Croissants – Simplified

Everyone who knows Chef Dominique is aware of his obsession with the croissant. But making it the professional way, with a levain starter from scratch, can be intimidating for the home-cook.

In these lessons, you can learn a modify recipe for simple at-home alternative. What family wouldn’t enjoy a warm buttery croissant, hot of the oven, for the ultimate breakfast. And once you’ve perfected that, learn how to make pain au chocolat and ham and cheese croissant as well, and have almond croissants the next day.

Outline: 1. Intro; 2. Dough and Butter; 3. Lamination; 4. Cutting and Shaping; 5. Pain au Chocolat & Ham and Cheese; 6. Proofing and Baking; 7. Almond Croissant; 8. Last Bite

Every morning, fresh croissants come out of our ovens, filling the bakery with the smell of butter and yeast. It is the best wake-up call I can think of. Croissants can seem intimidating to many people as it can get technical. Small changes in humidity, temperature, and time can cause some pretty large variances and truthfully, it’s a lifelong study. But my advice is to still try. It is a win-win situation when even the imperfect croissants still taste delicious, warm and just baked.
–Chef Dominique Ansel

A Perfect Croissant

Learn what Chef Dominique looks for every morning when he does his "croissant test". From that honeycomb center to the shape and size, and even analyzing the crumbs.

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05:39

Dough & Butter Block

Every croissant is made from two components - the dough and butter block. But understanding what goes into each and how to prepare them prior to layering together will be what ups your croissant game.

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10:45

Lamination

You'll often hear about lamination - the layering of dough and butter - when it comes to making a croissant. It's a simple process of folding the two together and Chef Dominique will show you how.

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11:04