I find hardly any breakfast more stimulating than the one I quickly improvise with freshly baked croissants. Fragile texture, almost ethereal, with a pronounced butter flavor and a weight of almost 80 grams, my favorite size so that I don't get too full. What characteristics do quality croissants have? We're talking about small treasures of traditional baked goods, golden pieces with distinctive indentations in the crust that ring when touched with your hand and crunch when you take the first bite. Inside, a soft and spongy dough full of countless alveoli scattered by the action of the puff pastry. Pieces that have nothing to do with those oblong or crescent-shaped buns, generally caked-on dough, lousy brioches that taste of margarine and hydrogenated fats of unknown nature, fake mini or giant-sized croissants that proliferate in so many breakfast offerings. Or, even worse, these weightless and tasteless pieces, light as air, bathed in sticky syrups with strange aftertastes, decorated with certain glazes.
Fortunately, there are more and more Spanish pastry shops and bakeries that make butter croissants, pur beurre, as the French say, and in their country they represent a kind of religion.
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Why have today's croissants given up their former half-moon shape? I have asked myself several times. “The tips damage the puff pastry. It is the narrowest parts of the pieces that end up burning in the oven,” answers Jordi Gallés, owner of the Fripan company. “They partially break the puff pastry when folded and dry out a few hours after baking. If you leave them out, the preparation is much more even,” confirms pastry chef Ricardo Vélez of Moulin Chocolat. “The result of a good croissant is influenced by the quality and quantity of butter used, as well as the properties of the flour, which is always of medium thickness so that the layers do not break in puff pastry. Just as important as fermentation times and temperatures. It’s not that easy to produce really high-quality croissants by hand,” he continues.
I suspect the technical reasons that led to the development of croissants, the pride of European pastries, but with a certain nostalgia I cannot erase from my memory the former crescent-shaped pieces that are said to have been created in Vienna in 1683 during the attempt at the siege the troops of the Ottoman Empire stuck in front of the city wall. It's a story about Viennese bakers. Due to the nocturnal nature of their work, they heard dull knocks echoing beneath the vaults of their furnaces. Warning signs of the tunnel boring work that the Ottoman militias were drilling to build an underground corridor that would give them access to the heart of Vienna. Experts who alerted the forces of Count von Starhemberg, the square's defender, who ultimately frustrated the attackers' efforts. As a reward, these clever bakers were given numerous privileges. Reason for joy for the artisans of the guild who, in the midst of their euphoria, had created two new breads, the Emperor and the Croissant (Crescent Moon), an icon embossed on the flag of the defeated army. Some rolls representing Queen Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI. and Austrian-born, tried in vain to introduce them to France and which only gained popularity as puff pastries under the rule of Louis Philippe in Paris and towards the end of the first third of the century. XIX. A bizarre story that is not entirely original in that half-moon breads inspired by astral religions were documented to appear in bakeries in Rome many centuries ago.
Croissant with Eggs Benedict and smoked salmon. Jose Carlos Capel Rivas
When it comes to putting together my breakfast, I use croissants in two ways: as rolls that I fill to snack on, like the best sandwiches, or as if they were sandwiches, open and toasted, which once filled I eat with a Season the knife and fork on the plate. I enjoy swapping ingredients, sweet and savory, meat, cold cuts and sausages, but also cheese, smoked foods and canned fish. Eggs play a fundamental role in my repertoire. I prepare them poached, in a potato omelette, French style or as scrambled eggs. And also fried with lace, which I use as a filling with thin slices of chorizo, salchichón or ham. I love the green asparagus tips and the young garlic sprouts with scrambled eggs and even the briefly fried piparras with sausages. And of course, I really enjoy putting Eggs Benedict with bacon or smoked salmon (Eggs Royal) into a croissant, the recipes for which I documented in a previous article. A single requirement is mandatory when thinking about possible combinations: under no circumstances must the ingredients have a more resistant consistency than the croissants in which they are contained. They have to be soft fillings that don't dissolve the continent with the first bite. The list of my favorites grows longer every day: stuffed with sobrasada and anchovies; Galician cream cheese and bologna mortadella; made from spreadable cheese paste and bitter orange jam; with avocado, smoked salmon and grilled egg; with grated tomato and ham…
The harmonies are endless. Nobody should ask me about quantities and proportions They are subject to personal taste. There are few things more fun than ditching routine and showing some imagination over breakfast.
Croissant filled with green asparagus stir
When preparing dishes, these pieces of puff pastry can be used in two ways: as filled rolls to snack on like the best sandwiches or like sandwiches, open and toasted.
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