I am sure baked croissants would have been delicious as is- flaky and buttery. However, as a food blogger, the mood to take that "extra" step strikes. Do not get me wrong, simple and delicious has its rightful moment as well. However, I think it is time to test my skills with croissant pastries.
Please note that this dough requires several intervals of chilling the dough. Also, the final refrigeration of the dough is a minimum of six hours. I split the two projects into two days with the dough chilling overnight. Be ready to dedicate some time and be sure to read the whole recipe before starting. This dough will make 32 pastries.
Croissant Dough
Adapted from Great Coffee Coffee Cakes
Sponge/ Ingredients
1 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 tbs sugar
1 pkg yeast
Dough/ Ingredients
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbs butter (room temp)
1lb butter (slightly firm)
4 cups flour and extra for dusting
Start making the sponge by heating the milk in a saucepan until it reaches a temperature between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the surface of the milk, at this point it is not to be stirred in. Cover tightly and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes. Remove lid and stir once. Cover and let sit for an additional 5 minutes. This process will dissolve the yeast.
Uncover and whisk the flour into the sponge batter. It may result in some lumps, but make sure that they are small. Cover the mixture and let rise for 25-30 minutes or until such time it has doubled in size.
While the sponge is rising, prepare a flat, cool surface by dusting with 1 tbs flour. Place the 4 butter sticks on the surface and dust clean hands with flour. Using your hands, compress the butter sticks together to form a block. Dust butter lightly with flour and use a rolling pin to form a block measuring 8x8. Set aside.
After the rise time has been completed, fill a large bowl with the 4 cups of flour, sugar and salt. Stir until all is evenly distributed. Then cut in the butter with a pastry blender until the butter is mixed into fine pieces. Create a well in the center and pour in the sponge. Mix together with a wooden spoon until no dry streaks remain and a dough is formed.
Add more flour to the original work surface and place the dough on top and knead for about 8 turns. Create a 6x8 inch rectangle. Let the dough sit undisturbed for about 2 minutes.Then roll the dough into a flat rectangle measuring 12 x 16 inches. The 12 inch sides should be parallel to the counter edge.
Take the butter block and center it on the dough rectangle. There should be a 4 inch border of dough above and below the butter and a 2 inch border to the left and right. Fold the lower portion of dough up to the middle of the butter block. The fold the top portion down, covering the rest of the butter and then sealing the meeting edges. Then pinch together the two overlapping layers of the right side
of the dough and then repeat with the left side.
Turn the dough a quarter of the way clockwise, with the center seam running vertical. Using a rolling pin, form the dough into a rectangle measuring 12 x 21, having the 12 inch side parallel with the counter. If butter seeps through in the process, patch over it with flour. Fold the 21 inch length into thirds like an envelope with bottom flap up and top flap down. The dough should meet in the center and be pinched together to make a seam. Enclose the dough in plastic wrap and place on cookie sheet. Put in fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
Repeat the steps in the above paragraph 3 more times. After the last interval, place dough in fridge to chill overnight or for a minimum of 6 hours. The dough is now completed for the pastries.
Tips and notes:
1. For the butter block, bear in mind that it is better to have butter that is too cold than too soft. It is easier to work with cold butter to make it more pliable .
2. Make sure you use flour as well as a bench scraper to help keep your dough from sticking to the work surface.