croissants *

Buttery #croissants  are great; and, even better if you make them fresh! Most bought croissants are made from frozen these days. Serve them with more butter :-) and jam... or cheese and ham...

makes 7-ish

250g strong white flour
20g caster sugar
5g salt
5g dried yeast
125g/ ml warm water**
150g unsalted butter, softened

for the egg-wash
1 egg, beaten
pinch of salt

** warm water in baking (with dried yeast) should be 40-50ºC to activate the yeast.

!. In a mixing bowl; combine the dry ingredients - flour,sugar and salt.
2. In a slightly larger bowl; dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
3. Mix the dry ingredients into the yeast mixture. Bring together until you have a ball and a clean bowl.

4. Use the smaller bowl as a lid; let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

5. Now knead the dough in the bowl: pull, fold over and press down with the heel of your hand. Turn the bowl slightly and repeat another 8 times... taking about 10 seconds to complete a circle

6. Cover and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Knead and rest another 2 times.

7. Knead one last time; place in the bowl, sealed with clingfilm, and leave to prove for 45-60 minutes until doubled in size.

8. Knock back the dough; re-cover, and chill for 20 minutes. 

9. Remove the dough from the fridge along with the butter*. pull out the dough by the corners until you have a rough ~20cm square. Cut the butter into 2; but them together to form a rectangle, then place it on the dough diagonally.

* It helps if the butter is the same temperature as the dough.

10. Fold over the dough to create an envelope: completely enclosing the butter.

11. Gently and evenly roll out the dough to form a long rectangle about 1cm thick.

12. Fold the bottom third into the middle and the top third over the bottom third. Turn through 90º; wrap in clingfilm and chill for 20 minutes. Repeat twice.

This is when I leave the dough in the fridge till morning.

13. Preheat the oven to 220ºC

14. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll the dough out to a rectangle of about 50 x 25cm.

15. Cut 7-9 long, thin isosceles triangles and roll them up as shown.

16. Place the croissants on a lined baking tray and leave to rise until you see the folds start to separate. It could only wait the 10 minutes it took the oven to reach its temperature! (with the croissants on top of the cooker)

17. Brush the croissants with the egg-wash and bake in the top half of the oven for 15-20 minutes... depending on how brown you like your croissants. Leave to cool slightly on a wire rack (or not) before eating.