Two-color Croissants

Two-color croissants are a treat for both the eyes and the palate. This variation on a French classic can bring a breath of freshness to your breakfast or snack time. Here’s how you could prepare them:

Ingredients

For the base dough:

• 500 g of 00 flour
• 250 ml of lukewarm milk
• 50 g of sugar
• 10 g of fresh yeast or 3 g of dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg for brushing

For the cocoa dough:

• 250 g of 00 flour
• 20 g of cocoa powder

For the butter:

• 250 g of butter at room temperature
• 30 g of 00 flour

Preparation

1. Start by preparing the butter dough: mix the butter with the flour until you get a homogeneous mixture, then roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper forming a rectangle and let it rest in the fridge.
2. For the base dough, in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk, then add the sifted flour, sugar, and salt. Knead until you get a uniform mixture, then let it rest for about 30 minutes covering with a cloth.
3. Prepare the cocoa dough by mixing the remaining flour with the cocoa powder, then add it to the base dough and work until it is completely integrated.
4. Roll out the two-color dough into a rectangle of the same format as the butter and place the butter in the center. Then fold the dough over itself with a three-fold: bring the upper and lower flaps towards the center, overlapping them slightly.
5. Rotate the dough by 90 degrees and roll it out again, then repeat the three-fold. Wrap the dough in plastic film and let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.
6. Repeat this process of folding, rotating, rolling out and resting two more times.
7. After the resting time, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 5 mm and cut out triangles with a base of about 12 cm.
8. Roll the triangles from the base towards the tip to form the croissants, then let them rise until they double in volume.
9. Brush the croissants with a beaten egg and bake them in a preheated oven at 200 °C for about 15-20 minutes, until they are golden brown.
10. Once baked, let them cool on a rack.

Trivia

Croissants as we know them today have Austrian origins, not French, as it might seem. Born from the “kipferl,” a crescent-shaped sweet, they became popular in France thanks to Marie Antoinette, who introduced them at Versailles. The two-color version is a modern reinterpretation that adds a touch of creativity to this delicacy.

Remember, the secret to achieving flaky and well-risen croissants is in respecting the resting times and working the dough gently. Happy baking!