You will find the best handmade croissant at the Pastisseria Canal in Barcelona
The croissant world goes a long way . Even for a program by Glòria Serra's investigative team and for a controversy that has had the country in suspense... Something is wrong with this delicacy that makes us drool in pastry shop windows and that we happily dip whenever we can. Today is your day. Today was celebrated XII Contest 'Best Artisan Butter Croissant in Spain'. And we have a winner.
Winner and repeater, because the pastry chef Tony Vera He already won this appetizing award in the 2016 edition with his good croissant work. He repeats now, in 2019, with a creation that is little different from that of three years ago, "because we believe in our recipe ; it is a mirror of our way of working, with top quality products and a slow fermentation production process", comments Toni Vera in a telephone interview with Traveler.es.
Toni Vera and her winning croissant
In Barcelona, the news of the 2016 award caused a real revolution: " We were selling 30 croissants a day, but after the prize we sold 1,000 croissants the next day ", comments Toni, who is already thinking about the work that he will have in the next few hours to have his butter croissants ready in the window of Pastisseria Canal _(Carrer de Muntaner, 566) _. Currently, they dispatch an average of 150 croissants a day "And who knows what will happen tomorrow," he concludes.
The winning recipe is in this classic pastry shop in Barcelona (opened in 1979 by the Mercé brothers and Xabier Canal) about five years, the same ones that Toni has been working in his workshop. Everything was born from Toni's love for brioche: " I always wanted to make a croissant-shaped brioche And that's what he got, a croissant-shaped brioche crispy and puffy which today boasts two national awards.
48 HOURS FOR A CROISSANT
"When they give you this award for the second time, it's because you're doing something right," says Toni. Making a croissant well from start to finish means taking care of the origin of the ingredients as well as the manufacturing process until the product appears on the trays. Maybe that's why, The elaboration of Toni Vera's croissants lasts 48 hours.
A croissant is always a good way to start, continue or end the day!
What happens in these 48 hours? THE MAGIC. Toni explains the process: "We start with a pre-fermentation of the sourdough for about 24 hours ; Then, we make the croissant dough with sugar, powdered milk, butter, flour, water... let ferment half an hour and we chill it in the fridge because cold dough has the same texture as butter.
It is then that they begin the lamination process in the workshop "interspersing layers of dough and layers of butter", and it begins with the preparation of the pieces of some 65 grams to then ferment these croissants for three and a half hours at 28 degrees and with 80% humidity.
Afterwards, all that remains is to cook and sin.
THE SECRET IS IN THE BUTTER
One of the fundamental points of the Canal croissant is the butter with which it is made. "It is a highly enriched mass of butter and Elle & Vire fresh butter , which is made only with the milk of winter cows, because it is in winter when cows produce fat".
Thus, the result is a butter with 84% fat "which provides plasticity when working the croissant", says Toni.
We are left with the phrase of the pastry chef: "a croissant is to sin, it is not to take care of yourself". Well, let's go.
Toni Vera and her winning croissant
THE ASSESSMENT
To assess and score the croissants, the following criteria have been taken into account: taste (40 points), alveolate (15 points) , puff pastry (15 points), color (10 points) , Format (10 points) and finish (10 points) .
Among the members of the jury, made up of professionals of recognized prestige in the sector, were albert rock (winner of the 2018 edition, Sant Croi by Albert Roca), Alberto Ruiz (Dulcypas magazine director), Josep Maria Rodriguez (The Pastisseria Barcelona), Albert Arbat (Ylla flour) , Sandra Sauleda (Sauleda) , Peter Camps (president of the Pastry School of the Guild of Barcelona) and the chef and pastry chef Miquel Antoja.
The president of the jury has been Antoni Bellart (vice-president of the Barcelona Pastry Guild) while Miguel Moreno (Pastelería Mallorca) has played the role of secretary.