The recipe source from davidlebovitz.com . Chef David, is one of the best Pastry chef and he is my favorite and inspiration. Here, I just copied not only his recipe and making techniques, also the making description (Text)
Croissants are Crescent shaped Pastry, quite popular in French bakeries and believed Austria is its origin. Croissants, takes an important place in the continental breakfast.
Though the Croissants looks bit complex to make but, isn’t hard. Making Croissants is a two days process. I mean, the dough should be made one day before and the following day the dough get the crescent shape and baked.
Let me take the ingredients list ……….. 1 1/4 cup(s) of bread or all-purpose flour ; 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour ; 2 tsp of Active dry yeast ; 2 tbsp of sugar ; 2/3 cup of warm milk ; 1 1/4 tsp of Salt ; 160gms of unsalted butter (cold and cubed)
Day 1 : In a bowl, mix together the white and whole wheat flour and set aside. Mix yeast, milk and sugar and keep it in a warm place till it become foamy.
Add one-third of the flour mixture in to Yeast mixture and blend well. Add rest of the flour and the salt, and stir until all the ingredients are combined. Knead the dough on a lightly floured counter-top a few times to bring it together into a cohesive ball, but do not over knead.
Put the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rest in the refrigerator overnight.
Day 2 : Put the cold butter in the bowl and whack the butter with a rolling pin, turning it a few times, until its cold paste Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and place the butter in the middle. Enclose the butter and shape it into a 4- by 3-inch (10 by 8cm) rectangle. Chill the butter for 20 to 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough on a lightly floured counter-top, so it forms a diamond shape with four flaps – two on top, two on the bottom, leaving the dough raised a bit in the center
Unwrap the chilled rectangle of butter and place it in the center. Fold the flaps over the butter, sealing the butter completely, and whack the dough with a rolling pin to flatten it out. Roll the dough into a 12- by 9-inch rectangle.
Lift up one-third of the left side of the dough and fold it over the center. Then lift the right side of the dough over the center, to create a rectangle. Take the rolling pin and press down on the dough two times, making an X across it. Mark the dough with one dimple with your finger to remind you that you’ve made one “turn”, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for 45 to 60 minutes.
Do the next turn of the dough the same way, rolling and folding the dough again, making 2 dimples with your finger in the dough, and then chill it for another 45 to 60 minutes.
Do the last turn and folding of the dough and let it chill for an hour. (The dough can be chilled overnight at this point, if required)
To shape the croissants, line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Unwrap the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured counter-top until it’s a 12- by 9-inch (30 by 22cm) rectangle. Trim the edges off with a sharp chef’s knife and cut the dough into 3 rectangles, then cut each rectangle diagonally, making 6 triangles.
Take one triangle and roll to lengthen it to 11 inches (28cm) long. Starting at the wide end, roll the croissant up toward the point, not too-tightly. Set it point-side-up on the baking sheet and roll the rest of the croissants the same way. ( I filled the croissant with 1 tsp of custard. You may try with butter, Jam, Chocolate, Cheese etc)
Cover the baking sheet with a large plastic bag (such as a clean trash bag), close it, and let the croissants proof in a warm place until the croissants are nearly doubled and puffed up, which will take 1 1/2 to 2 hours the originally recipes says use egg wash for brushing but I used full fat milk.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC.) Bake the croissants for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat of the oven to 350ºF, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until browned. Some butter may seep out during baking, which is normal.
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