Croissants | Cook like a Chef

Difficulty:
1/5

Ease of Preparation: Difficult

Time: 6 hours

Yield: 16 small croissants

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound flour ((450 grams)
  • 2 tablespoons extra flour to mix with the butter (30 millilitres)
  • 12 ounces unsalted butter, softened (375 grams)
  • 1 generous cup warm milk (250 millilitres plus a splash)
  • 1 1/4 –ounce package of dry yeast or a 1/6-ounce package of fresh yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (15 millilitres)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt (7 ½ millilitres)

 

 


 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

Put the yeast, sugar and milk into a bowl and mix it well. Set it aside at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes for it to start working.

Meanwhile, put 10 ounces of the butter into your food processor and add the two tablespoons of flour. Mix well until creamy and smooth. Turn it out into a bowl and set aside.

Then put the remaining butter into the food processor. Add the flour, salt and yeast-milk-sugar mixture. Mix until the dough comes together and forms a ball, about 10 seconds.

Put the dough on a floured board and roll it out to form a 20-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Then, using your hand or a spatula, spread the softened butter over two thirds of the dough, leaving a 1-inch strip along the edges unbuttered.

Lift the unbuttered piece of dough and fold it over onto the buttered part. Fold the other third over and press it down at the edges. Put the dough into a plastic bag and refrigerate for two hours.

Then, on a floured board roll out the dough again to the same size as previously. Fold one third of the dough over onto itself and the other third on top. Roll it out and do it again. Then refrigerate it once again. After 1 to 2 hours, roll the dough out again and repeat the folding process twice. Refrigerate again for a further 2 hours. You can either refrigerate over night, or make your croissants.

Then, roll the dough out into the rectangle again (it should be quite thin) and cut the rectangle in half to make two strips, about 6 inches wide. Cut the strip into triangles that are about 5 inches wide at the base.

If the dough begins to get rubbery, just put it back into the fridge to rest.

Roll each triangle out further to enlarge its width and length. Crush the point of the triangle so that it sticks to the table. Starting at the base of the triangle, roll it up, spreading as you go. Wet the tip of the triangle with water and keep rolling. It will stick when you get there.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and arrange the croissants, bending them into a crescent shape. Proof the croissants in a warm, very humid place at a temperature of about 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re going to proof them in the oven, put a pot of water in there too. They should proof for at least an hour.

Brush the croissants with an egg wash 15 minutes before baking and then once again just before you put them in. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden and puffed. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on the tray.