Because Croissants need a National Holiday

A small cafe, a crisp autumn morning, a cafe latte and a buttery, flaky croissant. My idea of perfection.

January 30th is National Croissant Day and I think this may be one of the best holiday’s I’ve ever heard of! Of course puff pastry should have a holiday. A common French pastry, the croissant has many tales about its origins, from being the French version of the Austrian Kipferl to being part of the celebration when the Ottoman’s were defeated in the late 1600’s (It is said the shape of the croissant was in reference to the Ottoman flag). However it came to be we are just happy that they exist. Made out of flour, yeast, sugar, and water; the dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating. The process results in a layered, flaky pastry that gives croissants their signature texture.

Normally, I would never think to attempt to make these at home. It honestly seems like something that is far past my baking skills and patience. However, come this weekend I will in fact attempt to make the below recipe. I’ll make sure to document my success or utter defeat of the croissant. This particular recipe comes from the French blog The Wandering Girl. After looking at many recipes I think this is a solid one. She also goes into great detail of how each phase of the croissant goes, which is very helpful for a beginner. Since it is so long the best way to do this is to simply link to her post – have fun!

Click for recipe

– Stephanie