Homemade croissants

Would you like to learn how to make croissants at home? Croissants are buttery flaky pastries named for its distinctive crescent shape. They are made from layered dough that is made by encasing butter in a yeast dough, and taking it through a series of folds to produce many layers of butter in between sheets of dough. If you follow my advise, and use plastic sheets to roll out the dough, you will avoid using too much flour during the folding, and the whole process becomes much more simple.

Today’s recipe might seem awfully long (writing it actually was) but making croissants at home is not as difficult as it is said. Plus, the smell of freshly baked croissants is worth the pain and they are just delicious! Hopefully, the time and effort required to make them will temper your desire to eat them all at once!

{Homemade croissants}

Ingredients:

100 g whole fat milk
25 g fresh yeast
170 g bread flour

To fold the dough:

250 g de butter

Dough:

340 g strong wheat flour
80 ml water
1 egg, medium size
80 g sugar
5 g salt
100 g butter

Egg wash

1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt

Sugar wash:

30 ml water
80 g sugar

Directions:

Start preparing the sponge. In a bowl dissolve fresh yeast into milk, add flour. Knead and make a ball. Place the ball in a bowl and cover with lukewarm water. Let the ball rest until it floats and doubles its size, the time will depend on the type of yeast used and the house temperature, but it usually takes about 15 minutes.
Put a sheet of plastic wrap
onto your work surface. Place the butter on top and cover it with a second sheet of cling film. Roll it into a rectangle (about A4 sheet size) with your rolling pin and place it into the fridge to chill
Then prepare the rest of the dough. Put all ingredients in a bowl and combine. Add the sponge. Use a large spoon (or pastry scraper) to mix everything together.
Take the dough out of the bowl and knead for 10-15 minutes. You will feel the dough become elastic, soft, pliable, and smooth.Put the dough into a bowl and cover with a cloth.
Let the dough rise in a warm place until its size doubles (about 1-2 hours depending on the room temperature).
Roll the dough between two plastic sheets into a rectangle (about 40 x 30 cm and 7 mm thick) (Image number 1)
Unwrap the chilled butter and place it onto the upper part of dough. Fold the dough around the butter in thirds to enclose it completely. Wrap and freeze for 30 minutes (Image number 2)
Roll the dough into another long rectangle, as done earlier, about 7-8 mm thick. Do a double fold: fold the top and bottom in so that they meet in the middle of the dough, then fold the dough in half again so that there are four layers of dough. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes (Image number 3)
Roll out the dough into a rectangle again (between two plastic sheets) and do a simple fold: Fold the dough into thirds. Wrap and chill again for 30 minutes.(Image number 4)
Divide the dough in two parts (keep one in the fridge). Roll one piece of dough into another long rectangle (always between two plastic sheets), about 5 mm thick. Cut into triangle shapes. Starting at the base of the triangle, roll the dough up into a log; the tip of the triangle should be under the body of the croissant to prevent it from unraveling. Bend in the corners to form the traditional crescent shape.
Place the croissants onto a pre-lined baking tray and leave to double in size (about two hours).
Preheat oven to 350º F, brush the croissants with egg wash (beat egg, sugar, and salt) and bake for 10-15 minutes.
For the sugar wash, heat water and sugar on a small saucepan, until sugar dissolves.
Remove the croissants from the oven, and brush them with sugar wash. Let them cool completely before enjoying
They might be frozen after baking.