Croissants

I love croissants, but never got to enjoy them because the ones at the store have evil trans fats in them. I got up the courage and made my own. This is not my first attempt. They are a little bit tricky.

You have to take your time with them. That is, if the dough feels warm, let it chill in the freezer. Other than that it is not too bad. It takes 3 days to make them. I know, but they are so worth it. The first day, you make the butter block and the dough. The second day you fold and roll the dough to make all the layers (ROLL 1-3). The third day, you roll it out (ROLL 4), cut, shape, bake, cool and EAT! The third day is the hardest for me because you got to roll the dough out thin and it is gets a bit hard on the arm muscles. That is okay, since I figure I am burning off calories. By the way, I really suggest using french rolling pin to do the rolling.

Even though this recipe uses 23 tablespoons of butter, it is only about 1 tablespoon of butter croissant. That is not too bad since I am sure that some cakes and cookies have more than that.

Croissants

Dough

18 ounces (4 cups) all purpose flour

5 ounces (10 tablespoons) water, cold

5 ounces (10 tablespoons) whole milk, cold (or 4 ounces 1% milk and 1 ounce heavy cream)

2 ounces (6 tablespoons) sugar

1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, soft

1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon instant yeast

2 teaspoons sea salt

Butter Layer

10 ounces (20 tablespoons or 2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature (soft but not mushy)

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Egg Wash

1 egg

1 teaspoon water

For the dough, combine all in a stand mixer and mix with a paddle until a ball forms. Remove and shape into a rough square. Place into a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.

For the butter layer, put the butter and flour into the stand mixer and mix until flour has been incorporated. Take a long piece of wax paper and fold over the edges to make a 7 ½ inch square (you want it to look like a package). Put the butter into the center and fold over the wax paper. Use a rolling pin to push the butter to the corners (use a light hand here). Refrigerate overnight with the dough.

The next day, remove butter and let the butter warm up enough to be able to bend over the edge of the counter without breaking (Picture A). You want it to still be cool and firm.

Take the dough out and form it into a rough rectangle (Picture B). Roll the dough into 11 inch square. Brush off the excess flour and place the butter as shown in the Picture C.

Fold over the edges and press them together well (Picture D and E).

ROLL 1: Roll the dough (do not press on it, but roll it) to 8x22 inch rectangle (Picture F). Brush off excess flour (on all the 'folded' up parts) and fold it like a letter (Picture G). Put onto a baking sheet lined with a towel, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 20 minutes. Make sure to cover the dough well.

ROLL 2: Remove the dough and put it so that the dough opens up like a book (you want the folds to be parallel to your body. Roll to 8x24 inch rectangle (Picture F). If the dough feels like it is warming up (use your judgement) place it into the freezer for 20 minutes. You can let it rest in the freezer for 20 minutes when ever if feels warm or springs back. Once you got 8x24 inch rectangle, brush off excess flour and fold (Picture G). Cover as before and freeze for 20 minutes.

ROLL 3: Repeat the rolling and the folding process one more time. Fold like in Picture G, cover well and refrigerate overnight.

ROLL 4: The next day, roll the dough (as it is, folded up) into a 1/8 inch thick (dimentions will be around 14x30 inches ). If rolling gets tough, fold the dough and freeze for up to 20 minutes at a time.

When the dough has been rolled out to the right thickness, it is time to cut out the croissants! Cut the dough in half to make two long ribbons of dough (about 7x30 inches). Cut one of the ribbons into triangles, like shown in the picture to the right. The other one roll up, cover and put into the fridge. You can also wrap it well and freeze it for a month. After you get the second ribbon out, give it a gentle roll with the rolling pin.

As you practice making the croissants you will get a feel for what shape of triangles give the best looking rolls (also the whole process will get easier). You just have to learn it for yourself. Practice makes perfect. The nice thing is that crooked croissants are just as yummy as perfect ones. 

Take a triangle and stretch it out gently by holding it at the base and moving your hand in stretching motion to the tip. In the photo on the right, the triangle all the way on the left is not stretched. Make a 1/2 inch cut at the base of the croissant and roll the croissant tight toward the point. Curl the tails and lay on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper). Keep enough space between them.

You can also put a piece of chocolate into the croissant. Be sure to use regular chocolate and not the chips. I think that milk chocolate is better since the croissants are not very sweet. I put 2 pea size pieces before rolling the croissant up.

You will have odd looking pieces of dough. These are the scraps. Stretch them and roll them up into funky looking croissants.

Brush the croissants with the egg wash and proof them in a cool place for about 1-2 hours. They are ready when you can see the layers of dough on the side and the croissants wiggle when touched. They will not double in size. Brush the croissants a second time with egg wash and cover with plastic and put into the fridge for 15 minutes right before baking to firm up the butter.

Remove from the fridge and bake at 400 F in the center of the oven until the tops are deep golden brown (about 15-20 minutes). I bake one sheet at a time. Make sure that your oven really is 400 F (get a thermometer and put it into the center of the oven). Rotate the sheet half way through baking.

Let these cool to room temperature before eating. You can freeze these for a month or so well wrapped. I like to take a frozen one and microwave it until it is warm. YUUUUUUUUUUM!

Makes about 3 dozen