"Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
...
> We've just taken our 3rd try at home made croissants out of the oven. The
> plain ones are our best effort in both appearance and taste. The almond
> ones have actually been going downhill, especially in the way they look.
>
>
> We decided to go with Julia Child's recipe this time. We started with the
> recipe posted here. Then I got out an old paperback of _The French Chef
> Cookbook_ and realized that there were differences. It was hard getting
> started as Jim and I were arguing. I wanted to choose a recipe and follow
> it as closely as possible. Then, if we didn't like it, we could change
> one variable at a time. His idea is to change everything at once, but he
> doesn't put it in those terms. He insists that we are following the
> recipe except that we're just changing ...
>
>
> Anyway, trying to keep this about food and not my relationship, one big
> difference between Child's recipe and the Baking Illustrated one is that
> Child has you let the dough rise before rolling it out for the butter
> square and the 1st turn. She says it makes for a better tasting dough,
> and I agree. The slight bitterness from tries #1 and #2 is now gone.
>
>
> We're still trying to figure out how much butter to use. This is one of
> those things that will probably be a while before we get right. If you
> use too much, you run the risk of incorporating the butter into the dough
> when you want layers of flakiness. If you use too little, you don't get
> that wonderful buttery taste. Trouble is, in addition to your personal
> taste, how much is the right amount also depends on your skill in rolling
> out the dough and making the turns. How much the dough rises depends on
> how warm the kitchen is. How humid the day is affects the stickiness of
> the dough. You have to get good at gauging everything by look and feel.
>
>
> The good news is that no matter how much you screw up, you're still likely
> to end up with good tasting rolls. As long as you don't burn them to a
> crisp, everything is edible.
>
>
> The simplest way to make the almond croissants is with a simple tri-fold
> shape, but the first time we made them, we experimented with a braid, and
> they came out well. Then the 2nd time, Jim tried the braid (that was the
> night I was zonked on antihistamines), and it all mooshed together into
> one great tasting pan sized pastry. This time I was making them again,
> but I must have lost my touch. They didn't moosh together, but they don't
> have that pretty look about them either.
>
>
> _The French Chef_ recipe is pretty interesting. She doesn't assume you
> have a mixer and gives instructions on hand kneading. Since today was our
> first time of trying our new one, we were incorporating a bit of both
> recipes there. She doesn't assume you have parchment paper either. Her
> instructions are to butter the pan.
>
>
> Also, we're still using our original bag of King Arthur all-purpose flour
> despite instructions to use Gold Medal or exactly the right proportions of
> bread flour and cake flour. We'll stick with it until it's time to buy
> more. As it is, flour doesn't cost much, but we can't see having a
> cupboard full of 3 different kinds.
>
>
> Oh, and I also picked so many raspberries today that I had to run them
> through the blender, press through a sieve to remove the seeds, then pour
> them into ice cube trays. We're laying in stores for the winter.
>
>
> --Lia
>
I'm a Julia Child junkie. We have most of her books including the French
Chef, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and on. My favorite of all is her
books is "The Way to Cook" published in 1989. It's kind of a refined
synthesis of all that preceeded it. It's still in print.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/...Cook&x=21&y=14
Mastering the Art of French Cooking is also in print. I bought a new one
after the original completely fell apart.
Cheers,
Hugh