Cooking Class in Paris!

Yesterday we had a three-hour croissant cooking class! I have never tried cooking croissants before this. First we had to make a French Cream for Pain Suisse. It tasted a lot like custard. We learned how to make croissant dough, shape it, proof it and also how to make other French patisserie.

Croissants were actually invented in Austria in the Middle Ages. The Ottoman Turks were attacking Vienna, and they were digging under the walls. Bakers used to work underground since they could more easily control the temperature, so they heard the Turks digging, and sounded the alarm. In celebration they made a crescent shaped brioche to signify the victory.

One of the most interesting things was getting the layers of butter into the croissant dough. First you roll the butter into a rectangle, then you roll the dough into a rectangle of about double the size of the butter. It is important to make sure that the butter doesn’t melt. Next you fold the edges of the dough around the butter, covering it. Then you seal the edges by pressing softly. Third you fold around a fifth of the dough up from the bottom, the bring the top edge down to meet it. Then you fold the whole thing in half. Next you wait around 7 hours to let the layers settle. For the second part you want to roll it out a bit longer for guess what, more folding! You fold it in half twice,  wait another 7 hours and you're done!

My favourite part may be learning to throw flour to spread it thinner and more even than sprinkling. It worked surprisingly well, and I had never seen anyone throw flour before to spread it. 

My favourite pastry was Pain au Chocolat, or Chocolate Croissants in Australia. While making the cream for the Pain Suisse I was called up to help, and I had to crack an egg for  the first time in months. Luckily I did it well. It was a really fun class and William was a great teacher. I will definitely try making croissants at home!

Thanks for reading! And until next time, remember throwing flower is not always a bad idea.