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