🥐 Croissants

Ingredients

• 500 g all-purpose flour, or bread flour
• 10 g active dry yeast
• 10 g table salt
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 275 g whole milk, cold (about 1⅛ cups)
• 310 g butter, salted, 30 g softened for the dough, 280 g cold for the butter block (use unsalted if you have it)
• 1 eggs, large, for brushing

Time

Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.

How long it keeps

• Counter: best the day they’re baked; in a paper bag up to 2 days, recrisped in the oven.
• Freezer: baked, up to 3 months (University of Missouri’s time for baked yeast bread). Shaped, unbaked croissants can be frozen up to about 1 month (NDSU’s time for unbaked rolls); thaw and rise them overnight in the refrigerator, then let them finish rising before baking.

Nutrition

Steps

You’ll need: stand mixer or bowl, rolling pin, ruler, parchment, 2 baking sheets, pastry brush.

1. Day 1, evening: mix the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, milk and 30 g soft butter into a smooth dough, about 5 minutes. Pat it into a rectangle, wrap it, and refrigerate overnight.
2. Day 2: pound and roll the 280 g of cold butter between parchment into a 7-inch square; refrigerate until firm but bendable.
3. Roll the dough to a 10-inch square, set the butter on it like a diamond, fold the corners over it, and pinch the seams to seal.
4. Roll it into an 8 × 24-inch strip, fold it in thirds like a letter, wrap, and chill 30 minutes. Do this twice more (three folds in all), chilling 30 minutes after each. If butter breaks through or gets soft, chill longer.
5. Chill 1 hour, then roll to a 10 × 24-inch rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Cut 12 long triangles (about 4 inches at the base).
6. Cut a ½-inch notch in the middle of each base, roll each up from the base to the tip, and set them tip-down on the sheets, curved if you like.
7. Cover loosely and let them rise at cool room temperature (below about 78°F, so the butter stays solid) until puffy and wobbly, 1½ to 2½ hours.
8. Heat the oven to 400°F. Brush with beaten egg and bake 18 to 22 minutes, until deep golden brown. Cool 20 minutes.