Almond Croissants Recipe (French Bakery Style) (2024)

FAQs

What do they call almond croissants in France? ›

You can find almond croissants, or “Croissants Aux Amandes” in almost every French bakery.

One thing you might not be aware of however, is that almond croissants are actually one-day old croissants. Because they are not fresh from the oven, they lost their crispness, hence bakeries can't sell them anymore. Croissants are then sliced horizontally, garnished with almond filling and baked a second time.

The brand of flour that the chef recommends is Gruau Rouge viennoiserie from France, it is a T45 Wheat flour, ground specifically for the production of pastries; such as croissants, brioche, danish rolls, empanadas. T45 Wheat Flour is essential for making well-leavened and soft cakes.

Many layers: Lots of layers and holes are a sign of the perfect croissant. These layers take a very long time to be created by the chef with repeated folding over and over again. Crunchy shell: The exterior of the croissant will be deliciously crunchy, crispy and delicate, falling apart upon biting into it.

While this is not exactly true, what does seem to be true is that the average French butter, especially the average butter used in a French croissant is just much more flavorful than the butter used by most American bakeries.

In France and Spain, croissants are generally sold without filling and eaten without added butter, but sometimes with almond filling. In the United States, sweet fillings or toppings are sometimes used, and warm croissants may be filled with ham and cheese, or feta cheese and spinach.

Flaky, buttery, and filled with a sweet and lightly cinnamon-y almond filling...these croissants are EVERYTHING.

Frangipane is a rich, cream-based filling, while marzipan is a thick paste mostly used for decorative purposes. The main thing they have in common is the almonds required to make each one, but beyond that, they're wildly different — especially in consistency — meaning you'll find them used differently, too.

Although you can produce excellent croissants from all-purpose flour, bread flour, or frozen packaged white dough, the high gluten content makes for hard and rubbery rolling out. A mixture of 2 parts unbleached pastry flour and 1 part unbleached all-purpose flour gives a dough that is much easier to handle.

What type of flour should I use? Most French croissant recipes use pastry flour (T45) to produce a croissant with a light, delicate texture.

What butter to use for croissants? ›

First and foremost, you should use European or European-style butter which consists of 83% to 84% of butterfat. It should be 68° Fahrenheit and in the consistency of cream cheese, spreadable with a spatula.

A natural improver for pastry and croissant

LB Improver enhances consistency of the puff pastry in a pleasant balance between crunchiness and softness. This enzymatic improver also intensifies the croissant taste with lactic notes.

The layers which make up a croissant is a result of a process called laminating, where butter is folded into the dough multiple times to create alternating layers of butter and dough. This step is crucial in the process to ensure the steam effectively lifts the layers apart during baking.

The only sweet thing you will find on a French table at breakfast is jam, butter, or Nutella. And this is usually spread on a croissant or Pain au chocolat (a type of croissant with chocolate in it) or toasted bread. The croissant was invented in France, Austria and Hungary in 1683.

almond (nut):

amande f.

Frangipane is a rich, cream-based filling, while marzipan is a thick paste mostly used for decorative purposes. The main thing they have in common is the almonds required to make each one, but beyond that, they're wildly different — especially in consistency — meaning you'll find them used differently, too.

Sample Phrase: Je prend un pain au chocolat, s'il vous plaît. I'll have a chocolate croissant please.