Home-made Croissants

A first time for everything --

Croissants.. slightly daunting but hey you've got to start somewhere !

First of all welcome to Luluerie and to my very first blog post.. possibly more daunting than attempting a french classic on a summers christmas eve, croissants.

Anyway, here is the recipe --

What you'll need:

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup of warm water

1 tsp of active dry yeast

1/4 cup of whole milk

1/2 tbsp of melted butter

1 tsp of salt

390g unsalted butter (cold)

Egg wash ( 1 free range egg and 1 tbsp of milk)

Step 1:

Firstly, the yeast needs to be activated. Add in to a large bowl (ideally metal, but don't worry others will work too) 1 cup of the all purpose flour, warm water, and yeast and mix until just combined.

Place the bowl in a warm area (up high or in a hot-water cupboard) and let rise for one hour.

Step 2:

Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour, milk, melted butter and salt into the risen yeast mix. Knead the mixture by hand or in a stand mixer set to a low speed (using a dough hook) for about a minute. Cover the bowl with a damp tea-towel (or paper towel) and let the dough rest for half an hour.

Step 3:

Knead the dough by hand for 8-10 minutes or using a stand mixer on a low speed (this may need 15 minutes). The dough should have become elastic once you have finished kneading. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and keep in a cool place for half an hour (I found refrigerating for 15 minute and a cool dark cupboard for the remaining 15 minutes worked best).

Step 4:

Take the dough our and roll out the on a floured surface into a 20 x 40 cm rectangle (about 1/2 cm thick).

Step 5:

place the cold butter between two pieces of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to pound the butter into a square roughly 15 x 15 cm. Place the butter on the bottom half of your dough rectangle.

Step 6:

Making the first dough turn, this will begin to create the classic buttery layers all good croissants need!

Fold the top section of the dough rectangle over the bottom half (completely enclosing the butter in the dough), pressing together the edges to seal in the butter.

Roll out the square to roughly the same size rectangle as previously (20 x 40 cm).

Next fold bottom third (narrow end) of the rectangle up into the middle, and fold the top third of the dough down over top of that (this is one turn).

Step 7:

Roll out the dough into a 20 x 40 cm rectangle and repeat this step 6. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes, followed by 30mins in a cool place.

Step 8:

Take the dough out and repeat step 6 two more times, remembering to refrigerate and rest between reach turn.

Step 9:

Line two baking trays with grease-proof paper. Cut the dough in half. Using one half of the dough roll out longways in the direction of the layers to a 15 x 50 cm rectangle.

Repeat for the other half of the dough and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Step 10:

Place the dough onto a floured bench top and mark out triangles. This can be done by measuring and marking the dough with a knife. Measure 12.5cm from the end of the dough on the side facing you and mark with a knife, make 3 more makings each 12.5 cm apart.

Step 11:

Turn the dough around 180 degrees so that the un-marked side is facing you. This time, make the first marking 6.25 cm from the edge of the dough, followed by markings 12.5cm apart and the final marking 6.25cm from the end.

Step 12:

The dough will now be cut into triangles to form croissants. The markings on the far side will form the bases of the triangles while the markings closest to you will form the tips of the triangles. Use a sharp knife to cut the triangles by connecting the markings on the near and far sides of the dough.

Repeat this process for the second half of the dough.

Step 13:

Now that you have the triangles, cut a small slit in the base of each triangle (this will help form the crescent shape croissants are known for !)

Roll the triangle into a crescent by rolling the dough from the base up. It is important to roll the dough using both hands on either side of the slit, forming the dough into a crescent as you roll. Place the tip of the dough underneath the croissant and bend the two ends towards each other forming the crescent shape.

Step 14:

Arrange the croissants on a lined baking tray and cover with plastic wrap to proof. Place the croissants in a warm place for about 1 hour to proof (you can proof the dough for as long as you like at this stage, however for long proving times place in a cool place).

Step 15:

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees celsius. Combine the egg and milk to make a simple egg wash, brush this mixture on the croissants and bake for 15 minutes, rotate and bake for a further 15 minutes or until risen and golden brown.

and.... thats it !

You can now enjoy fresh buttery homemade croissants.

Even though it is quite a process, the result sure is rewarding.

If you make these croissants let me know !

Twitter: @luluerie

Instagram: @luluerie

Recipe to come....

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