National Croissant Day was Tuesday, Jan. 30, the origin of which seems to be a little fuzzy — at least according to National Day Calendar, which cites the earliest commemoration to 2006.
Edgar’s Bakehouse, one of the concepts under Goodwill of Middle Georgia’s Edgar’s Hospitality Group, specializes in French pastries, and so observed the day by offering the buttery baked goods for half off with a beverage purchase.
Almost all the croissants had been sold out by the time the bakery closed at 4 p.m.
Bakers prepare the croissants a night ahead of time in a two-part process that begins in a temperature-controlled “cold room,” with 50-pound butter blocks.
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“We want to keep it around 65 degrees, so that the butter never melts,” said Christopher Thompson, operations director with Edgar’s Hospitality Group. “Humidity and temperature are a big piece of it.”
The baker laminates the dough, which entails folding leaven dough in the butter, and running it through a dough sheeter, making up to some 32 layers of dough and butter.
“That dough is universal,” explained Thompson. “Those are used in our croissants, Danishes, savory and sweet, and so on.”
After this, the dough is shaped and taken to the bake shop (not to be confused with the eatery where the finished products are sold), where they are placed into a proofing cabinet. Here, the pastry is kept at a temperature to lift, or puff up, the bread. Finally, the croissants are baked in a rotary oven.
The entire process takes roughly three hours, said Thompson, during which the shop prepares some three dozen croissants.
As quickly as the croissants sold, and usually sell, Thompson said Edgar’s most popular treats, alongside chocolate chip cookies, are the almond croissants, a variation on the pastry that’s three quarters of an inch thick, made with almonds, almond paste and powdered sugar.
“People are addicted to it,” Thompson said.
Edgar’s Bakeshop is located in the Village West Shopping Center, sharing space with the Goodwill at 3179 Washington Road.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
