
Cheese Croissant
18h 10m
This croissant is cheesy, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. If these are left at your place, they can be used for a sandwich. They are the base of our savory specials—add a pesto, a tapenade, or a cheese mix inside to create a savory dish you will love.
Make sure to bake for at least 15m and to turn your oven down a notch if you think the browning is going too quickly. But you really have to learn from experience and by baking several batches to figure out what's the ideal time and temperature for your own oven.
Take out of the oven and let them cool for 10m before digging in.
This croissant has people coming back to the bakery time and time again. The secret is to grate your own cheese and to flavor it with great spices! Of course, add lots of cheese!
Add 140 ml of warm whole milk, 140 ml of warm water and 500 g of all-purpose flour to a stand mixer bowl
Add 60 g of white sugar and 12 g of salt
Add 40 g of softened, unsalted butter and 11 g of fresh yeast
Mix with the dough hook attachment on low speed for 4m until the dough comes together and forms a ball
Mix the dough on medium-high speed for 6m until the dough becomes smooth and elastic
Place the dough on a clean work surface and shape it into an approximate square
Place the dough on a baking tray with parchment paper and cover it with cling film. Place it in the refrigerator for 12h to rise
Place 280 g of softened, unsalted butter on a sheet of parchment paper. Form a rectangle that is about 1 cm thick. Reserve in the refrigerator
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Dust it with all-purpose flour and place it on a floured surface. Remove the paper and dust the other side of the dough
Roll the dough into a 26 cm x 26 cm square
Dust the butter with all-purpose flour and roll it until the rectangle is 25 cm long
Place the butter in the center of the dough. Fold the dough to meet in the middle, without overlapping
Roll the dough, lightly pressing it with only forward and back movements to make a narrow rectangle
Fold one end of the dough in about 5 cm . Fold the ether end, slightly overlapping the first fold. Fold the dough in half and rotate it. Roll it with light pressure to press the folds together
Place the dough on a baking tray with parchment paper. Cover it with cling film and refrigerate it for 30 minutes to relax it
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature. Lightly dust it with all-purpose flour and roll it back and forth. Apply light, even pressure until it is 1 cm thick
Fold the dough in thirds and roll it with light pressure to press the folds together
Place the dough on a baking tray with parchment paper. Cover it with cling film and refrigerate it for 30 minutes to relax it
Roll the dough, using light pressure, into a 1 cm thick 20 cm x 110 cm rectangle. The croissant dough is ready
Remove the edges of the croissant dough and cut it into 12 triangles
Coarsely grate 450 g of gouda cheese
Add smoked paprika and red chili powder to taste
Add ground black pepper to taste and mix to combine
Place a portion of the cheese mixture on each triangle. Save some of the cheese for finishing the croissant
Stretch the base of the triangle and roll it up. Pull the tip to finish rolling at the base of the croissant. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
Beat 1 egg and combine with 1 tbsp of milk to make the egg wash. Brush each croissant with the egg wash
Sprinkle each croissant with poppy seed to taste
Proof the croissants draft-free for 2h at an ideal temperature of 25 °C. You should be able to tell if the croissants are ready by carefully shaking the baking sheet and seeing if they wiggle a bit
Preheat the oven to 240 °C
Bake the croissants at 200 °C for 11m until slightly golden
Turn up the heat to 220 °C and bake them for another 4m. This changes per oven, so make sure to bake for at least 15m in total until cooked through and golden brown. The cheese croissant is ready
Let it cool down a bit and dig in!
Yield 14 pieces
Gouda Cheese
450 gSmoked Paprika
to tasteRed Chili Powder
to tastePoppy Seed
to tasteGround Black Pepper
to tasteEgg
1Whole Milk
1 tbsp
Croissant Dough
All-Purpose Flour
500 gUnsalted Butter
320 gFresh Yeast
11 gWarm Whole Milk
140 mlWhite Sugar
60 gAll-Purpose Flour
To dustSalt
12 gWarm Water
140 ml
Equipment
Stand Mixer
Dough Hook Attachment
Kitchen Scale
Rolling Pin