Croissants emerge from the oven flaky, golden and buttery at Paris bakery Aux Peches Normands. (Ben Barnier/GlobalPost)

Croissants: Hours to make, a lifetime to master

A Paris croissant addict learns the secrets of baking the buttery, crusty treats.

By Ben Barnier — Special to GlobalPost
Published: November 20, 2009 06:29 ET

PARIS, France — It’s 8 a.m. and six guys in white aprons swarm around the oven, like stock traders at the opening bell. They have been up for hours, and while the small radio is blasting popular French tunes, they carry burning trays of golden croissants, beat eggs and arrange strawberries on a tart. Welcome to the basement kitchen of Aux Peches Normands, an award-winning Paris...

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