They are crispy and buttery pastries that are best served for brunch or in the evening with tea. To begin, sprinkle some active yeast in warm water and let it sit there for 10 minutes, and then add sugar, bread flour, salt, and room temperature butter that is cut into pieces to it.
Knead the mixture using a stand mixer attached with a dough hook. Knead it until it comes together, and the dough is pulling from the sides of the bowl. Next, remove the dough from the bowl to the counter, form it into a semi-smooth ball and return it to the bowl and cover it.
This will enable it to rise and double in size. Once it has risen, use your hands to deflate it. Then transfer the dough to the lightly floured counter and push it and press it down to deflate it and form a rectangular shape.
Fold it in thirds, wrap it in plastic wrap, transfer it to a pan and put it in the fridge for about an hour to chill and relax. While it is chilling from a batter slab. To do that, take room temperature butter and cut it lengthwise, line it on a parchment paper and fold the paper over and give it a gentle press.
Use a rolling pin to roll and press it out to a square shape. Use the scraper to even the sides. Once the butter slab is formed, transfer it to the fridge to prevent it from becoming too soft.
Take out the dough and put it on a lightly floured counter, and use a rolling pin to make a rectangular shape. Once you’ve got your size, remove the batter slab and put it at one edge of the rectangle, and press it in. The batter should not be soft. Bring the other half of the dough to cover it, forming a square shape.
Add a little bit of flour on top and use a scrape and even the edge, then roll it into a rectangle. To begin, press the dough down and roll it until you get it back to the same size as the rectangle you had.
Feel free to give it a turn and flip it. Once you get your required size, fold it into thirds and give it a close. Then use a rolling pin to flatten it, then put it in a baking tin, wrap it up and put it back in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Then remove it and repeat the same technique. Pop it in the fridge for another 15 minutes. Then remove it and repeat the same for the final fold. Roll it out, fold it in half and roll it back out into a rectangle about a half-inch thicker.
Once you reach about a ½ inch, cut the dough into half pieces and save the other half. Next, dust the other half with flour and roll it into a rectangle. Take a pizza cutter or knife and cut it into the triangular section.
Roll them simply from the big end to the smaller end and the seam at the bottom. Do the same for the rest. Transfer them to a lined baking sheet and give them a brush of the egg wash. Let them rise before baking them for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Then give them a second egg wash once they have risen. Bake them in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until beautifully browned. When they are baked take them out of the oven and let them cool and transfer them in a wire rack and let them cool. Once cooled, serve them.
Ingredients;
For the dough;
- 1 cup warm water (about 100 F.)
- 1 packet active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
- 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt (1 3/4 teaspoons if using fine salt)
- 3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
- 6 tablespoons room-temperature butter for the dough
For the croissants:
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted European-style butter for the slab
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water for the egg wash
