Croissants

By DrChef

Golden layers of flaky pastry, puffy, light and flavoured with butter is how the best croissants should be. Serve warm on day baking.

Ingredients

• FOR THE GLAZE:
• 3 C white bread flour
• 1 C all-purpose flour
• 1 t salt
• 2 T sugar
• 1/2 oz fresh yeast
• scant 1 C lukewarm milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 C butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 T milk
• TIP: Make sure butter and dough are about same temp when combining to ensure best results.

Preparation

Step 1

1. Sift flours and salt together into large bowl. Stir in sugar. Make well in center. Mix yeast with 3 T milk, then stir in remainder. Add yeast mixture to center of flour, then add egg and gradually beat in flour until it forms a dough.
2. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes. Place in a large lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise, in warm place, for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
3. Punch down, recover and chill for 1 hour. Meanwhile, flatten the butter into a block about 3/4" thick. Punch down dough and turn out onto lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rough 10" square, rolling edges thinner than center.
4. Place block of butter diagonally in center and fold corners of dough over the butter like an envelope, tucking edges to completely enclose butter.
5. Roll dough into rectangle about 3/4", approximately twice as long as it is wide. fold bottom third up and top third down and seal edges with rolling pin. Wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes.
6. Repeat rolling, folding, and chilling twice more, turning dough by 90 degrees each time. Roll out on floured surface into a 25 x 13 inch rectangle. Cut in half lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 14 equal triangles with 6" bases.
7. Place dough triangles on 2 baking sheets, cover with plastic and chill for 10 minutes.
8. To shape, place each one with wide end at top, hold each side and pull gently to stretch top of triangle a little, then roll towards the point, finishing with pointed end tucked underneath. To make chocolate croissants, place small square of semi-sweet chocolate or 1 T coarsely chopped chocolate at wide end of each triangle before rolling. Curve ends toward pointed end to make a crescent. Place on sheets, spaced well apart.
9. Combine egg yolk and milk for glaze. Lightly brush glaze over croissants, avoiding cut edges of dough. Cover loosely with oiled wrap and let rise, in warm place, for 30 minutes or nearly doubled in size.
10. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 F. Brush with remaining glaze and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crisp and golden. Cool slightly on wire rack before serving warm.