Homemade croissants

Ingredients:

• 4 cups premium flour + extra for dusting
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp instant yeast
• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons fine salt
• 45 g butter, at room temperature + 280 g chilled and cut into 1 cm pieces.
• 1 large egg

Preparation:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, milk, sugar, yeast, salt, 1.5 oz (45 g) of room-temperature butter, and 1/2 cup (0.5 cup) of cold water. Knead on low speed until the dough begins to come together, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until a smooth, non-sticky ball forms, about 5 minutes.
2. Place the dough on a lightly floured baking sheet, sprinkle the top with flour, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.
3. The next day, place the remaining pieces of cold butter (280 g) in the center of a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with a generous pinch of flour. Cover with a second sheet of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, flatten the butter into a 18 cm (7 in) square, and smooth the edges with a ruler or bench scraper. Refrigerate while you roll out the dough.
4. Rolling out the doughUnfold the dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out into a 30cm square, dusting it with flour as needed. Remove the parchment from the butter and place the butter in the center of the dough. Fold the top side of the dough over it, stretching it slightly so that the edge of the dough reaches just below the center of the butter. Fold the opposite side of the dough in the same way, overlapping the two edges by a few centimeters. Turn the dough over so that one of the open sides is facing you.
5. Gently tap the dough with a rolling pin to distribute the butter evenly. Then roll the dough into a 20 x 60 cm rectangle. Take the short side of the dough and fold it over, leaving one-third of the dough exposed on the opposite side. Then fold the other side over the folded side (like folding a letter).
6. Place the dough back on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to rest and firm up a little, 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Place the dough, folded side down, on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out toward the two open ends into a 20 x 60 cm rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds again, like a letter, and place it on a baking sheet.
8. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
9. Roll out the dough a third time and fold both ends toward the center. Then fold the dough in half like a book. Transfer to a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap, tucking it under all sides. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
10. Make markingsUnroll the dough and lightly dust the top and bottom with flour. Roll the dough into a 25 x 87 cm rectangle. Place the dough so that the long side is horizontally facing you. Place a ruler along the bottom edge of the dough (the side closest to you) and mark with a knife every 12 cm along the length of the dough. Place the ruler at the top edge of the dough (the side farthest from you) and make a mark at 6 cm. Move the ruler to the 6 cm mark and from this point make marks every 12 cm along the entire length of the dough.
11. Cut out the croissant blanksUsing a pizza cutter or a long, sharp knife, cut diagonally from the bottom left corner to the first mark on the top (at 6 cm), then from that mark, cut diagonally down the dough to the first 12 cm mark on the bottom of the dough to create a triangle. Continue cutting diagonally from the bottom mark to the top and back again to create 15 triangles (the two outermost ones will be slightly smaller, but can still be used).
12. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place one triangle on the work surface with the short side facing you. Gently pull the dough tip to lengthen it. Grasp both ends of the short side of the triangle and begin rolling the dough away from you toward the tip. Press the dough so that the layers adhere to each other. Place the croissant on one of the prepared baking sheets, tip down. Repeat with the remaining triangles.
13. In a small bowl, beat the egg with a little water. Lightly brush each croissant with the egg mixture (refrigerate the remaining egg mixture for a second use). Place the croissants in a warm place to rise until they've doubled in size and become fluffy, about 2 hours.
14. Position racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 220°C.
15. Brush the croissants again with the egg mixture. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets, turning them over. Continue baking until dark golden brown, another 8-10 minutes. Cool the croissants on wire racks.
    
    
    Note
    
    The team of chefs reminds us that when measuring flour, spoon it into a measuring cup and smooth the surface, removing any excess with a knife. If you scoop flour from a bag with a measuring cup, it will be too dense and the baked goods will turn out dry..