ottawa foodies

I have been wanting to make croissants for some time and finally attempted them last weekend. I needed two tries to be successful. My question is the recipe called for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs of rising time at 75-80 degrees, but my croissants took over 4 hours to finally rise. It may have been slightly lower than 75 but thought that seemed way too long. My first batch that failed were probably fine but after nearly 3 hrs i put them in the oven hoping the oven spring would make up for the lack of rising. It didn't :( I just wondered if any of you out there are croissant bakers and could you tell me how long yours need to rise, and any other helpful hints. Thanks.

You don't mention what recipe you used, what kind of yeast (fresh, dry, instant dry etc.) or what temperature of water you used in your dough. Or whether you proofed them at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

In general, a croissant dough has loads of butter in it and the best way to proof them is in the refrigerator for a fairly long time (like overnight, or all day while you are at work). This lets the dough rise while keeping the butter intact.
Take them out and allow them to finish proofing at room temperature, and bake them off when they look puffy and ready to bake. If you want them for breakfast for instance, the night before you would make the recipe up to the point of shaping them, then allow the shaped croissants to rest in the fridge overnight.

Also, for fresh yeast you use much cooler water than you would use for dry yeast. When I was at Algonquin we always used cold water for yeast doughs.

Factors like temperature or humidity affect the amount of time it takes a dough to rise so bakers usually think of proof as a percentage; 100% proof means doubled in size, a 90% proof would be almost doubled in size etc.

Hope that helps.

Mmmmm butter. I find that often croissants in Canada do not have enough butter... there was this little bakery on the hill up to Sacre Coeur de Montmartre in Paris which has the best croissants I have ever eaten and I think the reason was buttery and light.

I'm not sure if a home oven would be dry enough or the right consistent temperature--like Mousseline suggested. I haven't tried croissants but after several attempts gave up on baguette for that reason. It was ok but better from the bakery. And of course a lot better in Paris!

How about posting your recipe? Those look great, and would be something good for me to make with the boys since they love croissants!

Note to self : recipe here : www.finecooking.com

Thanks foodntravel!