Source:Breads from the La Brea Bakery by Nancy Silverton's
Makes 20 servings.
Preparation time: 8 hours
Tips: They make great sandwiches, they freeze well.
Croissants for Sandwiches
Ingredients
Preparation
2 1/2 pounds unbleached flour (about 10 cups)
2 2/3 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
6 tablespoons light brown sugar (3 ounces), packed
4 ounce piece aged croissant dough or bread dough, optional
1 1/2 pounds unsalted butter (3 cups=6 sticks), chilled
Some flour to work with butter
1. Place all ingredients EXCEPT butter into the bowl of a mixer with dough hook attached. Mix on low speed until the dough is smooth, about 8 minutes. ( Holding about 1/2 pound of flour until all other ingredients are incorporated makes the mixing a little easier).
2. Remove the dough from mixing bowl, place it on a lightly floured work surface, and knead it for a few minutes by hand. Cut the dough in half.
3. With each half press the dough into a rectangle, roughly 1 1/2 inches thick. Wrap each rectangle tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, place 1/2 ( 3 sticks) of the cold butter between to pieces of wax pape sprinkle with flour, with a rolling pin flatten to a rectangle about 6 x 8 inches. Repeat with the remaining butter. Place in refrigerator for 1/2 hour.
5. Working with one set of dough and butter at a time: remove dough from the refrigerator and take off plastic wrap. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Roll it with a rolling pin into a rectangle measuring about 10 x 12 inches. Remove butter from the refrigerator, take off wax paper and place slab of butter on the upper two thirds of the dough . Ideally, the butter and the dough should be the same temperature. If the butter is too cold, it will break through the surface of the dough when the dough is rolled out. To warm up the dough/ butter, use the heat of your hands by gently pressing dough/butter before rolling. Fold the dough as you would fold a business letter: the bottom third up the middle and the top edge down to the bottom edge.
6. Enlarge the rectangle by rolling out the dough until it is 1/2 inch thick. Fold once more as a business letter making sure all the edges are lined up evenly. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
7. Remove dough from the refrigerator and repeat rolling and folding in the same manner as before. You have now completed two turns. REPEAT two more times for a total of four times ( not counting the introduction of the butter into the dough.). Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap refrigerate it for 3 hours. If at any time during turns the dough becomes too resistant to stretch, refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to relax and then proceed.
8. Remove one dough from refrigerator, take of the plastic and roll it into a rectangle approx. 8x24 inches: making a zigzag pattern cut 8 to 10 triangles of about 6 inches on the base and about 8 inches in length and about 1/4 inch thick. At this point trim some of the edges (4 ounces) of dough to use as leavening in the next batch of croissants. Freeze trimings. Pulling at both ends of the triangle base roll towards tip stretching tip as you roll. The dough should overlap three times with the tip sticking out from underneath.
9. Place the finished croissant on a parchment-lined baking sheet ( or use a sheet greased and floured instead) and curve its points inward, to form a crescent shape. Continue with the rest placing them well apart on the baking sheet.
10. Allow croissants to proof, uncovered, at room temperature until they nearly double in volume, 1 to 2 hours.
Preheat oven at 425 degrees 30 minutes before baking.
11. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees, place one sheet in the oven and refrain to open oven for 10 minutes. Then reduce temperature to 375 degrees and rotate for even baking as necessary, continue baking until golden brown about 10 more minutes, for a total of 20 minutes.
NOTES : 1) These croissants DO NOT need to be brush with egg wash prior to baking.
2) To defrost: place croissant in mid-oven, turn oven to 350F degrees and time for about 10 minutes. Or leave at room temperature for about 30 - 40 minutes.
Makes: 20 large croissants, or 24 regular size croissants
