Source: French cooking Vol. II by Julia Child and S. Beck
Makes 10 servings.
Preparation time: 24 hours
Tips: Plain or filled with ham & Gruyere, almond or chocolate
Ingredients
Preparation
MIX AND LET LIQUEFY COMPLETELY:
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (0.3 oz)
3 tablespoons warm water (100 degrees F or less)
1 teaspoon sugar
MIX, DISSOLVE, AND ADD TO ABOVE:
2/3 cup milk, warmed tepid
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons tasteless salad oil
SIFT AND LEVEL INTO MEASURING CUP:
1 3/4 cups unbleached flour (about 1/2 lb.)
1. BASIC DOUGH: Place flour into large mixing bowl, pour prepared mixture of all other ingredients. Blend the elements into a dough by cutting and pressing with a rubber spatula, being sure all bits of flour are gathered in. Let sit for few minutes until flour absorbs liquids.
2. Turn dough onto floured kneading surface and work with scraper until mix and not sticky. DO NOT knead too much or you will over-activate the gluten and have a chewy dough. Dough will be pretty moist and soft. Dough becomes more malleable after it has been refrigerated to receive the butter. You will have about 2 cups of dough.
3. FIRST RISE: (about 3 hrs.) Place dough in a large bowl, cover with plastic and place at a temperature between 70-72 degrees F. Dough should rise to about triple in volume. From 2 cups to about 7 cups.( Should you need some guide, first fill the bowl with 7 cups of water, make a mark in the outside of the bowl, drain and dry)
4. While waiting for first rise, prepare BUTTER FOR LAYERING. Sprinkle flour into wax paper. Roll butter stick into flour, place between wax paper and with rolling pin press to about a 5x7" (2/3 size of dough rolled out). Refrigerate until needed.
5. SECOND RISE: (about 1 1/2 hrs.) Deflate the dough and flatten to a 8x12" rectangle. Fold in 3 as though folding a business letter. Return to bowl and allow to rise to double it's original size. To DELAY ACTION, place dough in the refrigerator for the second rise, may be left overnight. Dough may be frozen after risen for 1 week. Always bring dough to butter temperature before layering butter.
6. Loosen dough and turn into a floured surface. Pat dough to deflate. Wrap in plastic and place in airtight bag or container and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
7. Dough is now ready to receive the butter.
8. LAYERING DOUGH AND BUTTER: Dough and butter should be at about the same temperature. If butter is too soft it will run and stick. If butter is too cold it will crack between the dough layers and not spread evenly. You can use the palms of your hands to even the temperature of both, dough and butter, prior to assemble.
9. Place dough in floured surface or pastry cloth and roll to about 14x8", place rolled butter on top of 2/3 of dough, fold in three as a business letter (FIRST turn = 3 layers of dough, 2 of butter).
10. Roll dough lengthwise to a 14x6" , fold again in three. (SECOND turn = 9 layers of dough, 6 of butter).
11. Wrap dough in plastic and place in airtight container. Refrigerate to rest for about 1 1/2 to 2 hrs.
12. Repeat second turn to obtain THIRD and FOURTH turns. Make sure to deflate the dough and rest dough about 8 minutes to relax gluten. If dough is too cold (shows hard flakes of butter between layers), place your hand in dough to warm before rolling. During warm days you may need to refrigerate dough between third and fourth turn.
13. Wrap again and chill for 2 hrs. before forming croissants. Dough may be refrigerated for 2-3 days or freeze for later use.
14. FORMING CROISSANTS:
- Roll dough to a 20x5". Cut in half.
- Take each half portion and roll to about 15x5". Cut 5 or 6 triangles.
- Take each triangle and roll to make the triangle about 7" long. Place filling at this point if desired.
- Fold the large end forward onto itself. Then holding the point with the fingers of your left hand, finish to roll under the fingers and palm of your right hand. Bend the 2 ends down to form a crescent shape, tug in the end under.
15. Place croissants in parchment paper tray or tray prepared with shortening and lightly floured. Cover with plastic or wax paper and let rise to about double, 1 1/2 hrs. May Be frozen at this stage for 1 week and bake directly from freezer to oven. About 45 MINUTES before BAKING TIME, PREHEAT OVEN TO 450F degrees.
16. Brush croissants with egg wash (1 egg plus 1 tsp. water) before baking. Make sure egg do not touches tray or it will prevent croissant from rising.
17. Bake at 450F degrees for 12-15 minutes. Place tray in middle rack between stones. No need to use air trays.
NOTES : 1) Croissants may be frozen for several weeks: To defrost or re-heat place in mid- oven, turn oven to 350F degrees and time for about 10 minutes, frozen ones may take a bit longer to defrost inside, but they will get crispy as if freshly baked.
2) Find fillings for croissants in "Fillings and Frostings" section.
Makes: 10-12 croissants
BUTTER FOR LAYERING
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick = 4 oz)
2 tablespoons flour
2 sheets wax paper
FILLINGS: optional, see note 2
1 whole egg + 1 tsp. water (for brushing)
Croissants
Flaky and Crispy
