You Can Get Flat Croissants at South Bay Bakery Alexander’s Patisserie | Eater SF

"Watching a video of the bakery’s recently released flat croissant felt wrong to me — after years of talking to bakers about achieving airy, laminated layers, seeing one flattened to a crisp seemed contradictory to the art of viennoiserie. At Alexander’s Patisserie, general manager Claire Chen says the flat croissant grew out of a customer request for a palmier and chef Shu Cao’s interest in Korean-style flat croissants, and that the recipe and technique are their own; the process is similar to how they make butter croissants but is a completely new method that includes adding sugar on top for a palmier-like sugary, crunchy exterior and then flattening the pastry with “the heaviest tray we have,” roughly the equivalent of 10 pounds of pressure. In the two weeks since release the team has experimented with flavors — a plain version plus ones dipped in mango or strawberry-flavored chocolate — and Chen stresses they aren’t merely chasing viral trends: Instagram helps share work and spot trends, but innovation is about keeping the baking team motivated and exploring new possibilities, and if something succeeds it energizes the staff, which she calls a win-win." - Dianne de Guzman