A Different Kind of Crossaints

I love croissants, but I am always troubled with the fact that they take so long to make! I have to have almost a full 2 available days to make croissants which is extremely rare as a junior in high school and a level 10 gymnast. Therefore, I have been searching for a way to get a similar buttery layered bread in a shorter amount of time. I kept seeing people make sourdough croissant loaves online, and they turned out impeccable, but I was disappointed that I hadn’t seen a loaf made without a sourdough starter because I do not currently have an active sourdough starter. I decided to experiment to see if I took a normal bread loaf, and then shaved butter into it, if it would turn out layered.

So here is what I did:

I started the bread like normal, I mixed warm water with yeast and a tiny bit of sugar, and then I added flour and salt. I kneaded the bread and let it rise on my counter for an hour, or until it doubled. After this rise was complete, I stretched the bread into the biggest rectangle I could. I then shaved an 8-tablespoon stick of butter onto the rectangle, trying to create an even layer of butter. Then I folded one-third of the dough into the middle, shaved more butter on that newly exposed side, then folded the other side in and did the same. I then rolled the dough into a ball, and created tension by pulling the bread away from me and toward me. I then followed the bread recipe I was using, and let it rise on my counter for 30-45 minutes. I then popped it in the oven, and it came out beautifully!

My thoughts on the results:

I loved how this bread turned out for a first attempt, it was fluffy, buttery, and layered. It also tasted like a croissant. However, I wish it had been more layered like a croissant is. I think the mistake I made is that I should have incorporated the butter before the first rise so that when I needed the butter before the 2nd rise, the butter would become further incorporated into the bread so that there would be more layers at the end. In my initial thought process, I was worried that if I added the butter before the first rise, the butter would end up melting into the butter, therefore ruining all the layers, but I don’t think that will happen if I keep the bread in a slightly colder part in my house, and not in the sunlight like I usually do during the rising process. Overall, I would try this again, and see if I can make the bread have even more layers, but this is an amazing way to make a buttery layered fluffy bread, in a lot less time, so I would recommend trying it out for yourself!