight. The first day of class, our slender instructor told us not to worry about gaining weight, we'd be too busy to eat. She claimed she had never been to a gym in her life, but she didn't mention the work outs she gets in the kitchen. Prime Example: Rolling croissant and puff dough. My arms, wrists, shoulders and abs are still sore from Monday night's marathon dough rolling session. Believe me, you can trust a skinny chef, just don't trust one that doesn't eat.

Here is why making croissants is such a work out; and for those you who love croissants, what it is that makes them so flaky (and bad for you). Butter! We made 2 types of croissants, one regular and one called, "quick". You start by making a yeast dough. Then you pound a block of cold butter into a flat tablet and place it back into the fridge to keep cold. Once the dough has rested enough, you roll it into a square slightly larger than the butter tablet, place the butter on to the dough with the corners to the sides of the dough and then fold the dough over it like an envelope. Seal the envelope, and then the rolling and folding begins, aka the "workout".
Rolled Butter Ready to be Wrapped in Dough

Croissants require 3-4 single fold turns. This means you roll the dough thin and then fold one side of the dough towards the middle and fold the over side over top of that. Then in to the fridge to chill. You have to chill the dough in between turns so that the butter does not melt. Then repeat the previous step 3 more times. The rolling gets tougher as you progress. Probably just because your arms are getting tired, the dough doesn't really get thicker, you're just cramming more layers of dough and butter together. After the final turn, the dough goes into the fridge to rest overnight.

On Tuesday we pulled our carefully wrapped doughs from the fridge and rolled them to the desired thickness for cutting into triangles. The triangles were then rolled into croissants, proofed, and then into the oven. The results? Beautiful, golden, buttery croissants. Eaten hot out of the oven, almost made the soreness of my muscles melt away. It seems like a lot of work, but oh my it is worth it. Maybe next time I won't roll 3 doughs in one night. I think I'll stick to just one, unless of course I don't have time to make it to the gym.
Interior View of the Almond Croissant

***In my last post I mentioned only having 3 weeks of school left. This was a mistake. Since I was originally enrolled in a 16 certificate program, this is when my schooling would have ended. As of last week, I signed my transfer agreement to complete the 37 week Professional program, so I will now be in school till mid June, before taking a break for the summer.
Pithivier with Almond Cream Filling

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