Marc-André and Claire, a husband and wife baking team, opened their tiny bakery The Kettle Black, in Philadellphia. Marc's search for good croissants motivated him to learn how to create it himself. Croissants were the first item he taught himself to bake in the kitchen of their tiny rental, "before the bakery was even a thought". They are both self-taught sourdough bakers and they make everything in their tiny 160 square ft bakery.

Croissants are named after their historical crescent shape and made of layered dough and butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a thin sheet in a technique called laminating which results in the layered, flakey texture fo this puff pastry. The Kettle Black makes theirs with butter, hence they are straight. Curved versions are actually a result in using alternatives to butter, like lard etc. Marc hand laminates each batch in the 72 hour process that makes this incredible masterpiece.

It was such a fun challenge to paint this cross-section and translate this web of flour and butter into paint.

Origin: Philadelphia, PA

Availability: sold