CROISSANT DAY - 30 JANUARY 2019

In celebration of Croissant Day, here is an awesome 

croissant dough recipe for you to try out!

Credit: Epicurious

YIELD - Makes about 1.25kg

ACTIVE TIME - 1 Hour

TOTAL TIME - 14 Hours

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 & 1/2 cups whole milk, heated to warm (40C - 45C)

• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1 tbs plus 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (from two 7gr packages)

• 3 and 3/4 to 4 and 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

• 1 tbs salt

• 1 and 1/2 cups cold unsalted butter

• 2 kitchen towels (not terry cloth)

• 1 ruler

• 1 pastry brush

Special Equipment:

• a standing electric mixer with dough hook, 2 kitchen towels (not terry cloth)

, a ruler and a pastry brush.

PREPARATION:

Make dough:

1. Stir together warm milk, brown sugar, and yeast in bowl of standing mixer and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If it doesn’t foam, discard and start over.) Add 3 3/4 cups flour and salt and mix with dough hook at low speed until dough is smooth and very soft, about 7 minutes.
2. Transfer dough to a work surface and knead by hand 2 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, a little at a time, to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Form dough into a roughly 4 cm-thick rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until cold, about 1 hour.

Prepare and shape butter:

1. After dough has chilled, place the butter on a work surface. Pound butter with a rolling pin to soften slightly (butter should be malleable but still cold). Scrape butter into a block and put on a kitchen towel, then cover with other towel. Pound and roll out on both sides until butter forms a uniform 13cm by 20cm rectangle. Chill, wrapped in towels, while rolling out dough.

Roll out dough:

1. Unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour as necessary and lifting and stretching dough (especially in corners), into a 40cm by 25cm rectangle. Arrange dough with a short side nearest you. Put butter in center of dough so that long sides of butter are parallel to short sides of dough. Fold as you would a letter: bottom third of dough over butter, then top third down over dough. Brush off excess flour with pastry brush.

Roll out dough:

1. Turn dough so a short side is nearest you, then flatten dough slightly by pressing down horizontally with rolling pin across dough at regular intervals, making uniform impressions. Roll out dough into a 38cm by 25cm rectangle, rolling just to but not over ends.
2. Brush off any excess flour. Fold in thirds like a letter, as above, stretching corners to square off dough, forming a 25cm by 13cm rectangle. (You have completed the first "fold.") Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 hour.

Make remaining "folds":

1. Make 3 more folds in same manner, chilling dough 1 hour after each fold, for a total of 4 folds. (If any butter oozes out while rolling, sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.) Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours but no more than 18 (after 18 hours, dough may not rise sufficiently when baked).

Start baking! :-)

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