Croissants recipe

Using electric mixer

Two steps, One: start using medium speed for 2-3 minutes. When the dough starts looking more hydrated and homogeneous, start adding the cubes of butter so they will slowly integrate with the dough.

Two: Change speed to high and mix it for 5 more minutes.

Mixing by hand

This is going to be a lot harder than usign an electric mixer but can still be done.

Start by mixing the butter into the flour by hand the best you can.

Then mix the dry with the wet, meaning you pour the water and the milk into the flour with the butter.

Start mixing with a sturdy metal spoon, then flip it into a surface and start keading with your hands until the mix becomes homogeneous, 6 to 7 minutes.

Tucking

Remove the dough from the mixer and put it into a bowl, tuck the dough to shape it as a ball

Cover it and let it rest for 90 minutes.

The butter block

Parchment paper

Cut two sheets of parchment paper.

Using a ruler and pen, mark two dots 8 inches apart.

From one of the ends of the paper, draw a line using your pen and ruler that goes from the edge and straight through one of the dots marked in the previous step.

Fold the edges right on top the lines you drawn, also fold the bottom and top edges by 1 or 2 inches.

The end result should be two parchment paper sheets of 8 inch by 12-14 inch tall.

The butter

A whole block of 200-225g of grass fed butter.

Regular butter might work just fine, but you can end up with a Brioge instead a proper croissant instead.

Let butter rest in the counter for 45 minutes so it becomes soft and well tempered but not mushy.

Put the entire block of butter between both sheets of parchment paper.

Smash down the butter using your hands, smearing the butter within the rectangle surface of the paper.

Fold the edges of the paper so it will seal out the butter, flip it over so the folds face the counter.

Using a rolling pin gently smash the butter until it stretches (flattens) to the edges of the paper.

Once done start rolling the butter with the rolling pin to flatten it and fully stretch it to the edges of the folded paper.

Put the sheet of butter into the fridge untilt he dough is ready.

Pre-shaping the dough

After 90 minutes have passed, grab the dough back, flour up a surface and flip the dough over it.

Using your hands try to shape the dough into a rectangle.

Using your rolling pin, roll out the rectangle of dough to stretch it out, should be around 18 inches tall and 8-9 inches wide.

Cut a piece of parchment paper that covers roughly half of the dough.

Fold the dough in half using the parchment paper in between the halves so the dough won't stick.

Put into a sheet tray and slide into the fridge for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, remove the butter block from the fridge and let it rest on the counter.

You can unwrap the butter block if you want to check it's bendy, flexible and maliable.

First fold

Preparing the dough with the butter

After 20 minutes, take the dough out of the fridge, put it back on a surface.

Using your rolling pin re-shape the dough so it will be 18x8 inches again.

Grab the sheet of butter and present it over the dough, it should cover around 2/3 of the dough.

Flip it over so the butter will stick to the dough.

First fold

Grab the top third of the dough (the one farthest away from the butter) and fold it over the middle third of the dough.

Grab the bottom third and folder over the other folded two thirds.

Gently smash the dough using the rolling pin to help seal in the juices.

Pinch all across the outter edge of the last third you folded which has a bit of butter sticking out.

Second fold

Again, after the outter edge was pinched and sealed, using the rolling pin smash the dough to spread it out a little further.

Using the rolling pin, stretch the dough again to go for the initial 18x8 shape again.

Now do a "book style" folding.

Visually divide the dough (the 18x8 sheet of dough) into quarters.

Fold the first quarter into the second one.

Fold the fourth quarter into the third one.

Now fold everything together in half.

Gently smash with rolling pin again to get it to look like a rectangle again.

Using your rolling pin stretch just to remove the marks from smashing the dough.

At this point the dough will be warmer and can start dripping butter, so we put it back in a tray sheet and back into the fridge for another 20 minutes.

Resetting the croissant dough

First pass

After 20 minutes, get the dough from the sheet. Flour the counter and flip it over.

Gently pound the dough using rolling pin to stretch the dough.

Stretch it out using rolling pin. We want to make it even thiner this time, 16x12 inch dough.

Put it back onto the tray sheet and leave it rest for 15 minutes.

Second pass

After 15 minutes passed, grab the dough and repeat the previous step.

Pound and flatten the dough until we get a 14 inches tall by 18-20 inches wide.

Making the croissants

Square the dough out by cutting the edges.

Using a ruler in the wider edge of the dough, put a mark every 4 inches.

On the opposite edge, move in 2 inches and do the same as previous step.

Using a pizza cutter, cut out triangles in the dough, going from one of the marks to the other on the opposite edge.

Grab one of the dough triangles and roll it out from the bottom of the trinagle all the way so the opposing tip of the trinagle will be tucked under.

Proofing

Put the croissants into tray sheets (on top of parchment paper is recommended).

In a frying pan or similar, boil water.

Put the tray sheets with the croissants in the oven, at the bottom put the pan with the boiling water.

Let it rest for about 90 minute.

After the proofing is done, start up your oven at 280C to pre-heat it.

Washing

Egg-wash the croissants with a mix of 20g of Whole milk and one egg.

Using a brush is recommended.

After 20 minutes, brush them for a second time.

Double check the croissants are proofed properly.

Baking

Into the oven the croissants go for 18-20 minutes.

10 minutes into baking, flip the tray over so they will get an even bake.

~10 more minutes or so and those should be ready to enjoy.