What reasons might make day-old pastry the preferred choice in these recipes?
Almond croissants ("croissants aux amandes") are a French pastry sold in every bakery.
Several websites (FR) describe (FR) recipes using croissants that were baked the day before.
Is there something specific to puff pastries that might result in a better taste when using it the day after it has been cooked? Or is it just to salvage leftover food?
Best Answer
It may be a matter of texture, rather than taste.
The recipes you link involve putting a wet paste on top of a previously baked croissant.
Most baked goods change in texture after sitting out for a few days, mostly because they get drier. If you want to turn bread into crumbs or croutons, for example, you slice it and let it dry out before processing it.
By letting the croissants sit for a day or two, their surface will become harder, and they won't get soggy when the almond paste is applied.
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How do you revive day old pastries?
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Bake a foil-wrapped pastry until it springs back when you gently press down on the top (about 10 minutes). Peel back the foil to expose the top of the pastry and bake until crisp to the touch (about 5 minutes).How many days can we store pastry products?
The Counter. Most baked goods keep well at room temperature. That goes for cookies and brownies (which can be stored in an airtight containers for up to five days) as well as muffins, breads, and pastries (which will start to stale in two to three days but will keep better here than anywhere else).How long do pastries last in the fridge?
They will last for 1-2 days in the fridge (if they are well covered in clingfilm), but if you aren't going to use it in that time, wrap the pastry tightly in cling film and pop it in the freezer.How do you soften stale pastry?
Put them in the microwave oven, with a microwave-safe cup with some water in it, and turn the oven on for 15-20 seconds. The baked goods will spring back to life, fresh and warm.Top 5 Cake Baking Mistakes! | Preppy Kitchen
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Answer 2
You will often have recipes that are developed specifically to use up items as they get older and have lost some of their qualities as compared to when they're fresh.
Old bread can be turned into Pan Perdu ("Lost Bread", aka "French Toast"), croutons, or bread crumbs. Although any of these dishes can be made from fresh bread, they often work better with older, dryer bread.
It's very likely that this recipe was devised as a way for the bakery to use unsold croissants. Although they could be used in a bread pudding, that wouldn't be something that a bakery could sell as a sort of grab-and-go type thing.
It's quite possible that bakeries now intentionally make more croissants than they expect to sell in a day, if they can get a sufficient premium for the almond croissants to make up for it.
For home cooks to end up with a similar result, they'd also want to use day-old croissants to get the proper texture. If you tried to spread the paste on a fresh croissant, you'd end up squishing it as they're quite soft. Although day-old croissant aren't as firm as toast would be, it'd be easier to spread something on. And as John Feltz mentioned, you'd also have more problems if the croissant soaked up significant moisture from the paste (making the croissant even more squishy).
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