We made croissants again yesterday.


This time we remembered the salt, and I think that did make a positive
difference in the taste.


This time we used the cuisinart to mix the dough instead of hand
kneading. We think it's the wrong tool for the job. The biggest
problem was the heat. With the motor so close to the mixing bowl, the
dough got too hot too fast. It rose quite a bit in the refrigerator.
It didn't do that last time. Now, after deciding that we didn't need a
stand-up mixer, we've decided that maybe we do need one afterall.
There's no hurry. We're waiting for the right one on Craig's List.


We thought we'd try refrigerating for an hour after every turn instead
of for 2 hours and doing 2 turns at a time. Who knows if that was the
right decision. We got so mixed up about turns and times that by the
end of the day we couldn't remember how many turns it had had. I do
believe the dough rose too much before shaping.


The day was a little hotter and considerably more humid. That probably
had an effect, but we haven't figured out what sort.


A few hours before fireworks time, I got the miserable itchy feeling of
a mold allergy. I took antihistamines and could scarcely keep my eyes
open to shape the croissants. Jim took over and said he didn't do as
good a job. The almond croissants especially mooshed into one big
danish-type pastry. We need larger pans so there's more space between
the individual croissants as they bake.


The neat thing about baking at home is that the results will be good and
edible even if they're not perfect. This morning they were improved by
an excellent soft goat cheese and some nice cassis jam.


--Lia

Julia Altshuler > wrote in
:

> We made croissants again yesterday.

Did you watch this batch too?

>
>
> This time we remembered the salt, and I think that did make a positive
> difference in the taste.
>
>
> This time we used the cuisinart to mix the dough instead of hand
> kneading. We think it's the wrong tool for the job. The biggest
> problem was the heat. With the motor so close to the mixing bowl, the
> dough got too hot too fast. It rose quite a bit in the refrigerator.
> It didn't do that last time. Now, after deciding that we didn't need a
> stand-up mixer, we've decided that maybe we do need one afterall.
> There's no hurry. We're waiting for the right one on Craig's List.

Some say using the plastic blade in the FP works to reduces the heat that
using the metal blade generates.

>
>
> We thought we'd try refrigerating for an hour after every turn instead
> of for 2 hours and doing 2 turns at a time. Who knows if that was the
> right decision. We got so mixed up about turns and times that by the
> end of the day we couldn't remember how many turns it had had. I do
> believe the dough rose too much before shaping.
>
>
> The day was a little hotter and considerably more humid. That probably
> had an effect, but we haven't figured out what sort.
>
>
> A few hours before fireworks time, I got the miserable itchy feeling of
> a mold allergy. I took antihistamines and could scarcely keep my eyes
> open to shape the croissants. Jim took over and said he didn't do as
> good a job. The almond croissants especially mooshed into one big
> danish-type pastry. We need larger pans so there's more space between
> the individual croissants as they bake.
>
>
> The neat thing about baking at home is that the results will be good
and
> edible even if they're not perfect. This morning they were improved by
> an excellent soft goat cheese and some nice cassis jam.
>
>
> --Lia
>
>



--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

Julia Altshuler wrote:
> We made croissants again yesterday.
>
>
> This time we remembered the salt, and I think that did make a positive
> difference in the taste.
>
>
> This time we used the cuisinart to mix the dough instead of hand
> kneading. We think it's the wrong tool for the job. The biggest
> problem was the heat. With the motor so close to the mixing bowl, the
> dough got too hot too fast. It rose quite a bit in the refrigerator.
> It didn't do that last time. Now, after deciding that we didn't need
> a stand-up mixer, we've decided that maybe we do need one afterall.
> There's no hurry. We're waiting for the right one on Craig's List.
>
>
> We thought we'd try refrigerating for an hour after every turn instead
> of for 2 hours and doing 2 turns at a time. Who knows if that was the
> right decision. We got so mixed up about turns and times that by the
> end of the day we couldn't remember how many turns it had had. I do
> believe the dough rose too much before shaping.
>
>
> The day was a little hotter and considerably more humid. That
> probably had an effect, but we haven't figured out what sort.
>
>
> A few hours before fireworks time, I got the miserable itchy feeling
> of a mold allergy. I took antihistamines and could scarcely keep my
> eyes open to shape the croissants. Jim took over and said he didn't
> do as good a job. The almond croissants especially mooshed into one
> big danish-type pastry. We need larger pans so there's more space
> between the individual croissants as they bake.
>
>
> The neat thing about baking at home is that the results will be good
> and edible even if they're not perfect. This morning they were
> improved by an excellent soft goat cheese and some nice cassis jam.


Well Done))



--
Veni, Vidi, Visa .......I came, I saw, I shopped

hahabogus wrote:
>
> Did you watch this batch too?


I would have, but I was so drugged with the antihistamines that I
staggered up to see them go into the oven, then fell over in bed again.


> Some say using the plastic blade in the FP works to reduces the heat that
> using the metal blade generates.


We used the plastic blade. The dough still got warm.


Also, I think we ground the almonds too fine for the frangipane. I
prefer them a little crunchier.


Today I'm hoping to get to the bookstore so we can shop for a croissant
cookbook.


It's the funniest thing how this project is turning out to be so much
fun. We knew we were old fuddy-duddy types. This is another example.
Talking about croissants has occupied our time, and we're enjoying it.
We'll be in the car searching for something to say. Then one of us will
mention raising the oven temperature, and we get into a discussion about
it. Anyone listening would say we were nuts to get into it to this
degree. (Present company excepted-- and accepted.)


--Lia

Julia Altshuler > wrote in
:

> hahabogus wrote:
>>
>> Did you watch this batch too?
>
>
> I would have, but I was so drugged with the antihistamines that I
> staggered up to see them go into the oven, then fell over in bed
> again.
>
>
>> Some say using the plastic blade in the FP works to reduces the heat
>> that using the metal blade generates.
>
>
> We used the plastic blade. The dough still got warm.
>
>
> Also, I think we ground the almonds too fine for the frangipane. I
> prefer them a little crunchier.
>
>
> Today I'm hoping to get to the bookstore so we can shop for a
> croissant cookbook.
>
>
> It's the funniest thing how this project is turning out to be so much
> fun. We knew we were old fuddy-duddy types. This is another example.
> Talking about croissants has occupied our time, and we're enjoying it.
> We'll be in the car searching for something to say. Then one of us
> will mention raising the oven temperature, and we get into a
> discussion about it. Anyone listening would say we were nuts to get
> into it to this degree. (Present company excepted-- and accepted.)
>
>
> --Lia
>
>

Couples get quality time in the strangest ways as seen from an outsider.
Better this than zoning out in front of a tv for sharing with a
significant other. At least thinking is involved.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

Julia Altshuler wrote:

> It's the funniest thing how this project is turning out to be so much
> fun. We knew we were old fuddy-duddy types. This is another example.
> Talking about croissants has occupied our time, and we're enjoying it.
> We'll be in the car searching for something to say. Then one of us will
> mention raising the oven temperature, and we get into a discussion about
> it. Anyone listening would say we were nuts to get into it to this
> degree. (Present company excepted-- and accepted.)
>

I, for one, am enjoying your adventure.
--
Janet Wilder
Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
Good Friends. Good Life

hahabogus wrote:

> Couples get quality time in the strangest ways as seen from an outsider.
> Better this than zoning out in front of a tv for sharing with a
> significant other. At least thinking is involved.
>

Your post reminded me of the time (when we were much younger and
healthier) that DH and I spent an entire weekend on a quest for the
perfect margarita recipe. There was no Internet, so we had to experiment
quite a bit <vbg>
--
Janet Wilder
Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
Good Friends. Good Life

hahabogus wrote:
>
> Couples get quality time in the strangest ways as seen from an outsider.
> Better this than zoning out in front of a tv for sharing with a
> significant other. At least thinking is involved.


We do that too. Lately it's been Bones on DVD.
--Lia

Yesterday's research involved driving out of our way to the inconvenient
bakery to buy plain and almond croissants that we weren't even hungry
for. We disected them and decided that our almond filling is better.
It's less gooey and more flavorful. Their layered flakiness is still
better. Next time we try less butter. Actually, we're thinking of
taking a break from croissants and making a detour into almond cookies.
I'll keep y'all informed.


--Lia

On Sun 06 Jul 2008 06:59:30a, Julia Altshuler told us...

> Yesterday's research involved driving out of our way to the inconvenient
> bakery to buy plain and almond croissants that we weren't even hungry
> for. We disected them and decided that our almond filling is better.
> It's less gooey and more flavorful. Their layered flakiness is still
> better. Next time we try less butter. Actually, we're thinking of
> taking a break from croissants and making a detour into almond cookies.
> I'll keep y'all informed.
>
>
> --Lia
>
>

Chinese Almond Cookies? The best ones use lard.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Sunday, 07(VII)/06(VI)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
You always find things in the first
place you look, but not the first time
you look there.
-------------------------------------------

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>
> Chinese Almond Cookies? The best ones use lard.


We were thinking along the lines of Lazzaroni Italian almond cookies,
but we're open to ideas.


Today we drove out to the bookstore with the huge selection of
cookbooks, stood overwhelmed in front of the shelves, and compared
croissant recipes. When we're done with the ones in the freezer, we're
going to try cutting down on the amount of butter, doing the turns the
way Julia Child recommends, and raising the oven temp.


--Lia

On Sun 06 Jul 2008 04:33:20p, Julia Altshuler told us...

> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>
>> Chinese Almond Cookies? The best ones use lard.
>
>
> We were thinking along the lines of Lazzaroni Italian almond cookies,
> but we're open to ideas.
>
>
> Today we drove out to the bookstore with the huge selection of
> cookbooks, stood overwhelmed in front of the shelves, and compared
> croissant recipes. When we're done with the ones in the freezer, we're
> going to try cutting down on the amount of butter, doing the turns the
> way Julia Child recommends, and raising the oven temp.
>
>
> --Lia

I'll look forward to the reports!

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Sunday, 07(VII)/06(VI)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
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Line noise provided by US West!
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