In our Slow Down And Make ___ series we've brought you through an array of recipes, ranging from dishes that require no more than an hour (like Irish Soda Bread) to recipes that demand a little more of your time (like a Ragu sauce).
We've held your hands through these recipes -- and through this concept -- and we think real progress has been made. So much so that today we think you're ready for the ultimate slow down recipe: the French croissant.
Deciding that you're going to tackle the be-all and end-all of French pastries, the croissant, is no small decision. You have to be ready to dedicate almost a full day to being available to this process. You have to be willing to shake off all the other things you think you should be doing; happy to dismiss the self-assigned guilt of not accomplishing five tasks at once on your day off; and you have to really commit to the decision to make the most buttery, flakiest baked good that has ever come out of your oven. Trust us, it will be the best decision you've made in a long time.
We understand that spending an entire day to bake something isn't often practiced in our day -- we're used to running everywhere we go all while multitasking on our smart phones -- but it should be. Because, as is true in life also applies to the kitchen, only with real sacrifice is there a true reward. And a hot croissant fresh from our oven is all the reward we ever need.
The thought of making croissants may scare you for the technical reasons (not the amount of time required). You are after all working with yeast, making giant squares of butter, rolling and folding and re-rolling temperamental dough. There can be a lot of room for error and frustration. But, if you're ready to devote the time, to carefully read and follow a recipe, and measure out everything to a T, anyone and everyone can master the croissant -- easily.
Recipes:
We will forever be fans of Julia Child's croissant recipe, but we are pretty smitten with food blogger Top With Cinnamon's gif tutorial.
Once you make a croissant, these other French recipes will be a breeze.
