Croissants

Crescent-shaped bread rolls, from before the croissant was a flaky pastry

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City/Region: France

Time Period: 1853

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Croissants weren’t always the buttery, flaky pastries that we know and love. While today, that flakiness is what defines a croissant, in the past, it was the crescent shape that was most important. 

This recipe from the mid-19th century, a good 50 years before the croissant got its flakes, is a wonderfully soft bread. It doesn’t bear much resemblance to a modern croissant besides the shape, but it is much easier to make. The bread is a little plain, but would be lovely with some butter and jam.

“In luxury bakeries, small loaves called croissants are prepared, usually in the semi-circular shape of a roll curved and tapered at the ends. The liquid is used to form the dough with one kilogram of flour consists of one or two eggs beaten and mixed with about five hundred grams of water. Moreover, the choice of flour, the dose of yeast, as well as the working of the dough, require the same care as when it comes to the other luxury breads mentioned.”

— Des substances alimentaire et des moyens de les améliorer by Anselme Payen, 1853

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Ingredients:

• 10 cups (1 kg) bread flour, divided
• 2 tablespoons (18 g) active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon (365 ml) whole milk, divided
• 2/3 cup (150 ml) water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs, beaten well
• 1 egg yolk

Instructions:

1. To make the sponge (preferment): Measure 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon (250 g) out of the total amount of flour into a bowl. Add the yeast and 1 cup (250 ml) of the milk and whisk until fully incorporated.
2. Cover and set it aside to rise for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until it’s doubled in size. You don’t want it to rise any more than doubled so that the yeast still has some oomph.
3. To make the dough: After the preferment has doubled in size, add it to the rest of the flour along with the water, salt, eggs, and 1/2 cup (100 ml) of milk.
4. Mix until the dough comes together, then knead by hand for about 15 to 20 minutes or until it’s nice and smooth. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and let it rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours on the counter or 10 hours in the fridge. The long refrigerated ferment will help develop the flavor and allows you to split the work between two days.
5. Preheat the oven to 385°F (195°C).
6. After the dough has risen, turn it out and knock out the air. Divide the dough up into even pieces. The size depends on how big you want your croissants, and the historical description isn’t specific.
7. There are a lot of ways to shape a croissant, but my favorite (and the easiest in my opinion) is to roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thick, then cut it into a long isosceles triangle (geometry anyone?). Make a small cut in the center of the short end, then pull the corners on either side of the cut to the sides so that the dough is roughly the shape of the Eiffel Tower. Starting at the cut end, roll the dough up then curve the ends inward to form a crescent.
8. Set the formed croissants on a baking sheet, cover them, and let them rise for about 30 to 45 minutes until they’re puffy.
9. Mix the egg yolk and remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of milk together to make an egg wash. Brush this mixture over the croissants, then bake them for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they’re a nice golden brown.
10. Let them cool, then serve them forth.

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