In spite of the hours the process of making croissants takes, we make them reasonably often. We may not be very efficient about it though. From start to finish, it usually takes us about 13 hours, including resting time in the refrigerator and rising time, but excluding the last rest overnight while we sleep, dreaming about the croissants we're about to bake. For us, it tends to be a weekend project.

We have made the classic version found in Julia Child's and Simone Beck's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Volume II) (Canada, UK) as well as Esther McManus's recipe in Baking with Julia (Canada, UK). The former is a delicious, modest little croissant. The latter is incredibly rich - almost too rich for us, which is saying something.

Click on the Related Recipes links below for a couple of middle-ground recipes.