Ingredients:
500 grams of wheat flour
10 grams of fresh yeast (or 5 grams of dry yeast)
60 grams of sugar
10 grams of salt
250 ml of milk
250 grams of butter (cold but malleable)
1 egg (to paint)
Powdered sugar (optional, to decorate)
Preparation:
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt.
- In another small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk.
- Pour the yeast and milk mixture over the dry ingredients and knead until you get a soft and elastic dough. If necessary, add a little flour if the dough is too sticky.
- Form a ball with the dough, cover it with a clean cloth and let it rest in a warm place for about an hour or until it has doubled in volume.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, roll it out into a rectangle on a floured surface until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
- Place the butter between two sheets of wax paper and flatten it with a rolling pin until it is evenly thick.
- Place the butter in the center of the rectangle of dough and fold it over the butter, sealing the edges.
- Flip the dough 90 degrees and roll it out into a rectangle again. Fold it into thirds, like an envelope.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Repeat steps 8 and 9 two more times, refrigerating the dough between each fold.
- After the last fold, refrigerate the dough for at least an hour or overnight.
- Once the dough is completely cold, stretch it into a rectangle and cut out triangles.
- Roll each triangle starting at the widest part and working towards the tip.
- Arrange the croissants on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leaving a little space between them as they rise.
- Brush the croissants with beaten egg.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C and bake the croissants for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
- Once cooked, allow to cool slightly before serving. If you like, you can dust them with icing sugar before serving.
