Photo by Pete Dillon
There are many things I just have to eat when I’m in Melbourne: the crab-fried rice at Aru; the anchovy toast at Napier Quarter; Banh Mi at Ca Com. But before any greedy galivanting I require fortification from Lune Croissanterie, accompanied by some excellent Melburnian coffee, despite the fact that in my normal life at home I neither drink coffee nor eat breakfast, which is the only meal I’m never usually hungry for. But when things are this exceptional, I, in turn, make an exception for them!
Now, Viennoiserie is a specialist craft, requiring dedication, concentration and precision — and, frankly, more of each than most home bakers are comfortable with; it doesn’t surprise me that Kate Reid, Lune’s Founder, and the author of its mesmerising cookbook, was, in her former life, an Aerospace Engineer. There’s a reason that we generally leave the croissant-making to experienced professionals. But those of us in the Northern Hemisphere have many cold, dark weekends ahead of us, and it seemed to me that this was the perfect time for a proper cooking project. So if you have, at any time, wanted to make croissants, and to learn the art of laminated pastry, this is the book you need. I have been utterly entranced by it.
Reid doesn’t pull her punches. In her first recipe proper — the perfect, traditional croissant — there is an instruction to set your alarm for 2am! But then, this is predicated on having a batch of fresh croissants ready for an 8am breakfast; I am willing to push that back to a midday brunch affair, for comfort. But a cookbook must tell it how it is, and this Reid does very supportively, showing, in pictures, the stages of the lamination process in clear, helpful detail, and writing recipes that accompany you with steadiness and calm through the cooking process; then there's the beauty of the finished products which Pete Dillon’s photographs showcase in all their exquisiteness. It’s all — like everything in Lune itself — completely irresistible.
And once you’ve got to grips with the laminated pastry, there is so much, beyond traditional croissants, you can make. I can’t list all of the possibilities here, but let me suggest a few of them to you: my eye is on the Cheese and Vegemite Escargots (‘escargot’ means ‘snail’, and these are rolled up with their filling into spiralled discs much in the manner of a pain aux raisins; Kouign-Amann, my favourite, up there with their almond croissant, and the most heavenly confection, “sweet, salty, caramelised (to the point just before bitter), crunchy, chewy…pretty much everything you could ever want in a pastry” as Reid so rightly says; then there’s the Pain Au Reese, which adds to a classic pain au chocolat peanut butter, salted caramel and salted peanuts; and sticky buns, cruffins, Danish pastries galore. I’m rather taken with the blind-baked croissants: that’s to say, croissants formed around cannoli tubes so that they have a hollow centre, ready to be filled with whatever your heart desires, and my heart particularly desires their Lobster ‘Roll” version. And think of the sausage rolls/sandwiches you could make like this!
For me, a rich seam in the book is the suggestions for using stale croissants: I yearn for their tiramisu, in which day-old croissants are sliced, brushed with cream and sugar and baked to create chewy, caramelised small ’sponges’ in place of the traditional Savoyard — and they are absolutely divine. I have plans to make their croissant-biscotti, which are made similarly, as well. And the recipe for turning stale croissants into croutons — used here in a Caesar Salad — is nothing short of genius! The recipe I’ve chosen to share with you today requires you to have stale croissants to start off with, in the form of their iconic Almond Croissant. This may seem perverse, but I didn’t feel it was fair to give the recipe for croissants without having the space to give you all the tips and back-up in terms of further text and photos that the book provides. It will no doubt pain Kate Reid that you will therefore be making her Almond Croissants with actual croissants that don’t match Lune’s standards, and I do understand and apologise, but these are nontheless magnificent! I should say that Lune’s croissants are bigger than the ones I get from patisseries over here. When I made these, I reduced the syrup quantities by a quarter and halved the frangipane because I was making a smaller batch as well, and I should confess I didn’t quite get the porcupine strip of flaked almonds to stay upright after being in the oven, but I am prepared to practise! First, though, I must actually learn to make the proper croissants to start off with and, thanks to this book, that now seems an enticing prospect.
LUNE: Croissants All Day, All Night by Kate Reid (Hardie Grant, £30).
Photography: Pete Dillon.
