21 Feb 15th–Feb 21st, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | The Buttery Best Find the best croissants in Phoenix at these bakeries and cafes. BY ALLISON YOUNG E ating a croissant is almost a religious experience. These pastries are surprisingly simple, made with namely butter and dough, yet they combine to create a multilayered, multifac- eted miracle. And we have a good group going in Phoenix. Sometimes sweet, sometimes savory, sometimes spiked with chocolate and even hit with a blowtorch, these croissants are the finest, flakiest and most formidable in the Valley — much like the esteemed pastry chefs whipping them up. Check out these righteous pastries that’ll leave you scooping up every last crumb and declaring holy devotion. Chacónne Pattiserie Multiple Locations Pastry chef Mark Chacón, owner of Chacónne Patisserie, is a pastry wizard, so no shocker that his chocolate almond croissant is so much more than a mere chocolate almond croissant. First of all, it’s brick-heavy, so hefty it would work as a weapon in a pinch. Chacón uses browned butter for an extra nutty taste, dunks the twice-baked behemoth in cognac simple syrup, punches up the middle with almond cream, almond paste, a thin wafer of flourless chocolate cake and 70% Valrhona dark chocolate, and coats it in almond slices, powdered sugar and cocoa powder. It’s a weighty wallop of textures and flavors that’s both dense and delicate all at once. aFlourshop 803 N. Seventh Street Croissants at aFlourshop come with a surprise. The espresso croissant is filled with espresso pastry cream, an oozing filling that plays off the flaky, golden brown exterior. The chocolate chip cookie dough version has a generous scoop of cookie baked right on top. The everything croissant is topped with housemade every- thing bagel seasoning, whipped cream cheese and fresh chives. Then there’s the chocolate croissant which practically explodes with creamy chocolate pastry cream, plus has a bonus layer of salted chocolate on the bottom for an extra crisp finish. No matter which croissant you pick, expect it to be as picture-perfect as the beautiful downtown Phoenix bakery itself. Proof Bread Multiple Locations Proof Bread’s pain au chocolate breaks some major croissant rules. For starters, instead of regular dough, they’re made from sourdough. Before you scrunch up your face, this is not the sour sourdough of supermarkets, but a subtle and sophisti- cated recipe with a slight hint of sourness — the likes of which husband-and-wife owners Jonathan Przybyl and Amanda Abou-Eid have spent years perfecting. Is there chocolate in every bite? Heck yeah. Not one, but two chocolate batons are wrapped into each croissant, and instead of keeping it all contained within the dough, you can sneak-peek the chocolate from the side, along with the flaky, cascading layers. The tappable top, which protects the soft, airy center, is finished off with a light dusting of powdered sugar for a sweet creation that’s entirely its own. JL Patisserie 4700 N. Central Ave. 7342 E. Shea Boulevard, Scottsdale Jenna Leurquin, owner and head baker of JL Patisserie, loves making and shaping her classic French butter croissants— and it shows. Originally from Belgium and trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Leurquin doesn’t skip any steps. The five-day process includes fermentation, lamination, proofing and baking, resulting in a superior croissant with more paper-thin layers than you can count (there are 55 in case you’re wondering). Leurquin also uses European butter for a higher fat percentage and better flavor. “I love eating the croissant on its own 20 to 30 minutes after it comes out of the oven for breakfast or turning it into a sandwich with jambon, gruyere and avocado for lunch,” Leurquin says. Valentine 4130 N. Seventh Ave. The Pine Nut Cream Croissant at Valentine is infused with Southwestern character. Pastry chef Crystal Kass, a 2023 James Beard Award nominee for outstanding pastry chef, uses locally-grown Sonora wheat flour, a heritage grain from BKW Farms that infuses the finished product with a nutty, earthy flavor. It’s double- baked, filled with luscious piñon frangipane and showered with icing sugar for just the right amount of sweetness. “Croissants are a labor of love because it takes a lot of patience, practice, and time to master the technique of laminating,” Kass says. Trust us, you can taste the love in every layer. Copper State Bread Saturdays at Uptown Farmers Market Sundays at Ahwatukee Farmers Market Bryan O’Connor Jr.’s Copper State Bread croissants have an impeccable crumb structure. That’s the honeycomb texture, a latticework of delicate layers separated by air pockets that gives croissants — the good ones, anyway — that ethereal interior. O’Connor is head baker and owner of Copper State Bread where his sourdough croissants, which come in flavors like chocolate, cinnamon and ham and cheese with green chile, deliver that distinctive, tangy taste that comes with using a sour- dough starter. Not that you’re going to be thinking too much about crumb structure or sourdough starter when you’re wolfing them down; you’ll just be thinking, “Man, that’s good.” Ollie Vaughn’s Kitchen and Bakery 1526 E. McDowell Road Lindsey Magee, the owner of Ollie Vaughn’s, is a croissant genius. She bakes up a buttery, flaky variety with an excep- tionally crisp outer crust, all caramel- colored and shell-like, with an impossibly airy, melt-in-your-mouth center. What’s the secret to its light, layered flakiness? Magee swears by hand-laminating the dough, meaning instead of a mechanical sheeter doing the work, it’s a butter-on- dough-on-butter labor of love — unsalted butter with 80% fat, that is — all rolled by hand every single day. The real secret is in the flour processing and the folding, a hush-hush technique which turns out a shatteringly flaky croissant with layers of buttery splendor. Clockwise from top left: The chocolate almond croissant at Chacónne Patisserie is a weighty treat. Valentine’s Pine Nut Cream Croissant is an ode to the Southwest. JL Patisserie’s croissants are shatteringly crispy with clear striations. (Photos by Allison Young) ▼ Food & Drink >> p 23
