Chesters home work for me :)

[justme4910]

here is the dough after it has been in the fridge,it didn't seem to rise very much at all

here it is after the first fold

here it is after being rolled out,I don't think i quiet got it to 24 inches,but it is close

off to the fridge

I need a TV screen in the kitchen and a remote control for the computer ,it would save a bunch of running back and forth to make sure I'm doing it right lol

 

[justme4910]

notice i did use the baking pan for measurements,it seems a bit off,but I'm not sure about that

off to the fridge with it again,i think 2 more goes at rolling it out and i will be done with that part

 

[justme4910]

ut oh problems

the picture isn't showing it good,but the edges are thin and not overlapping properly

 

[justme4910]

off to the fridge over night finally lol

 

[ChesterV]

Hmmmm, for some reason I'm not getting notifications when people are posting on threads I've been on. I just noticed that you posted on this thread from looking at it on the main page.

To answer some of your questions....I will have to say I'm not sure about the salted butter and room temperature. I've never made croissants myself, but I have watched plenty of videos on it.

I have made things similar to croissants, but never an actual croissant.

As for the answers....I would think using unsalted butter is better for this kind of bread work, as the salt will react with the flour and fat in it, and might cause it to get a bit tough. But thats just based on what I know with what I've made in the past.

In the shows I've watched, using cool butter was preferable. Supposedly if you use room temp butter it may squish out the sides and not incorporate into the flour like it is supposed to.

But again.........practice makes perfect. Trial and error is what you have to go through in order to learn.

I will say this.........you might want to use a bit less flour when working the dough. If you use too much flour, your pastry dough will get too tough and too dry when it bakes. You just want barely enough flour to keep it from sticking to things.

From the pics you have posted though, it looks like it's going pretty well!!! I can't wait to see the finished product!!!

 

[justme4910]

i should have cut back on the salt I put in the dough,to make up the difference in salted and unsalted butter,after i had made it,it dawned on me there is a chart for the amount of salt to use with salted butter when the recipe calls for unsalted

I was asking if the dough should have been at room temperature,not the butter,my dough didn't look like Lauras coming out of the mixer,hers did look a bit more thin than mine,of course that could be because of the dough hooks used too ,I did add more milk to help thin it out

it has been pretty simple to make so far ,of course I don't have a finished product either the dough has been pretty easy to work with,I need to work on my measuring of the dough,I think that is why I've gotten some thin looking ends on it

I haven't been getting as many notices either Chester,i'm not sure what is going on there

 

[justme4910]

laura did say to let it sit overnight,I wonder how long she considers it to be over night ?

and you give me homework making croissants ? tsk tsk Chester lol

 

[justme4910]

on Lauras baking,she says to put a rack on the bottom and one on the top,I assume switch them half way ?

I'm not sure if my crappy ass stove is good enough to do that,I'm worried it will get burnt on the bottom rack,it has a few holes in it and the element does kick on and off quiet a bit and the door is warped too

I can't complain,it was a freebie and a little better than my old one,I definitely need to get another one,but most of the used ones the owners seem to think there worth what they paid for them 10 to 15 years ago

 

[justme4910]

well as you can tell i definitely need to up my rolling pin skills

it was trying to stick on me,not sure if that was from where I went light with the flour or it got to warm

now I will let them sit for an hour and then bake them,hopefully they come out really good

and Laura made it look easy shaping up the triangles lol

 

[justme4910]

off to the oven they go

that is a bit of cinnamon on the left over dough ones ,uuuuh the more rustic looking ones Mrs Vitale said that was OK and ya'll know all my baking does look rustic,at best lol

 

[justme4910]

wow they smell great

 

[justme4910]

well they look a little over baked,I will give them a taste taste once they have cooled off a bit

and how one tray is darker than the other,I have no idea,unless it was the amount of egg wash I used

 

[justme4910]

other than the bottoms are on the burnt side,they taste really great it is a shame my camera doesn't do a very good close up shot

 

[ChesterV]

Oooooo, those look yummie!

As for the burnt look, it could be the egg wash, or it could be your oven was a bit too hot. Is it gas or electric? Gas cooks faster than electric, and a lot hotter too.

I don't know if you have any French pastry shops anywhere near you, but if you do, I would buy a professional croissant to see what it is like. And then you have a better idea of how you did.

If I remember correctly, the reason you want to keep the dough chilled while you work on it, is because it's handled so much. If you get it at room temp each time to work on the dough, it will get tough. Keeping it cold or cool helps keep the dough from being overworked while you are working on it.

I will say this though...................the better you get at it, the more you know how to work this kind of pastry dough........the more you can fold it over again and again to make it even lighter and flakier.

Once you get the method down pretty good, you can also use this method for pie crusts. Fold it over, roll it out, fold it over, roll it out, fold it over roll it out......once you get the knack of that, you can make a "mean" flaky pie crust!!!!

 

[Becky]

Those look incredible - good work!! I'd love to have a go at making croissants one day. You have inspired me

 

[justme4910]

other than all the rolling pin work they were pretty easy Becky,the last roll was pretty tough going

I do have to say even the burnt parts tasted good lol there almost gone and i'm the only one eating them

my stove is electric Chester,but I know it is a hunk of junk,as soon as i can afford it,I'm going top replace it,

I'm pretty sure the burnt part is due to my rack placement and baking time,I should have placed the bottom one higher and kept a better eye on when they were done and there are no French pastry shops close by and I should have chilled the dough again on the final roll,it was trying to stick a bit

but they did come out surprisingly good,especially with a bit of Apricot preserves on them and thanks for the A plus Chester

one thing I did wrong was the dough wasn't at a consistent depth,so they came out looking a bit different,but I can say that I was going for the rustic look lol I will make these again,they are great,they were lite fluffy,they did have the layers and they are definitely buttery

i wonder if I could refrigerate them after there made and let them rise the next morning and then bake them or freeze some of them and then thaw them when I'm ready for some more ?

 

[justme4910]

Of course you don't need all the fancy pots and pans and gizmo's and gadgets that she uses.


Im sure there are easier ways to make souffle', but you will have to look to see what recipe would best suit your skills.

OK I have part of my damn home work done Chester lol ,a sueflay will be next what do I need in the way of pots and pans ? I need to figure out what i need to bake one in,was it a pot with aluminum foil on the sides ?

I'm going to go for a cheese one,that should be the easiest ? right ? maybe ? don't know? Mrs child made it look easy,I remember my mamaw watching her,but she never cooked any thing from the show that I know of

I will google Easy Cheese Souffle' and go with a newer recipe,that may help lol

 

[justme4910]

uuuuh does this count ? lol


http://www.mrfood.com/Eggs/Easy-Cheese-Souffle


I just had to



or more like this one ?


http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/classic-cheese-souffl

it does ask for a soufflé dish too

 

[Becky]

Mmmm... cheese soufflé I love soufflé but I have never attempted baking one before, I'll be really interested to hear how you get on.

 

[ChesterV]

uuuuh does this count ? lol


http://www.mrfood.com/Eggs/Easy-Cheese-Souffle


I just had to



or more like this one ?


http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/classic-cheese-souffl

it does ask for a soufflé dish too

The first recipe is more or less just egg casserole.

The "classic" recipe is a souffle, so I would suggest that one.

Souffle's are best baked in some form of pottery container (porcelain, ceramic, clay, stoneware, etc...). You can bake them in metal, but they bake too fast in metal containers.

You can also use Pyrex glass if you have any of those.

You don't have to buy anything special, just use what you think will work, that you already have. Or, if you have a Goodwill or something like that, you can see if there is anything there that might fit the bill.