Croissant

Preparation of the dough

1770 g	strong flour*
36 g	salt
850 g	water/milk
100 g	sugar
40 g	invert sugar
90 g	yeast**
90 g	milk powder if water is used
140 g	Roasted Butter 98 % fat
26 g	Improver
1000 g	Express Butter 82 % Fat - Sheet

Make a dough using all ingredients. Mix the fluid with the yeast until it has dissolved. Only add the salt when all ingredients are mixed. Let all ingredients mix, in 1st gear for about 5 minutes. Then add the roasted and knead into a homogeneous dough in the 2nd gear.
Make sure the dough isn’t too soft. Knead for 7-8 minutes.
After kneading, the dough has to be around 24 °C and needs to present a nice gluten window. If this temperature hasn’t been reached, continue kneading.
After kneading, cover the dough with cling film and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

* Flour minimum strength of 12.5 % (preferably 13 to 15 %) Harder flour gives more voluminous products that are less likely to deflate after baking.
** If you are going to freeze the product, use suitable yeast.

Tip

You can replace the 140 g Corman roasted butter with 140 g Corman dairy butter for a more neutral taste.

Rolling out and resting of the dough

Roll the dough out into a rectangular shape of 40 x 60 cm.
Leave it to rest for minimum 30 minutes, covered with cling film, in the freezer at -18 °C.

TIP: When making different dough pieces, it is best to make the dough a day beforehand and keep it overnight at 2 °C.

Tempering and rolling out the butter

Make sure to take the butter sheets (not necessary for the Express butter*) out of the refrigerator in time. Remove them in the summer 1 hour and in winter 1.5 hours in advance out of the refrigerator. Roll out the butter to a thickness of 8 mm. The ideal processing temperature is 17 to 19 °C.
Divide the butter into 2 pieces of 1 kg. After rolling, the butter is sufficiently elastic to incorporate it immediately into the dough.
Use 1 kg butter per 3 kg dough.
Do not divide the butter sheet if you work with large dough pieces (6-7 kg).

* When you use our Express butter sheet, you don’t have to temper it to room temperature. Express butter can be used immediately when taking out of cooling.
It has also been made with a thickness of 8 mm.

Turning (2x4)

Start turning the dough by adding the tempered butter sheet on 1/2 of the dough. Close it to make sure all butter is covered.
Make an incision on both closing sides of the dough. This way you can remove the tension from the dough and the butter will better spread during the turns.
Roll the dough out in several steps. But be careful: too many steps create pressure that can lead to tearing of the dough. Make sure you keep a rectangular shape**! Roll the dough out to a thickness of 8 mm.
Fold the dough in 4 (first turn). Turn the dough, after folding, in the other direction. Unroll in steps and fold in 4 again, mark it by pushing 2 small pits (second turn). Leave the dough to rest, covered with cling film, for 30 minutes***. In the meantime, turn and fold all the other dough pieces.

Tip: After folding, the dough can be kept cooled in the refrigerator until they have all been turned or you can use it straightaway after a sufficient cooling period.

** Take care of the turning! When folding, make sure the dough is closed nicely without leaving empty spaces or creating double folds, which would have an impact on the final product.
*** Corman butter allows you to turn in one single movement, but when the temperature in the working area is high, it is recommended to store the dough in a cool place.

Cutting the croissant dough

The nicest effect is reached when the dough is rolled out at a very cold temperature and if it is cut with a very sharp knife.
If you want to do the cutting yourself, use a guideline of 21 x 8 cm (3 mm thickness) for full size croissants and 12 x 8 cm (2.5 mm thickness) for smaller croissants.

Proof

For 95-100 minutes at 26-28 °C and humidity of 75-80 %.
Note: The proof time depends on the percentage of yeast and the temperature of the proving cabinet.

Tip

Why is the correct rising temperature so important?

If the temperature is too high, the butter risks to melt, sticking the layers of dough together and preventing the croissants from being airy.
If the temperature is too low, the butter risks to break and the croissants having an irregular structure.

Humidity should not be too high in order to avoid the croissants of being too moist and the formation of bubbles during baking.
Corman Tip: If this is the case, let the croissants dry before baking them.

Baking

15-17 minutes in a ventilated oven and 18-20 minutes in a floor oven. Adjust the temperature in the oven to achieve these baking times.