Butter croissants

AT YOUR PACE, STEP BY STEP

Let’s get baking

1. 01

   Mix the flour, yeast, and sugar. Add the milk, 140 ml water, salt, and 40 g butter. Knead for 7 minutes until smooth. Cover, rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, flatten, and refrigerate for 10 hours.

2. 02

   Between two sheets of parchment, tap and roll the 250 g butter into a 20 cm square. Keep cold: it should bend without cracking but must not look oily. The dough and butter should feel similarly firm.

3. 03

   Roll the cold dough to 42 × 22 cm. Set the butter on one half, fold the other half over it, and seal the edges. Gently roll to 60 × 20 cm and fold in thirds like a letter. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. 04

   Turn the dough a quarter turn, roll again to 60 × 20 cm, and fold in thirds. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat a third time and refrigerate for another 30 minutes. If butter starts leaking, chill before continuing.

5. 05

   Roll to approximately 60 × 30 cm and 4 to 5 mm thick. Cut into 6 rectangles measuring 10 × 30 cm, then cut each diagonally. Roll each triangle from its base toward its tip without pulling too tightly.

6. 06

   Arrange on two parchment-lined baking sheets, tips underneath and 6 cm apart. Cover loosely and let rise for about 3 hours in a cool spot, between 22 and 25 °C, until puffy and gently wobbly when the sheet is moved.

7. 07

   Preheat the oven to 210 °C. Beat the egg with the 10 ml water and brush gently without crushing the layers. Bake one sheet at a time: 10 minutes at 210 °C, then 15 to 17 minutes at 190 °C, until deeply golden. Keep the second sheet refrigerated while the first bakes.

8. 08

   Cool on a rack for 30 minutes before opening. The listed baking time includes both sheets. Enjoy the same day or freeze cooled croissants for up to 1 month; reheat in a low oven.

Times are approximate and vary with your oven. Use oven mitts and check doneness before serving.