Recipe for 6 croissants 9cm x 27cm
Steps. 1. Making The Dough 2. Preparing The Butter 3. Lock in and Folding 4. Final Roll, Cutting and Shaping 5. Proofing 6. Baking
Utensils & things you'll need, Weighing scales, Mixing Bowl, Dessert/Soup spoon, Temperature probe, Cling film, Parchment paper, Rolling pin, Sharp knife or Utility blade, 30 cm ruler, Baking Sheet - lined with parchment paper, Pastry Brush, Beaker for egg wash.
Step 1, Making The Dough ( I do this in the evening - allow an hour overall -about 25 mins working time)
Ingredients For the Dough
125g T45 flour / TYP 450
125g T55 flour / TYP 550
10g Fresh Yeast or 5g Instant Dried Yeast
30g Softened unsalted Irish Butter, diced into small cubes
30g Caster Sugar
5g Sea Salt
40g Water - cold
80g Milk - cold
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125g Unsalted Irish Butter For lamination / Lock in ( Lightly pounded & rolled into a 15cm square between parchment paper or butter wrappers)
1 free range egg beaten with 50ml of milk for egg wash before putting the croissants into the oven
A little extra flour for dusting your work surface during the lock in and rolling stages
Method, For the Dough
Gather together your ingredients, in a bowl add the dry ingredients including the yeast and butter.
Make a well in the centre and add in the liquids, use a dessert spoon to mix everything through into a dough this will only take a moment or two before we start kneading by hand.
Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface, with the heel of your hand fold the dough over itself pushing away from yourself slightly as you do so and rolling back repeating the process this will take about 10mins you can use both hands to do this it will feel slightly sticky to start, once the butter is incorporated it will smooth out and and work freely on the work surface. Set a timer for 10 mins and switch yourself into meditation mode and practise your breathing exercises. The kneading will form the gluten network within the flour and produce elasticity that will help create the structure of the finished product, The object of the kneading is to achieve the elasticity within the dough that can be tested by taking a piece of dough and gently stretching between the fingers of both hands to check for 'the window pane effect' rather like looking at you finger tips through frosted glass, it will be slightly taught like the skin of a drum- if it tears keep on kneading and checking.
Working with your hands will help get temperature into the dough allowing the yeast to start fermenting ideally the dough temperature should be at 23-24°C using the palm of your hand will help get some warmth into the dough if necessary.
Once elasticity within the dough has been achieved roll it into a ball and then shape it into an oval between your hands, the surface should be smooth and feel slightly taught. Cover with cling film or an upturned bowl and leave to rest 15-20 mins. This allows the dough to relax and the yeast to get to work fermenting.The dough will feel lighter to touch after this period, using the palm of your hand and finger tips press the dough lightly shaping into a rectangle roughly 30cm x 15cm. Perform a letter fold / single turn, done by folding the top end over by 10cm then folding the bottom end over that, you will now have an approximate 15cm x 10 cm rectangle of dough. Turn/Rotate this 90 degrees so that the open edge is to your right. Press down lightly on the dough just to flatten it out and ensure the layers bond.Wrap this in cling film or inside a zip lock bag and once it's sealed from air we're good to place it in the freezer for 15 mins approximately to bring down the temperature and start retarding the fermentation. Once the 15 minutes are up place the dough still wrapped into the refrigerator at 4℃ usually the bottom shelf is best for that. Let the dough rest in there overnight or a minimum of 12hrs, the dough will rise a little and feel slightly puffy to touch.
That's the first step done, once you practise it a few times and have your familiarity with the process it all happens quite quickly and you can work it into a routine that suits yourself.
Notes. For Flours I use Polish flours they're TYP 450 & TYP 550 flours, the mix of a softer flour with a strong flour gives a better texture to the dough and makes it easier for rolling by hand as after we have done the initial lock in of butter for the folding stages we'll be looking to roll the dough to 50cm in length and about 20 cm in width. I get my fresh yeast from the Polish shop as well, it comes in a 100gm block and is found in the chilled Dairy section.
Step 2.
Preparing the Butter (I do this in the morning after the dough has had it's overnight rest in the fridge)
Take a piece of parchment paper fold in half measure 15cm in the centre of the end fold , repeat at the top end of the fold then fold in the edges, this will give you a template for shaping your 15cmx15cm Butter square (I save the butter wrappers and use these instead of parchment paper). Take your butter from the fridge weigh 125gm piece, place it between your folded parchment paper, a little pounding action with your rolling will be needed, but given the size of the butter piece it won't take much force, the aim is to make malleable so we can roll it using a little pressure into a 15x15cm square. The ideal temperature for the butter pre rolling is about 9℃ you can pop it back into the fridge if you feel it's got to warm, though once you've done this a couple of times and got you're work routine you should be good to go and perform the lock-in.
Notes. Work quickly, it's a small amount so this job can be done in a minute or two, the object is to create an even layer that is flexible/malleable so when it comes to the lock-in and folding stages we retain even layers of butter between the dough, this is what gives us those little honeycomb pockets of air in the finished product.
Step 3.
Lock-in, Rolling and Folding- 1 x Book Fold, 1 x Letter/Simple Fold. (Using a cold work surface, lightly dusted with flour & Timer)
Lock-in.
Take your piece of dough from the fridge, unwrap (hold onto this piece of cling film we'll reuse it all the way through and for proofing) and place on your work surface apply light pressure with your rolling pin and roll to a rectangle length of 30 cm x 15, place your butter onto the centre and fold the ends in to meet, pinch the ends together so you have a good seal in the seam.
Rotate the dough by 90° - using a sharp blade make incisions along both sides of the dough edges this releases any tension in the dough and allows for even rolling, we want to keep our dough rectangular during the rolling and folding stages.
Book Fold. We'll roll the dough to a length of 45cm, first gently press the dough with your rolling pin evenly up it's length before rolling with even pressure. Rotate the dough by 180° if necessary to help you keep the dough depth and sides even. You may need a little flour on your work surface and rolling pin to help keep this process a smooth action, avoid using excess flour and brush of any excess flour that may arise. Once you have the the dough in a 45cm length fold back 5cm of the dough and fold the rest of the dough up to meet pinch the edges to form a seal. Brush any excess flour off, make a slight indent in the middle and fold the dough forming the 'Book'. Make incisions on the sides to release tension, press on the dough evenly to reduce it's depth and ensure the folded dough forms a bond, this also helps the dough cool quicker in the fridge. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 30 mins this will allow the dough to cool, relax and be ready for it's next roll.
Letter fold / Simple Fold. We'll roll the dough to a rectangular length of 60cm, remove your dough from the fridge, dust your work surface with a little flour, unwrap your dough, and place it on the work surface with the open seam to the right, dust the top lightly with flour again gently press the dough with your rolling pin evenly up the length of your dough before rolling with even pressure again rotating the dough by 180° if necessary, to keep the dough depth and sides even. If you start to feel resistance from elasticity in the dough, roll it up around the rolling pin, loosely wrap with cling film and place in the fridge for 10-15 mins to relax, this will stop stress on the dough and the butter being absorbed in to the dough. If all has gone good and we have achieved the 60cm mark brush any excess flour of the surface we can fold the dough in on it's self by thirds creating the letter fold, we should now have a folded piece of dough approx 20cmx15cm, again make an incision on the edges to relieve tension. Wrap the dough with your piece of cling film and place in the fridge to chill and relax for a minimum of 30 mins preferably 1 hour.
Notes.
Step 4.
Final Roll, Cutting & Shaping.
Final Roll. We'll roll our dough to a rectangle 32cmx28cm, remove your dough from the fridge, dust your work surface with a little flour, unwrap your dough, and place it on the work surface with the open seam to the right, dust the top lightly with flour again gently press the dough with your rolling pin evenly up the length of your dough before rolling with even pressure again rotating the dough by 180° if necessary, to keep the dough depth and sides even. If you start to feel resistance from elasticity in the dough, roll it up around the rolling pin, loosely wrap with cling film and place in the fridge for 10-15 mins to relax, this will stop stress on the dough and the butter being absorbed into the dough. We want to widen the dough at this stage as well to get to the 28cm mark, so it will be necessary to rotate the dough by 90° to facilitate doing this.
Notes.The ideal dough depth for baking croissants at home is 4mm, using the given recipe and working to the measurements above we should achieve this standard. Otherwise you can purchase 2 x 4mm strips of wood to lay either side of your dough to use as a guide.
Cutting. Trim the edges with a sharp blade using your ruler to achieve a clean cut and straight lines. Time to measure up for cutting on the right side mark with a small nick/mark 9cm measurements on the opposite side first make a nick/mark at 4.5cm then at 9cm spacings, Place your ruler diagonally on the dough from the start point on the right hand side to the 4.5cm mark on the left hand side, make a clean cut, repeat this between the 9cm mark points, remove the two end triangles- you can keep these pieces for a sneaky cruffin or for practise rolling if this is your first go. You'll have 3 rectangular pieces on the work surface, use your ruler again and lay it on the first one from the corner furthest on the right-hand side to the closet corner on the left-hand side cut cleanly through in a straight line, repeat with the other two pieces, you'll now have 6 (isosceles) triangles.
Shaping. Practice makes perfect at this stage,if this is your first go have no worries you'll do good! Cut a 1cm notch in the centre of the base of each triangle if you want more stretch to produce a more curved croissant cut this notch 2cm deep.Lay your ruler on the worktop to keep a check on your triangle lengths we are looking for a length of 27cm approx may have shrank a little after it's rolling, Lift a triangle and gently stretch it between your finger tips and thumb.Place on your work surface and press down on the tip to hold it in place while you are shaping your croissant. Fold the notched edges in (it'll look like a shirt collar) with your finger tips and thumbs start rolling the dough towards the tip evenly press the tip light so it bonds with the base or you rolled croissant and place on your lined baking sheet, repeat with the other triangles and place your croissants evenly spaced on the baking sheet.
Cover loosely with the cling film you've be reusing -it'll have lost it's clinginess and is perfect for allowing the croissants to proof without sticking.
Step 5.
Proofing. Find a warm draught free spot ideally 27°C, laundry rooms are usually good and you can stick on a wash to help keep the temperature up. The top shelf in most warm spaces is generally warmer than bench level. Proofing takes 2-2.5hrs depending on temperature and environment the croissants will noticeably double in size and wobble or jiggle a little when you shake the tray lightly. I use a deep roasting dish and cover it with cling film to help maintain temperature and maintain humidity and transfer them individually onto my lined baking sheet, they feel light with tension in them - handle carefully.
Step 6.
Baking. All ovens vary, based on using a convection Oven - fan on. With a rack on the middle shelf Pre-heat your oven to 170°C, brush your croissants with egg wash (50g egg 50g milk) on the surfaces only, avoid the sides as you don't want it to hinder any joy you put into laminating those layers. Place the baking sheet with the croissants into the oven and set the timer for 14 mins. You know what you're looking for, golden brown with nice rise and evidence of layers. They may need an extra 2 mins to be sure!
Notes. I usually turn the tray after 10 minutes to ensure even cooking, the croissant crust will have formed at this stage, so there's no fear of collapse.
Cooling, when you remove them from the oven transfer them onto a cooling rack and leave to cool for an hour at least.
Storage, in an airtight container once cooled or bag them loosely and freeze them.
Further adventures, with this dough you can make 'Pain au chocolat' & Cruffins and play around introducing fillings and colours for occasions.
Enjoy!
