In Search of Crisped, Flaky, Buttery Croissants - Croissant Journey at Chaumont, Maison Giraud, Bouchon, Proof & Pitchoun

HI @Xochitl,

Thanks! Definitely stop by again when you get a chance. Love their Almond Croissants and classic regular Croissants. Let me know how they compare to the ones you’ve had in Paris.

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Hi!

I did a little research. It’s at 145 S Beverly Dr next door to the Bakery/Cafe. I called the original for info. They didn’t answer the phone, which for some reason is not uncommon. The Yelp description is “Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, American (Traditional), Asian Fusion”. I’m on Beverly often and will stop in soon.

TBC…

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When the fiancee is getting her hair done up the street, Chaumont is my home away from home. Divine.

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Just for clarification bakeries in france rebake crossaints with almonds/sugar that are a day old?

What does it do for the flavor/texture? More crispy?

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They’re soft and kinda mushy, nothing like fresh baked, crispy croissants.

The way I learned to make them, and assume this is how the French do it, is to dip the regular croissant in sugar water and re-bake - with the addition of the almond paste, so you have a very different texture and taste.

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Portos was just rated number one. OP, please do the needful.

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LOL!! If there ever was a time to try it out… they just touted them on Instagram and probably will be looking to deliver… :wink:

–Dommy!

I don’t know about this…Chaumont is glorious. @Chowseeker1999’s love for it is well-documented…and after trying it myself, I’m a believer.
But Porto’s is close to home and work…so I may need to try one.

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Any one of us can try it…but none of us will try it 4x and document each time.

Thanks Chowseeker, you’re doing gods work.

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Based on my last few tries at Porto’s (I think the goods were from the Buena Park branch?), I cannot imagine them making a superlative croissant. But I guess we’ll find out shortly… :wink:

Hi @ns1,

:grin: You’re giving me too much credit. :sweat_smile:

That, and I think people said in the other thread that Porto’s made an exclusive Croissant just for that competition that wasn’t even what they sell(!) (which is ridiculous).

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WTF???

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One has to wonder though. Assuming for the moment that the Porto’s"special" croissant was that good,

  1. Who is this French pastry chef with the skills?

  2. His end product beat out some notable competition. Was it that good? If so, what are the places that strive to make great croissants every day doing wrong?

  3. Croissants - great ones - get a premium in this town. Why not put these special croissants in their cases, market them as “French style,” “Special,” “Extra Flakey,” or whatever and make a ton of cash on them?

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There is a difference making a item once, or twice, versus making it repeatedly daily, every single day, and ensuring uniformity in quality and consistency. Every. Single. Day.

That’s the quintessential difference between homemade baker and baker.

If I learned anything at Souplantation. It was that.

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Looks like he is Matthieu Chamussy an R&D Chef for Portos.

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Very true. Other factors are labor cost and facility utilization. I have made excellent croissants using Julia Child’s recipe and technique. Its at least a 48 hour process. Given the constraints of a commercial bakery, and the space required for refrigeration, etc. not to mention the difficulty of smearing chilled butter on delicate dough in quantity, and rolling out the folds at the proper intervals (I have had several notable flops) it comes as no surprise that Porto’s made a small batch and won. Ethical? Not sure. Understandable? Yes.

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Those kinds of thing are not really an issue for a professional chef with walk in refrigeration; Pastry sheeters to roll out the dough; Butter that you can buy in blocks shaped for roll in doughs like puff pastry or croissants.

If you have the skill, a well stocked R&D kitchen and time a one off like that is fairly easy. Now ramping that up for everyday production at multiple locations is another matter entirely.

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Update 4:

So with a recent Croissant “competition” where bakers were allowed to make special one-off creations just for the competition (which reflects nothing on the actual product of what one might get at the various shops the entrants represented), Porto’s Bakery was crowned champion. :roll_eyes:

I was going to ignore this, but since so many FTC’ers seemed interested in this, and one of our OG veterans @Ns1 asked, I had to answer the call. :slight_smile:

Porto’s Bakery (Glendale)

Walking into any of the Porto’s Bakeries (we used to go to the Burbank one which was closest) feels like you’re being shuffled in some twisted theme park ride line + in a mass-produced factory. We waited nearly 30 minutes in line for this. We were hoping the Glendale branch might be bigger with easier parking (first time visiting this one), but it was still a hassle.

The display case is lined with hundreds of items (and they serve Omelettes, Sandwiches, Salads and more). But we were here to try their plain Croissant.

“Butter” Croissant:

I put the word “Butter” in quotes because in speaking with the baking staff, we confirmed Porto’s mass-produced Croissant that’s sold to the public uses hydrogenated vegetable oil (shortening) and “some butter.” Uh… :expressionless: :fearful: :grimacing: Seriously?

Taking a bite, there’s a slight crispness in some sections of the Croissant, but generally it was soft, bready and flabby.

And there’s no real Butter taste. :sob:

It tastes like sweet, artificial Margarine / mass-produced baked goods. :frowning:

I don’t like to get upset at stuff, but this just feels like such a gimmick / false “advertising” in claiming Porto’s Croissant “won a competition,” because this is just a BAD Croissant.

It is one of the most artificial, mediocre Croissants we’ve had in years. :rage: Now some people might not be able to tell the difference / nor taste / appreciate Croissants made with real, high quality Butter, nor like the flaky, crisp, airy, amazing creations that they can be, so I’m glad Porto’s sells hundreds of these mediocre Croissants per day.

But they are so far below fantastic Croissants like at Chaumont and Arsicault, it’s simply ridiculous. :frowning:

The fact that Porto’s has to use cheap hydrogenated vegetable oil in their Croissant (obviously saves money) is even more egregious.

@Ns1 @paranoidgarliclover @attran99 @bulavinaka @ipsedixit @PorkyBelly @TheCookie and others, save your calories and skip this.

Lastly, sorry @Ns1, we were planning on trying all 4 Porto’s Bakeries (or maybe revisiting a couple of them to give them another try, like we usually do), but I can’t ingest any more cheap Butter substitutes. Sorry I couldn’t come through.

Porto’s Bakery (Glendale)
315 N. Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203
(818) 956-5996

https://www.portosbakery.com/

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Thanks for the warning. I enjoy Porto’s cheese rolls. I enjoy their other stuff, too, but mainly b/c of the price point. And given that any Porto’s is really, REALLY far, there’s no way I was going to travel all that way for a croissant that I assumed would taste like their other mass produced stuff (esp since I can get a decent croissant at Amandine).

I had assumed that someone at Porto’s had paid off the judges, but them having their R&D chef make a batch that isn’t actually what you get in the store actually makes much more sense…

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I thought people were being sarcastic about Porto’s croissant being better than Chaumont