In the nick of time

At any given moment, I have a few ambitious baking projects waiting in the wings for that elusive triumvirate of time, energy and inclination. Sifting through the paper detritus that had piled up on my desk and in my drawers over the year, I stumbled on an unfinished list of challenges I'd hoped to tackle in 2010 jotted half-heartedly in the corner of a notebook. Among them, croissants.*

I even had a specific recipe in mind. The February/March 2009 issue of Fine Cooking featured a step-by-step guide to making the delicate pastries. With my schedule wide open for the Christmas holidays and time ticking down to the new year, it seemed like the right time to make things happen.

In 2010: I came, I rolled butter, I conquered croissants.



* Pretty sure this was a carry-over from 2009.

Notes: Overall, the Fine Cooking recipe I reference above served me well. I did run into some trouble when it came to cutting the dough into triangles. Instead of using the photos as a guideline and following my gut, I tried to follow the written instructions step by step. I'm a bit spatially challenged though.

Also, at the recommended baking temperature, the bottoms of my croissants browned very quickly, while the tops darkened more slowly and unevenly. Next time, I'll try a slightly lower temperature for slightly longer.

Blogkeeping: A post a week for the entire year, no ifs, ands or buts. Unless we leave the country for more than a week. Then all bets are off. Deal? Deal.