Potato Croissant - Evolved Pavé with Spiral Rolling

Soaking removes excess starch** = layer definition - "Removes a lot of excess starch" - **Balance needed:** "You want just enough starch to where everything is cohesive and stuck together" 8. **Too much starch = loss of texture

"If you have too much starch in there it just becomes one texture throughout" - **Goal:** "For this particular dish we wanted to discern all the layers"

"If you have too much starch in there it just becomes one texture throughout"

Stacking during slicing** = efficiency - "Keep them in kind of neat Stacks...maybe like five at a time four at a time" - Maintains order for assembly 10. **Swish stacks in water** = even exposure - "Take each stack and just like swish it around with your fingers" - Downside of stacking: "Not every slice gets exposed to water" unless swished 11. **Up to 1 hour soak** acceptable - "You could leave these soaking in water for up to like an hour and you'd be fine" 12. **Over-soaking = curling

"The longer these soak the more kind of curly they get" - "Might be a little bit harder to shingle out"

"The longer these soak the more kind of curly they get"

Muffin tin instead of loaf pan** = circular shape - "We're using muffin tins because they have a circular shape" - "Can contain all the potato and preserve that shape through cooking" - 6-cup muffin pan standard 14. **280g per stack → 2 croissants** ratio - "Three stacks measuring around 280...six cup muffin pan" - "Each stack...that's going to make two croissants" 15. **Smallest slice first** in shingling - "I like to start from the smallest slice first" - **Why:** "We're going to roll it and that small slice is going to end up in the middle" 16. **Shingling with butter** between each slice - "Start One sliced down brush it with butter...just keep going" - Continuous layering + fat 17. **Offset shingling** creates length - "Shingling them out slightly offset not a ton" - **Target:** "Between 12 and 14 inches in length" 18. **Towel-assisted rolling** = control - "Roll up using the towel as a guide helps things a little bit more controlled" - Pull towel down for more room 19. **Loose initial roll** (tightens later) - "Doesn't need to be excessively tight because we're going to tighten it later" - "It does need to be cohesive" 20. **Center and cut** with serrated knife - "Just want to keep it pretty well centered and balanced" - "Eyeball the middle" - "Saw through being careful that's okay if it un-furs" 21. **Cut creates two halves** with spiral - "We get two halves like that" - "They kind of spiral in different directions" 22. **Spiral direction = tightening direction

"The middle of each spiral is pointing in a certain direction" - "To tighten these I'm going to be twisting and bunching together in the direction of that center point" - Example: "This one's going this way in order to tighten it I'm actually going to move clockwise"

"The middle of each spiral is pointing in a certain direction"

Clockwise + counterclockwise tightening

"Rotating and pinching" - "Can also rotate in the anti-Direction so counterclockwise and that will take care of the outer portion" - Dual-direction compression

"Rotating and pinching"

No perfectionism required

"No need to be a super perfectionist about it" - "Don't crush everything or else it actually might like fly up" - "Moderate pressure take your time"

"No need to be a super perfectionist about it"

Foil seal critical** for steaming - "Cover them completely but we also seal in the edges make sure it's really tight" - Traps moisture for gelatinization 29. **Double sheet pan** = bottom protection - "Really important though is to have a double sheet pan set up" - **Problem with single:** "I was getting some Browning on the bottom which I wasn't really looking for" - Insulates from direct heat 30. **300°F for 90min-2hrs** until tender - "Till a skewer goes in super cleanly and there's no resistance" - Similar to pavé timing 31. **Same post-bake as pavé:** chill, unmold, deep fry - Two-stage cooking process - Final frying for crispy exterior --- ### COMPARISON TO PAVÉ **Similarities:

Same potatoes (Russet) - Same thickness (1/8"-1/10mm) - Same oxidation prevention (water soak) - Same starch gelatinization principle - Same clarified butter (prevents premature browning) - Same two-stage cooking (bake → fry) **Key Differences:** - **Shape:** Loaf pan (pavé) vs muffin tin (croissant) - **Assembly:** Flat layers (pavé) vs rolled spiral (croissant) - **Presentation:** Rectangular slices (pavé) vs circular spirals (croissant) - **Result:** "Crispier more tender more spectacular" (croissant claim) --- ### WHY IT WORKS **Spiral Advantage:** - More exposed edges when cut - Each layer can crisp independently - Visual drama (spiral pattern) - Increased surface area during frying **Starch Balance:** - Enough to bind layers - Not so much it becomes homogeneous - Soaking removes excess **Gelatinization Chemistry:** - Heat + moisture = starch gelatinization - Cooling = crystalline structure formation - Frying = crystalline structure crisps beautifully **Two-Stage Logic:** - Bake = cook through + gelatinize starch - Fry = crisp exterior without overcooking interior

"-1/10mm) - Same oxidation prevention (water soak) - Same starch gelatinization principle - Same clarified butter (prevents premature browning) - Same two-stage cooking (bake → fry) **Key Differences:** - **Shape:** Loaf pan (pavé) vs muffin tin (croissant) - **Assembly:** Flat layers (pavé) vs rolled spiral (croissant) - **Presentation:** Rectangular slices (pavé) vs circular spirals (croissant) - **Result:** "