There’s nothing quite like a fl aky, buttery croissant to enjoy in the morning, but to get that perfect, airy pastry is not an easy task. Gretchen Walker, who makes all of the croissants produced at Central Illinois Bakehouse, with arms of steel, talks about the lengthy process to make a product that gives her pride. After starting in customer service at a local bakery, she was invited into the kitchen to learn the sc

ience of baking. Just a few short years later, she’s mastered the croissant, making around 15,000 a month! She starts early each day to get the dough at the perfect temperature before laminating and booking the dough, in between letting it proof. Once those layers are all created, she manually cuts and rolls out each croissant which looks dense before baking, but comes out light and airy, which she hopes to see in each carefully crafted pastry. “There’s nothing like the feeling of cutting into a croissant and seeing perfect webbing,” explains Gretchen with a smile. She finds
great pride when she walks into one of the many local bakeries and markets that carry her croissants. “I made that!” she exclaims. Her excitement is contagious, and you immediately want to try one of her masterpieces, whether it’s a plain croissant, or one of the savory ham & cheese, roasted red pepper, or the insanely popular “everything” croissant. You would think that after long days of making and rolling dough, she’d be done with baking when at home. Yet, she enjoys cooking for friends and family, and greatly looks forward to teaching her son how to bake, much like she learned from her parents about their professions. Be on the lookout for Gretchen at Urbana’s Market at the Square, where she’s excited to talk to customers about the process. You can also find her croissants at bakeries all over the area, such as Pekara and Espresso Royale.