Skip to main content

"The French Croissant" - Origin, Recipe & Method - Swissbake


Origin of "The French Croissant"
The origin of the Croissant dates back to 1683 in Vienna, Austria, a time when the Austro-Hungarian empire was at war with the Turkish Empire. As history goes, the Turkish army was looking to enter the besieged city of Vienna through tunnels which were being dug under the fortification. But the Turks did not realise that there was a bakery in the basement near the walls, and the noise of digging had alerted the bakers working down there who had informed the Austro-Hungarian army of the approaching Turks ultimately resulting in the defeat of the Turkish army.
In celebration of the victory, the bakers created a small roll in yeast-leavened sweet dough. The roll was made in the form of the crescent moon; the emblem that still appears on the Turkish flag, and thus the 'Croissant' was born.
From its origins until about 1920, the so called Vienna croissant was made from un-laminated, non-flaky, yeast-raised sweet dough. Around that time, French bakers developed and began to regularly produce the laminated, flaky croissant which we know as the French Croissant today. The laminated-dough flaky croissant is thus of French origin, and the fermentation of the dough which contributes to the formation of its flaky layers, represents considerable progress: as a result, the croissants were more voluminous, lighter, delicate with a buttery flavour.

Ingredients that make a perfect Croissant.
Making the perfect croissant is more to do with Science of baking then the skill of shaping and lamination. Selection of the right quality and grade of ingredients will have a major impact on the end product. Here is how to select the perfect ingredients to make the perfect French Croissant.
Selection of Flour
Choose a pure wheat flour (not mixed grain) with the strength and baking quality slightly superior to ordinary bread flour: the W value should be at least 220, with a P/L ratio around 0.6, since these qualities result in extendible dough with good shape retention. The enzymatic activity should be rather weak, with falling number value equal to or greater than 250 seconds.
Selection of Fat for Lamination
The plasticity and stability to the croissants are established by using an excellent quality of fats. Fats used for croissants whether butter or margarine must have a good plasticity and stability. The moisture content of the butter should be 15 % at most, and the point of fusion of margarine should not be higher than 36ºC. Use of unsalted fat is recommended to get the right flavour.

SwissBake's product range for Croissant and European Laminated Dough 
As a leading manufacturer of premium bakery ingredients and convenience products, SwissBake offers a range of products which are ideal for use in making croissants and other European Laminated dough products. With our state of the art research facility located in Switzerland, we have been successfully fulfilling the evolving needs of the bakery industry and developing innovative tailor-made solutions for high-quality bakery ingredients. Our current range of laminated dough products includes.
1. Croissant 10: A concentrated mix for making the consistent quality of croissants.
2. Crossy Freeze: An Improver for frozen laminated dough
3. T-55 French Style Flour: French Style T55 flour for all your baking needs
Kindly click on the above SwissBake's product name to view the Baker Recipe and Baking Method for baking "French Croissants"

We hope the information in this blog has been valuable to you. Do share your comments, queries or concerns regarding this blog with us. 
Have a topic in mind you want us to write on? We are open to hearing from you. Kindly write to us on support@swissbake.ch.
Thank You for reading.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Role Of Salt In Bread Baking - Swissbake

Towards the end of 18th Century, the influence of salt was recognised in baking bread. Salt was seen to have an important role to play in bringing out the flavour of the baked product. During mixing, salt reinforces the plastic properties of the dough and improves its cohesiveness and elasticity. Later in the 1960’s, it was understood that salt also acts as an antioxidant, it was then that many bakers adopted a practice of delaying the addition of salt. Fine table salt was used as it would dissolve quickly and so it could be added just 5 minutes prior to the end of mixing time. This was done with the use of intensive mixing methods with the intention to encourage maximum levels of oxidation and bleaching. This method also tends to facilitate the forming of gluten bonds during dough formation and results in a slight improvement in dough strength. However, this method also led to the decline in the taste of the bread baked. The common practice today in the production of bre...

What are Flour Types T45, T55, T65, T150, Type 0 or Type 00, Magic Enzy Flour, Rye Flour T1150, Pizza Flour?

SWISSBAKE SPECIALITY FLOURS Swiss Bake French style flours are traditionally milled by artisan millers and the entire flour range is produced from imported French grown wheat or with a blend of locally grown equivalent wheat varieties. These quality flours from us are a result of our dedication and passion for well-crafted flour.  Each year we produce only a limited quantity of each refined flour on order estimates from our most demanding chefs and bakers. French classification for flour  is based on the resulting amount of residue after processing 10 kg of flour in a 600º C furnace. T45 or Type 45 is the lowest and whitest flour with only around 45 grams of mineral contents left after the burning process and no part of the bran (outer enveloping shell of the grain) remaining. Similarly T150 has around 150 grams of mineral contents and is considered as whole-wheat flour due to high bran leftover. •          T45 Sw...

T150 French Style Flour - Swissbake

Swiss Bake   French style flours are traditionally milled by artisan millers and the entire flour range is produced from imported French grown wheat or with a blend of locally grown equivalent wheat varieties. These quality flours from us are a result of our dedication and passion for well-crafted flour.  Each year we produce only a limited quantity of each refined flour on order estimates from our most demanding chefs and bakers. French classification for flour  is based on the resulting amount of residue after processing 10 kg of flour in a  600º C  furnace.  T45  or  Type 45  is the lowest and whitest flour with only around 45 grams of mineral contents left after the burning process and no part of the bran (outer enveloping shell of the grain) remaining. Similarly,  T150  has around 150 grams of mineral contents and is considered as whole-wheat flour due to high bran leftover.  Wholemeal French style course Flou...