Baking Croissants at La Cuisine Paris

How much more Parisian can you get than baking croissants in Paris? Well, perhaps Discovering the Secrets of Macarons would do it but I think it’s a pretty close race. Having already mastered macarons, I decided it was time to move on to the buttery, golden viennoiseries – pastries. So on a hot, sunny day in May, I made my way to the charming French cooking school, La Cuisine Paris, to attend their ‘Le Croissant and Breakfast Pastries‘ class. Tucked in behind Paris’ stunning Hôtel de Ville – City Hall –  on la Rive Droite – the Right Bank – of the Seine, La Cuisine Paris offers a wonderful selection of French cooking classes and food tours in English.

Paying It Forward

After introductions, Chef Guillaume lead us down a circular staircase into one of the well-equipped, basement kitchens. Before each of us lay our tools for the afternoon: rolling pins, pastry brushes and sharp knives. And at each workstation, a package of détrempe – starter dough. Because the rising and baking processes take some time, we were beginning with the pastry made by the previous class and would eventually leave the détrempe that we each mixed up for the following class. A clever approach to making efficient use of time. So we got right down to it, using the long, cylindrical rolling pins to gently stretch out the détrempe into the desired shape.

The Key to Croissants

We then created a thin parchment-wrapped packet of rich butter. Croissants are all about the butter. Those fine layers of moist richness in a croissant come from laminating thin layers of butter and pastry together. This process is known as le tourage. To achieve the best effect, you want to use the fattest butter you can find, at least 80% milk fat. (I was happy to find an 82% MF option when I returned home.) From here, it’s a process of folding the pastry over the butter, rolling it out again and refrigerating to firm the butter up.

Buttery Breads

We did this several times until, at last, the pâte feuilletée levée – leavened puff pastry – was ready for shaping. I find it amazing what beautiful shapes can be created with a few simple cuts and folds. Besides croissants, we formed pinwheels and baskets as well as rolled in sticks of rich, dark chocolate for some pain au chocolat – Chocolate Bread.

Then, after a little garnish, an egg wash and some rising time, it was into the oven with them. Chef spritzed the hot interior sides of the oven with water to help give the viennoiseries their crispy exterior. The result: golden pieces of pure heaven!

Starting From Scratch

While these goodies were in the oven, we went back to square one: mixing the détrempe. We created wells on the counter with the dry ingredients, then gently mixed in the wet ones. A little kneading and voilà: a batch of détrempe ready for the next class to form into their own creations.

A Parisian Souvenir

When I registered for this class, I thought that this would be the one and only time I would put the effort into baking croissants. However, I enjoyed it so much that I have since found myself baking croissants a number of times at home. Working with the dough puts a smile on my face every time! And the results, a smile on the faces of friends and family who share them with me. So, the next time you’re in Paris, I highly recommend taking some time out for baking croissants. It’s a wonderful souvenir that will last a lifetime!

Cuisine Tip: Keep a package of high milk fat butter in the freezer to have on hand when you want to whip up a batch of fresh croissants.

La Cuisine Paris  80 Quai de l’Hôtel de Ville, 75004, Paris

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