Ingredients
1
½ cups of lukewarm milk
3
¾ to 4 ½ cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1
tbsp + ¼ tsp active dry yeast
3
sticks cold unsalted butter
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
Directions
1.
Combine the milk, sugar and yeast in a bowl until it foams. It is preferable you use an electric mixer.
2.
Pour in the 3 ¾ cups of flour and salt. Crank the speed down at low until the dough is smooth and soft.
3.
Transfer the dough on a wooden board or a marble top and knead it. Sprinkle some flour to prevent it from sticking, but do not overwork it. You want to end up with a soft, sticky dough.
4.
Roll the dough into a rectangular shape, about 1 ½ inch thick. Wrap it in a plastic wrap and then chill in the fridge for one hour.
5.
As the dough chills, put a wide sheet of plastic wrap on the work surface. Place the butter side by side and then soften it by pounding it a little. By using your spatula or a blunt knife, form the slightly softened butter into a rectangle, about 8 x 5 inches. Wrap the butter in the plastic wrap, making sure everything is covered. Take a kitchen towel and wrap it again. Chill in the fridge until you take the dough out for rolling.
6.
When the dough is ready, unwrap it and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough until it is a 16 x 10 inch rectangle. Place the dough so the shortest surface is in-front of you. Take out the butter and place it on the center of the dough, its longest side parallel with the shortest side of the rolled out dough.
7.
Visualize the dough into three crosswise portions. Fold the dough from the bottom, covering the butter in the center and the second third of the portion. And then fold the dough from the top until you end up with a rectangle, the butter covered in the center. Make sure to brush off the excess flour from the dough.
8.
Now roll out the dough until it is about its previous size at 16 x 10 inches. Make sure to roll out the dough using equal motions, thus rolling out the butter inside the dough evenly. Brush off excess flour.
9.
Once the dough is rolled out, fold the dough again the same way as before. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap, and then chill in the fridge for an hour.
10.
You will do this folding and rolling out process three more times. Do not forget to chill the dough for an hour between folds.
11.
Once you have done all the folding, chill the dough between 8 to 18 hours. Do not use the dough if itâs chilled for more than 18 hours.
12.
Once the dough has rested for at least 8 hours, take out the dough and then cut it into equal squares. From these squares, cut the dough diagonally so youâll end up with triangles.
13.
Roll the triangles starting with the wide side and then twist the dough a little to form a crescent-shape. Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
14.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the triangles on a baking sheet, and then bake for 10 minutes. Afterwards, take the temperature down to 35o degrees and then bake for 15 minutes more.
15.
Remove the croissant from the oven and let it cool before serving and eating.
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