Spelt Croissants

After all the months of trials and errors making these recipes, there are just some desserts you don’t want to mess up; the Spelt Croissants recipe is one of those for me. I purposely saved this recipe as one of the last on my Dessert Person journey, and it was totally worth the wait.

The only ingredient I had to order online was spelt flour (the grocery store literally had every other flour except this one). I also splurged on European style butter (AKA Kerry Gold, because it’s Kerry Gold) since this was one of the most highly anticipated recipes.

The first steps in preparing the dough were pretty familiar to me; all the other recipes before this one where I’d mess up this or that paid off for making this dough right the first time! I whisked water that was 105°F with yeast, letting it puff up for a few minutes. I added more water to the bowl with bread flour, spelt flour, melted unsalted butter, sugar and salt. I mixed it with a wooden spoon until I had a shaggy dough, then kneaded it on the counter for about 12 minutes until I had a smooth, tacky dough. After lightly flouring the ball of dough, I placed it in a large bowl and covered it with plastic wrap to let it rise for about 90 minutes.

While the dough was proofing, I placed the butter in between two pieces of parchment paper and pat it down with a rolling pin. I rolled it over the parchment paper into a 7”x7” square, then wrapped the sides of the parchment paper around it like a present. This allowed me to roll it out a little more so the butter filled out the straight paper edges. I placed this butter square in fridge for the rest of the time the dough took to rise.

When the dough was doubled in size, I lined a baking sheet with plastic wrap and placed the dough on top, forming a rough square that was bigger than the 7”x7” butter square. I wrapped the dough in the plastic wrap and let it freeze for ten minutes to firm it up. After that, I brought the dough and butter back out, unwrapping both and placed the butter in a diamond shape over the dough square. I then took the triangular ends of the dough and folded them over the butter, pinching the seams together.

Once I felt the dough was staying intact, I rolled the dough out carefully to create a long, rectangular shape. This is where the lamination process began, which is what creates the beautiful, flaky layers in a croissant. I folded the rectangle into thirds, creating a smaller, thicker rectangle. I tried to do all this relatively quickly so the dough and butter wouldn’t get too soft, though it does give one a decent workout! This first folding process was considered the first “turn” to get those flaky layers, so I wrapped up the dough in plastic and refrigerated it for 45 minutes.

I repeated these “turns” two more times, taking the rectangle out of the fridge and unwrapping it, rolling the dough into the same large, thin rectangle and folding it in thirds again. Whenever I had a few spots that were sticking because the butter was starting to show through, I would add some flour to soften it up. This process obviously takes a while since you have to wait 45 minutes in between each turn, so I suggest having some other projects that don’t take too much time to complete in between these time frames.

When the turns were finally complete, guess what…I basically did something similar and waited even longer. I rolled the dough into a large, thin rectangle on a baking sheet, covered it very well in plastic wrap and then refrigerated it overnight. Claire suggests 8 to 12 hours; I ended up letting it chill for 14 hours, and it was fine.

The next morning, I lined two baking sheets with parchment paper. I took out the dough and rolled it into a massive rectangle with straight edges. Using a ruler, I marked four slits on the longer sides; I started at two inches, then counted four inches for the bottom, then did the same thing starting the opposite way on the top. This allowed me to easily cut out triangular strips. Just like you’ve probably seen done with pre-made crescent rolls, I rolled those triangles up to form the croissant look. While Claire says this recipe will make eight croissants, I used the half-triangle pieces to make a couple extra minis.

Make sure to space these croissants out among the baking sheets, because they will double in size after the final proofing. I placed four on each sheet, spraying water on the parchment and covering them in plastic. The croissants proofed for four hours, and I sprayed more water on the parchment halfway through. I couldn’t believe how much they expanded!

I then mixed the heavy cream and an egg, brushing it carefully over the layers of the croissants without intensely hitting the laminated sides. It made me so excited to see the final product, but also determined not to mess up this final step in the oven. I was extremely bummed to see how my Kouign-amann blackened in places after completing all the lamination steps, so I considered that a lesson learned to perfect the croissants. After watching the croissants like a hawk in the oven, turning the sheets 15 minutes in and taking them out seven minutes later, they came out absolutely stunning.

I let the croissants cool on the baking sheets, but made sure to try one while they were still warm…and O.M.G. This may be my most successful Dessert Person bake to date! The croissants are everything one would want with beautiful flakes, intricate layers and a soft, buttery flavor. I had to walk away after a while so I didn’t eat too many at once. For anyone baking their way through Dessert Person, I highly recommend waiting to make the Spelt Croissants until you’re towards the end of the experience. It seems cheesy, but all the ups and downs from other bread or lamination recipes will pay off to perfect this recipe, which is considered one of the hardest in the entire book. I might have to make these Spelt Croissants become a holiday tradition in our family. It is extremely rewarding to succeed at this recipe and know that the next time I see croissants in a bakery window, I’ll know what it takes to make them so delicious!

Claire made her croissants for NYT Cooking’s YouTube; I highly recommend watching this ahead of time if you’re nervous about making them, it will be a huge help!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpwY3nmLLaA