Busy Weekend

/ Sirius Bizinus

Image courtesy of Stockvault.

Today I’ve been making croissant dough. It’s laminated like puff pastry – layers of dough and butter. The difference is that croissants have yeast in the dough, as well as some (frozen) butter mixed into the dough. If all goes well, by tomorrow I’ll have some homemade croissants for breakfast.

Outside of yeast and bread flour (strong flour, in applicable locations), the ingredients aren’t exotic. It just takes work to make them. I’ve been trying to limit myself to commonly available ingredients in an effort to enjoy rationing what food is available and reducing the strain on food production. Empty shelves make people nervous and all that.

I was also volunteered to barbecue this weekend. I’m fairly certain it was the product of an excuse for my dad to leave the house, something I’m unable to counsel him against. Yes, the rate of new infections is lowering. No, complacency isn’t going to help put an end to the pandemic-fueled austerity.

At least grilling will let me hang outside for a little while. I’ll be grilling ribs, something I’ve done many times before. They’re time consuming. I remember when I’d get nervous thinking about grilling ribs. Now I consider it boring. I’d be much more interested in grilling some good vegetables.

At some point, I’m going to want to make my own veggie burgers. When done right, they’re really good. My problem is that I’m the only one at my residence who’s interested in making them.

Still, if I’m able to make croissants, then at some point I should be able to make other food. My current interest is in making vegan food. The few recipes I’ve made and tried were really good.

One day, I hope to be able to make as much of that as I wish.

22 thoughts on “Busy Weekend”

  2. In the first decade or so of our marriage, the wife regularly made croissants. In Japan they were readily available, but at that time in NZ they were as rare as hens’ teeth. I remember it was a two day exercise of rolling, buttering and folding, rolling and back into the fridge for a few hours before repeating the process. We were fortunate to have had a slab of granite and a marble rolling pin, both of which were stored in the bottom of the fridge to keep them cold so she could get a reasonable amount of rolling and folding done before the dough/pastry became sticky. We still have the rolling pin, but I don’t know what happened to the granite slab.

    These days we either buy fresh croissants or just as often we buy them frozen and unbaked. It’s just a matter of thawing them overnight and letting them rise before popping them in the oven to bake. Strictly speaking they aren’t home made, but I just tell anyone who questions their origin that the were home baked. A favourite breakfast for me is freshly baked croissants and a very large flat white made with freshly ground beans. Nothing beats the aroma of fresh bread and coffee first thing in the morning 🙂

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    • You are right about the bread and coffee. Where I live, fresh croissants are made at the store. There’s no way to bake them fresh at home without making them, at least with regards to stores that are convenient to me.

      I hope you’re able to locate your granite slab. It sounds like something quite useful to have.

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    • Thanks! I had a couple, and I’m keeping the rest in a bin on the counter. I’m going to see how well they hold up in the coming days, if they last that long.

      For science, of course.

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