Croissant

Preferment

1 cup (215g) nonfat milk, room temp.

1 Tbsp (10g) active dry yeast

1 1/3 cups (175g)unbleached all-purpose flour

Place the milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast over the milk.  Stir just until it begins to get cloudy..

Add the flour and stir until you get a smooth mixture.  Let sit, covered, for 2 hours or overnight if in the refrigerator.


Dough

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp (14g) active dry yeast

2 cups (440g) whole milk, room temp

6 cups (800g) all purpose flour

1/3 cup (70g) sugar

1 Tbsps + 1 tsp (20g) kosher salt

1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 3/4 cups (625g) unsalted butter, european style

Sprinkle the yeast over the preferment.  Mix with the dough hook for 2 minutes, or until the mass looks elastic and smoother.

 

Slowly add half of the whole milk and continue with the dough hook until well incorporated.  You can scrape a few times to loosen some of the preferment that stays on the hook and bottom of the bowl. Add the remaining milk and stir until all of the preferment is dissolved.

Add your melted butter, sugar, salt and flour to the preferment.  Mix with the dough hook for three minutes.  Let rest for 20 minutes.

You will now notice that your dough looks more relaxed!  The gluten needs this resting period in order to make it easier to knead now. Mix on low speed for no more than 3 minutes until you get a smooth dough that feels more elastic. Cover with a cloth and let rest for 1.5 hours.

On a lightly floured surface, press dough into a 2” thick rectangle and wrap.  Place in fridge for 4-6 hours, but no more than 7.

Sometime within a couple of hours of chilling your dough, begin creating the butter packet: Place butter in the stand mixer bowl and beat until pliable.  Press into a rectangle about 14x9” over plastic.  Wrap tightly and refrigerate until you are ready to roll out your dough.

Take  your dough out of the fridge and roll it out to a rectangle 28”x12”. Place the butter over the left 2/3 of the dough.  Fold from right to the left, like an envelope. Turn the dough a quarter turn so that the larger seam faces you and roll out again to 28”x12”.  Fold once again, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1.5 hours.

Remove from the fridge, roll out again into 28”x12”, re-wrap and freeze for 1 hour.

Roll the dough out to a rectangle 32”x12”.  Cut out desired shapes and place on cookie sheets.‘Proof’ your croissants by placing them in a slightly warm, humid, draft-free space for 2 hours.

Egg Wash

4 egg yolks               

¼ cup cream

pinch of salt

Whisk the yolks. Add the cream and salt and using a pastry brush, lightly cover the croissants.  Wait 10 minutes to dry.

Egg wash the croissants again after letting them proof. Preheat oven to 425.  Turn down to 400 to bake.  Place your croissants inside and bake for 9 minutes (8 for smaller croissants).  Turn the pans and bake 6-7 more minutes.