Days 10, 11, and 12: Flaky, buttery, victorious CROISSANTS! (pain au chocolat, pain au raisins, almond croissant)

The pain au chocolat turned out amazing as well!! #swoon #ididit ❤️□❤️#hardwork #startedyesterday #homemade #homebaking #painauchocolat #homemadecroissants #croissants #croissant #craftsy

A post shared by kaoriskitchen (@kaoriskitchen) on May 22, 2017 at 4:19pm PDT

I can't sleep right now because I had some delicious yet pretty caffeinated milk tea boba this late afternoon/evening, so I decided I will go ahead and make the last post for the 12 Day Bread Challenge :). For those of you who have been reading my blog post and following me on Facebook and Instagram, thanks for coming along with my journey of the past 12 breads! It's actually been a very exciting journey, yet tiring at the same time! I actually didn't make my 12 breads in 12 days. It took me a total of  15 days to complete all 12 recipes. I skipped a day or two, and some recipes, such as brioche bread and croissants took about two days to complete, due to an overnight resting period for the bread. Nevertheless, I am done, and I am glad that I took this challenge on!

And last but not least it pain au raisins!! ❤️ They are filled with custard and raisins #hardwork #startedyesterday #homemade #homebaking #painauchocolat #homemadecroissants #croissants #croissant #craftsy

A post shared by kaoriskitchen (@kaoriskitchen) on May 22, 2017 at 4:28pm PDT

What did I really gain from this challenge? Well, a few things actually. First of all, I got to try and successfully make (for the most part) so many recipes I'd heard about and eaten a lot of, but never tried for myself. I'd never tried making Japanese red bean bread, cream pan, or melon pan, focaccia, ciabatta, bagels, or pretzels before. Now I know how to make them and which successful recipes to use in the future. Also, I realized that I actually really love Japanese breads and decided to teach a cooking class based on Japanese dessert breads in the near future (so that's another cooking class I can teach!). I actually taught a small class of 6 awesome people this past weekend, and they all loved the Japanese cream bread and sweet red bean bread, so I feel excited about teaching more people about it. 

Ok just another shot of these pain au chocolat ❤️❤️❤️□□□ guys, I'm so happy right now. #hardwork #startedyesterday #homemade #homebaking #painauchocolat #homemadecroissants #croissants #croissant #craftsy

A post shared by kaoriskitchen (@kaoriskitchen) on May 22, 2017 at 4:21pm PDT

Secondly, I gained redemption from my failed croissants I made earlier last month, and I learned how to make three of my favorite types of croissants: Pain au chocolat, pain au raisins, and almond croissants! (As well as regular croissants). Thanks to a friend who came over to help, and an awesome craftsy croissant-making class, I was able to succeed! Pictured below are my first failed batch. I blame it on a faulty recipe as well as my rush to proof the croissants too fast, in too hot of heat. Third, although bread making at times seemed like a burden, I really did look forward to making a new type of bread almost every day. I felt that it gave me something to do for the day. I also enjoyed watching my friends and family enjoy my creations. I felt proud that I could make something new, successfully. Fourth, I learned about what to look for and the characteristics of a good bread dough.
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A few rules I picked up:

• I can make a warm rising environment in my oven by preheating the oven on to 170 degrees, and then turning the oven off
• If dough is left to rise too long, it won't be as bouncy, and may have a lot of holes in it
• The Tangzhong method for making super soft Japanese breads (and that it is most effective when you cool the tangzhong instead of adding it in while it's hot
• The backyard on a warm, sunny day can also make a great proofing environment
• Active yeast has larger granules than instant yeast, and thus needs to be activated in warm water with a little bit of sugar. Instant yeast can be used right away, because the granules are finer and will be activated faster because of their smaller size.
• Make sure to follow a recipe precisely; shortcuts don't work for bread. If it needs two rises at one hour each, I can't rush those rises. If it needs to rise at room temperature, don't put it in a warm environment because it'll rise too fast
• Making bread is easy, and the resting and rising periods for the dough give you little gaps of space in which to do other things. With bread, patience pays off in the end. 

Well, they are certainly not the golden puffy croissants I wanted... They still tasted good, but I messed up on the dough and the proofing I think. But it was the first time trying so hey! I'm going to have to put aside my maniacal urge to make another batch right now and just live with my mistakes. It's ok! I hope this encourages you to keep trying to perfect your art instead of giving up □

A post shared by kaoriskitchen (@kaoriskitchen) on Apr 7, 2017 at 12:51pm PDT

The croissant process consisted of the following steps (some pictures of the process are below ):
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1. Make a 10 inch by 10 inch block of butter using around 5 sticks of butter, creamed in a kitchen aid. Use parchment paper to shape the square of butter. Refrigerate said block of butter while making the croissant dough.
2. Make the dough, using yeast, sugar, flour, salt, butter, etc...
3. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes in a well-buttered bowl.
4. Roll out dough. Place the butter block on the right side of the dough. Fold over the left side over the butter block and seal the dough around the block with your fingers. Allow it to rest for 30 minutes in fridge.
5. Bring out dough and roll it out even wider. Fold the dough like a business letter and then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Do this again, two more times, refrigerating 30 minutes in between each time. 
6. Let dough rest in plastic wrap overnight for more rising time and for the dough to become softer and relax more.
7. Bring out dough and roll it out 17 inches by 26 inches. Use dough to fold croissants of your choice, with fillings of your choice. Let your creations rise on a baking  tray for 45 minutes at room temp, covered with plastic wrap. 
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 degrees for another 15 minutes. Enjoy!

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Croissant process; making regular croissants, almond filling croissants, pain au raisins and pain au chocolat :) #hardwork #startedyesterday #homemade #homebaking #painauchocolat #homemadecroissants #croissants #croissant #craftsy

A post shared by kaoriskitchen (@kaoriskitchen) on May 22, 2017 at 2:46pm PDT

Super happy with the results for our first croissant contender, regular and almond filling-filled croissants! #hardwork #startedyesterday #homemade #homebaking #painauchocolat #homemadecroissants #croissants #croissant #craftsy

A post shared by kaoriskitchen (@kaoriskitchen) on May 22, 2017 at 4:16pm PDT

Once again, thank you for joining me on this epic journey of bread making. I hope you try things that you've been wanting to try for a while, as it's a very fun learning experience!

From my kitchen to yours, 

​Kaori