This flaky homemade croissant is paired with an everything bagel cream cheese. It is one of our new favorite breakfast items and will be yours too!
How is everyone faring amidst the COVID-19 pandemic? We are still hanging in there. My offices are still closed and will be until September. There are rumors swirling around that we may not return until 2021, but we haven’t received any official announcements yet.
Addie’s daycare started camp. They have a very limited offering, but it’s something. She opted in to attend camp only a few weeks of the summer. She went the first week it was available and chose to attend in person. Despite her initial hesitation, she was happy to have gone. It was good for her to be able to socialize with other kids her age.
One of the weeks during home isolation, we spent a morning downtown. We walked around and explored an area of the city we hadn’t gone to in a while. After our legs were tired, we decided to visit a local bakery and order some pastries for take-out. An item we were intrigued about was their everything croissant.
Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about the croissant. Why would you eat a beautiful, flaky croissant with cream cheese? And everything cream cheese? Well, I was wrong. It was the best thing I had eaten in a long time. The everything bagel seasoning was heavenly. It was sweet and savory all at the same time, and it paired so nicely with the freshly baked croissant. The 3 of us kept talking about the croissant. I knew I had to recreate it somehow.
I wasn’t able to find a recipe online, and my efforts to reach the bakery owner came to a dead end. She said that the recipe was proprietary so she wouldn’t be able to share it. Boo.
However, despite this speed bump, I was still able to create something similar. I made my own croissants and then created my version of the everything cream cheese. I found the everything bagel seasoning at a local grocery store and added it to some cream cheese. Then I added more garlic powder and chopped scallions.
My family said that the cream cheese was on point, and possibly even better than what we ate at the bakery. I still need to perfect my croissant making skills. Mine poofed up a lot and didn’t maintain a tight croissant shape. However, they still tasted amazing.
If you’re looking for a new way to enjoy croissants, please consider this recipe. The cream cheese alone is worth it.
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
Everything croissant
Ingredients
Croissants
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons milk room temperature
- 2 and ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup bread flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter very soft
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter cold
- 1 egg
Everything cream cheese filling
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese softened
- ¾ cup scallions diced
- 2 Tablespoons everything bagel seasoning I got mine at Lidl; they also sell this at Trader Joe's
Instructions
Make the croissants
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix together the milk and yeast on low speed for about 5-10 seconds in order to let the yeast dissolve.
- Add the flours, salt, sugar and the 2 Tablespoons of soft butter on low speed for about 3-4 minutes or until the dough is smooth and the butter has been fully incorporated. The dough may be a bit sticky at this point. Do not add extra flour!
- Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl and cover. Place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 6 hours and up to 12 hours. The dough may rise a little bit while it is chilling.
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured working surface. Gently roll out the dough to an approximate 10-12 inch square. Set aside.
- In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cold butter. Mix on medium speed for about 15-20 seconds. The butter should still be cold. Transfer the butter onto a well-floured surface and dust your rolling pin with flour. Roll the butter out to a 6-inch square.
- Place the 12 inch dough square on your floured surface and turn it so that it looks like a diamond. Place the butter square in the middle so it looks like a square. Fold the corners of the dough into the center, making sure that the butter is completely covered. Press down to seal.
- Gently start from the middle of the square and start rolling your dough into a large rectangle, about 16 x 10 inches long. Fold the dough in thirds, like a business letter. Then rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll it out into a rectangle again. Fold once more like a business letter. Wrap the dough and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 1 and ½ to 3 hours. Repeat the process again and chill the dough for 4 hours (or up to 16 hours).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface. Roll it out into an approximate 30 x 6 inch rectangle. Starting in the bottom left-hand corner of your dough (the longer side), make notches with a knife evert 5 inches until you reach the bottom right-hand corner of your dough. Then starting with the upper left-hand corner, make notches every 2 and ½ inches. Now make diagonal cuts from the top notches to the bottom notches so that you are slicing the dough into even triangles. You should get 10 triangles plus some scraps.
- At the base of each triangle (the short, flat side), cut a 1 inch vertical slit. Turn the base away from you so that the point of the triangle is pointing directly at you. Hold the base of the triangle while you gently pick up the rest of the dough and and slowly stretch it towards you. The dough should elongate to about 10 to 12 inches in length.
- Fold the base so that either side of the vertical slit is folded towards the exterior "legs" of the triangle. If you look at the dough, it should resemble an upside down Eiffel Tower. Roll the dough, starting at the base, all the way down to the point. Keep the dough point-side down and place it on your parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining triangles and keep them at least 2 to 3 inches apart on your baking sheet.
- Cover your dough with plastic wrap and allow it to rise in a warm place for 2 to 2 and ½ hours.
- Whisk the egg with a teaspoon of water and brush the top of the croissant dough with this egg wash. Let the dough rise for another 90 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Brush the tops of the croissants once more with the egg wash. Bake in your preheated oven for 5 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 350°F (without opening the oven) for another 25-35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- Allow the croissants to cool for at least 30-40 minutes before serving.
Make the Everything cream cheese filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 60 seconds. Fold in the scallions and seasonings and mix well.
Assemble the croissants
- Place the cream cheese filling into a zip-top bag or a pasty bag with a medium sized round tip (cut one corner out of the zip-top bag if you are using that). Slice a small hole in the bottom of the croissant and pipe the filling inside.
- If this method doesn't work for you, you can always cut the croissant in half, lengthwise, and fill each half with the cream cheese.