11 places where croissants smell and taste like heaven

It is one of the most replicated pastry preparations in the world, and that its

, in some cases, up to three days.

And how should a good croissant be, that puff pastry piece of

and not French?

A bright golden color on the outside;

alveolate (holes) and fluffy and delicate crumb inside and a very rich -but not overwhelming- flavor of butter.

Sunday, January 30, is its international day and, to celebrate it, we propose a route to discover

With butter from French Brittany, at La Barra Dulce

THE SWEET BAR

's bakery-cafeteria

-Ana and Samu for the residents of Lavapiés- is an obligatory stop on any route with a sweet tooth.

Its flavored palm trees, its French toast, its natural poles (in summer) with local products enjoy prestige in the capital.

Just like its

.

"We make them with butter from French Brittany, obtained from the milk of cows that graze in winter and that produce a fattier milk due to the green of the pastures. It only has 2% more than conventional butter, but

.

The rest of the ingredients are organic flour from León, organic Galician milk, sugar and a pinch of salt," explain Ana and Samu.

Its

is not exactly short: "48 hours. We let the dough rest in the cold and turn it three times in the laminator."

And, a note about the good work of this Barra Dulce: Samu worked with Oriol Balaguer and, in 2019, he was chosen Best Pastry Chef of the Forum by the Association of Cooks and Pastry Chefs of the Community of Madrid.

Price: 1.70 euros.

Meson de Paredes, 22.

Handmade croissant, in Cientotreinta°.

one hundred and thirty

This year, the specialty coffee roastery with workshop run by

turns five.

Five years ago, the traveling brothers - they have visited European and American workshops - opened this space that today also has a point of sale in the Mercado de la Paz.

Here everything is handmade,

and sustainable, and is made with care and time.

Thus,

.

"The first we prepare the dough: French flour, water, fresh milk, sugar, gala butter, yeast, salt and a little malt. Mix everything well, let it ferment and refrigerate. The second day, we puff pastry, divide and shape and, the third, after fermenting the already divided pieces, we put them in the oven", describes Alberto Miragoli.

The result is a crispy, golden bite on the outside, with a

.

Price: 1.70 euros.

Fernando el Católico, 17 and Ayala, 28 B.

Oriol Balaguer's croissant is a classic at La Duquesita.

THE LITTLE DUCHESS

The beautiful windows of this hundred-year-old confectionery in the Las Salesas neighborhood house, among its delicate pastries, a

.

Behind him is the master of sweet cuisine Oriol Balaguer, who in 2014 signed the best artisan butter croissant in Spain, thanks to its flavor, honeycomb, puff pastry, color and finish, a piece that today is

It all starts in the workshop, "working the puff pastry and letting it rest in the cold. Next, the butter is added and, after letting the dough rest,

, which are cut and then they take shape", they explain from the

of this historic pastry shop.

The last steps are to let them ferment and bake it.

Price: 1.80 euros.

Fernando VI, 2.

The croissants with a honeycomb interior, at Estela Hojaldre.

Puff pastry

If Estela Gutiérrez knows anything about it, it is that crunchy dough that is laboriously prepared, since she has been linked to it since childhood, seeing how her father, Pedro,

(Cantabria).

For half a year now, this renowned pastry chef has had her own shop in the Las Letras neighborhood, where polkas, palm trees, puff pastry, butter millefeuille... And croissants, which she prepares

To make them, we use a puff pastry with a two-day fermentation process and

, details Estela, second place in the Madrid Fusión 2021 Revelation Pastry Chef Award.

In this place where puff pastry is king, the croissants are formed "one by one by hand. Everything takes a lot of time and dedication" to achieve "a crunchy texture, which is honeycombed on the inside and has

. Our croissant reminds us of French", he concludes.

Price: 2 euros.

Plaza de Jesus, 5.

The 'rugelachs' of chocolate, in Golda.

gold

In this cafeteria that the Fayer Group has opened in the Justicia neighborhood, not far from the mother house (Fayer Madrid), the croissant is called

, a sweet that became popular in

and that according to some sources

of the first

"We make them the same as the

, but

, around 30%. We also have

," explains chef Mariano Muñoz.

And he continues: "Our pastry chef,

and which, after leaving the oven, we paint with a slightly spiced syrup."

And the success is such that the

-or Golda

are

"healthy and tasty" place, as they call it.

Price: 2 euros.

Orellana, 19.

Alveolated inside, in Madreamiga.

MOTHER FRIEND

Crispy on the outside and tender and light on the inside, with a great buttery flavor.

This is the bun that they make every day in the Begoña San Pedro workshop.

A bite that brings back

for the baker .

"I like to make it with butter of French origin, I love the typical flavor and aroma of the croissants that I ate when I was little and went to Irún, right on the French border, to visit my uncles. Every morning they brought them from France", relive the moment.

After many tests and butters, she managed to replicate those flavors and make a croissant

...

They make them with and without stuffing

, and the best sellers are the classic and the gianduja.

On Sunday, January 30 -you know, International Croissant Day- they will pay

that was traditionally made in Spain and not the French-style straight ones that have been imposed in many national pastries.

Price: from 1.65 euros.

Teruel, 26.

Airy interior, at Maison Kayser.

MAISON KAYSER

The well-known French house, a benchmark for French bakery and pastry

, signs a crunchy puff pastry bun and a spongy, honeycomb interior,

It is made completely by hand in their workshops and following the

creator of the brand and ambassador of the French bakery.

The process lasts three days

.

"We make a first dough with flour, water, butter, yeast and sugar. On the second day, we add butter and work the dough with

and on the third, it is fermented for three hours and then baked," they point out from the bakery.

Price: 1.90 euros.

Velázquez, 126.

The classic butter, at Moulin Chocolat.

MOULIN CHOCOLAT

In this French-inspired house that

opened in 2006 -together with his sister Puy- next to the Retiro you could not miss the golden and crispy croissants;

in fact, the pastry chef makes them every day.

"For a good croissant to be as perfect as possible, it

and gives off lactic aromas," the pastry chef stated.

And, as the great master chocolatier that he is, Vélez makes a delicious

that is reminiscent of those horns from our school breaks (be careful, book a day in advance, because they fly).

Price: €1.60;

3 euros for chocolate.

Alcalá, 77.

With chocolate and also classics, at PanDomè.

PANDOME

Bread, pizza and artisan pastries give substance to the concept that the

has in the Tirso de Molina Market and also in his workshop, in the Embajadores roundabout.

"Every day we make croissants, they cannot be missing because it is

," Rosso acknowledges.

Its characteristics: "Quality raw material,

," says the Italian.

In addition to the classic, they make the bicolor, with chocolate and cocoa stripes;

pistachio or nutella fillings and, in spring, a

.

Prices: from 1.60 euros to 2.90 euros.

Doña Urraca, 15 and Martín de Vargas, 6.

They are cut into triangles to give them the shape, in Panem.

panem

Perhaps today it is the most desired bakery in the capital and even the

.

Because if this Retiro workshop

and awards.

The first (the best bread in Madrid 2019) arrived a year after opening;

the last one, a month ago (the best roscón de Reyes de Madrid 2022).

And, in between,

.

The

was such that they went from selling "400 a day to 1,500. Now we are taking out

, "explains Antonio García, the eldest son.

And how do they make them?, they will wonder.

"

First, we knead and form three-kilo dough balls that we leave cold for 24 hours. The next day, we add the butter to laminate. We use one kilo for three kilos of dough and, with the laminator,

Let it rest in the cold for a few hours, stretch and cut into triangles to form the croissants. Once this is done, they stay cold until the next day. Then, they ferment for three hours, we paint them with a mixture of yolk and milk and bake them for 15 minutes," he explains.

This laborious process has an objective: "

, a melting and honeycombed interior."

And according to the recognition of critics and the public, it seems that they succeed.

Price: 1.60 euros.

: Fernán González, 42.

From gianduja, in Pan.Delirio.

BREAD.DELIRIUM

In 2017, the

, turned a family hobby -bread- into a reality after opening a bakery in the Salamanca neighborhood that has not stopped growing in just over four years (two workshops with an office; a cafeteria in Gourmet Experience from El Corte Inglés and a large workshop with a shop and school in Tetuán).

Its breads are

(2 euros), which need three days to prepare.

His formula?

Asturian artisan butter in the dough and extra-dry French butter

, wheat flour without additives, sourdough, fresh yeast, water and salt.

They follow the same process with the gianduja (2.75 euros), which they fill with the Cacao Barry gianduja praline (cocoa, hazelnut and milk).

Professor Waksman, 8;

Juan Bravo, 21 and Naranjo, 7.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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