Makes 14 Croissants
Ingredients:
Dough:
500 g 00 Flour
90 g Water
90 g Whole Milk
50 g Eggs (room temperature)
7 g Instant Yeast
9 g Salt
50 g Sugar
10 g Honey
35 g Butter (cold)
Butter Block:
200 g Butter (cold)
Egg Wash:
40 g Egg Yolk
5 g Cream
Instructions:
In a small saucepan bring the water and milk to blood temperature and set aside.
In a large bowl combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine. Work in cold butter with your fingers tips until fully incorporated, shooting for a light breadcrumb texture.
Make a well in the flour mixture and add your warm milk mixture, egg, and honey. Mix up the wet ingredients a bit before bringing the flour mix into it to form a rough ball. Kneed on the counter for 5 minutes or so to increase the homogeneity. It won't be a smooth ball and it's quiet a stiff dough, but don't be concerned.
Place in a covered bowl, and let rise, relax, and hydrate at room temp for an hour.
While that's rising create your butter block. Using a 18cm x 18cm (7" x 7") freezer bag (or parchment paper marked and folded into a parcel) add your butter, squeeze as much air out as you can (do this as needed as you go) then beat and roll to create a block of even thickness. Refrigerate.
Remove dough from the bowl, and roll out to just a bit more than double the size of your butter block (36cm x 18cm - 14" x 7"). Wrap and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then flip over and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
We are aiming for the butter block and dough to be about the same consistency. Place dough on the counter, remove butter block from package and place on 1 half of the dough, fold to cover, and crimp edges to seal.
Avoid using flour with your dough and roll out to a thickness of 7mm (1/4"). Mark the middle and bring the outside edges in to meet in the middle. Square them as much as possible. Then fold in the outside edges once more to create the book fold or double turn.
Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll out again to a thickness of 7mm (1/4"). This time fold like a letter, into thirds. The outside edge comes over 2/3, then the other the remaining third.
Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the final roll bring your dough to a thickness of 3.5mm (1/8"). Aiming for a finished dimension of 60cm x 35cm (24" x 14").This may require rests in the refrigerator to slacken the gluten as you go, 5 - 10 minutes. Or if your dough is sticking to the surface or your rolling pin, pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes to help it set back up.
Mark dough every 8cm (3") along the long edge on both sides. Cut to create 7 smaller rectangles. Divide each of the rectangles diagonally to create 14 long triangles. Make a 1cm (1/2") notch at the foot of each triangle.
To shape the croissants, remove one triangle, fold out the notch to widen the foot, then roll into a croissant shape. Repeat and place on a lined sheet pan with plenty of room between for expansion.
Heat a large saucepan with 5L (5 quarts) water to simmer and place it in the top of a cold oven to create a makeshift proofing cabinet. Place croissants under a rack under them. Using a temperature probe or meat thermometer try and keep the temperature between 26ºC - 27ºC (80ºF - 82ºF) for 3 - 4 hours. Or until double in size.
Remove croissants and water from the proofing cabinet. Preheat oven to 220ºC (425ºF).
Whisk together your egg wash of egg yolks and cream. Gently brush the croissants all over, trying to make sure they are completely covered.
Place in preheated oven and immediately drop the temperature to 180ºC (350ºF) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a deep golden brown. Remove and enjoy!