Anybody go to Petit Grain Boulangerie yet? Friend went today and said that while the wait was 20 minutes, it was the best pain au chocolat he has had outside of France. Not sure I want to wait that long when Chaumont is right there, but definitely going to hit it up once the line dies down
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From their IG, I see they use Straus butter instead of the imported stuff from France.
Iâve been waiting for the line to go down myself! canât wait to try everything. Maybe itâs just me since everyone seems to love Chaumont but the seem kinda amateur the way the croissantâs are folded and shaped? They do have a nice buttery taste, but I went one and prolly wonât go back.
I have to admit I never paid much attention to this. For me, I love them b/c of the shatter (and the buttery taste).
Edit: I was thinking about this more, and, yes, I agree, the Chaumont croissants arenât nearly as pretty as some other croissants Iâve seen. But I think they taste much better. 
Didnât know they had already opened! Will try to stop by this weekend.
Tried 3 times and they were sold out once and the line was too long the other times. Ill be trying again next week.
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Success!
Well, success for partner, at least (he is WFH). I will have to wait until the evening to try one. Is the best way to revive one popping it in the toaster oven (and hoping it doesnât get singed)?
They look beautiful (in the picture). Will paying attention to how buttery they are (or arenât)âŚ
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300 for a few mins should get the job done.
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Iâve had success picking up a croissant at PetitGrain at 10:30, when they put out their second bake. I stroll right in, no line. Yesterday, had the chocolate croissant and it was divine (I didnât have 20 minutes to wait for the plain croissants to come out of the oven).
Iâm dying to try the cinnamon roll, but Iâm not going to wait in line, they donât seem to bake those after the first ones sell out. Cookies are available throughout the day, fwiw.
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Chef Clemenceâs (of petitgrain) croissants are my favorite â better than Proof, Chaumont, that indie pop up where you had to order on tock and pick up on 26th st, Artelice, or anywhere else Iâve tried in LA. Straus products are very high quality.
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They were sold out of plain croissants when partner arrived yesterday, but they said a fresh batch would be ready in 3 mins!!! They were still warm when he got them.
Of course, i didnât get to try them until, like, 9 hrs later. I was scared to burn the croissant, so I only heated at 300 deg for ~5 mins (let me know if I shouldâve tried longer, @rohto). Texture didnât seem to have changed much from pre re-heating.
This is quite good. Not much of a shatter so many hr later, but partner said it was very shatter-y fresh. The interior is breadier than I remember Chaumontâs being. I normally donât like a bread-y interior, but this was SO tender that I would happily eat it again (and looking forward to having another one tonight).
Again, I didnât eat it fresh, but I think Chaumontâs taste is a hair better. Petit Grainâs is buttery, but the flavor of Chaumontâs is just exceptional.
Overall, I think this the only other croissant in LA aside from Chaumontâs that I would actually want to eat and seek out. I havenât tried the ones you order directly from the baker, though.
Certainly worth a try and a drive, if you like a good croissant. Would I be willing to wait 20 mins for this? Iâll wait until a try one thatâs more fresh. This one was promising enough that I think the answer could be âyesâ (assuming I had noting else going on during that time).
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Been a few times, overall good. The plain croissant has a pleasant texture but I think itâs a tad lacking in the butter flavor. Chocolate croissant I personally prefer Carâs. CCC is pretty decent, not in my LA tops. Scones are great, particularly the boursin, however it falls more in the biscuit genre than scone. Banana bread has a light and fluffy crumb which I imagine many like, but I like my banana bread more densely moist than fluffy, and I prefer it with a strong banana flavor (extra banana quantity, extra overripe).
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Keep in mind also that she is using a good amount of spelt in her croissant dough (along with Beehive from Central Milling iirc) the whole grains are going to make it more flavorful but not as light.
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Heard of spelt but not super familiar with it. Is it kind of like rye? (no gluten, absorbs a lot of water, adds nutty complexity to flavor)
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I think itâs an older variety of wheat
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Spelt isnât really like rye - it has plenty of gluten, though itâs more extensible than elastic (it tends to feel incredibly slack and spread its shape more than regular wheat at the same hydration level). Has a bit of a nutty flavor and less tannic than hard red wheat. Iâve never used it in croissant dough, but it seems like a good fit. I tend to use soft white wheat (like Sonora) more in croissants because it doesnât make the dough as tough, and has a mild but noticeable flavor.
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Iâve been baking bread for awhile (you can see the multi-year trials and tribulations on the sourdough thread elsewhere) and have just started to think more about these two properties.
I was only familiar w/ âtannicâ applied to wines (prior to your post). Quick internet search indicates that your use of the term for wheat might be more about the physical properties of the wheat (and its effect on baking) more than about the taste?
Thanks for the very informative post!
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I was actually referring to the slightly bitter taste of whole wheat - it wouldnât surprise me if Iâve been using that term incorrectly though!
As mentioned above, spelt is basically an old variety of wheat (what could be called an âancient grainâ though I donât think thereâs any rigorous definition of what that term exactly means). I also bake a lot of bread, mainly whole grain, and actually tend to shy away from spelt because it can pretty difficult to work with unless youâre used to it. Though, at lower percentages I imagine it would be a good fit for laminated doughs as itâs not an overly assertive flavor.
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Went this morning (short line at 9 am on Sunday). Unbelievable texture. Justâwow. I actually agree Chaumont nips it a bit on buttery taste, but wow that texture is like nothing Iâve had in these parts. Highly recommend.
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Finally got my hands on a plain croissant from petitgrain and it is now my favorite in LA. Not the same buttery flavor of Chaumont, but I prefer the slightly more crispy exterior texture. I guess Tejal wrote them up today too as the line was down the block when I drove home from the farmers market.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/17/dining/plain-croissant-best.html
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