J Something Croissants

Recipe by J Something

Schedule:

Day 1:  
Make your dough and let it rest overnight
Day 2:
10:00 am - Make the butter block
10:25 am - Encase butter in dough, roll and fold
11:30 am - Second fold
12:30 am - Roll dough out to correct size for slicing and shaping. Rest in the fridge.
13:30 am - Cut dough and shape croissants. Brush with egg wash and proof.
15:30 pm - Brush again with Egg wash
15:35 pm - Bake

Method:

On day 1

1. Bloom your yeast by whisking in active dry yeast into luke warm milk. Let sit for 10 minutes or until it starts to get foamy on the top.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, add bread flour, granulated sugar and fine sea salt. Give a thorough whisk until everything is incorporated.
3. Add in your bloomed yeast mixture, 1 egg yolk and melted butter. Mix with a spatula until it begins to form a dough, then use your hands and lightly knead to have it fully come together.
4. Once the dough comes together, to give the dough a little strength; keand the dough & fold it over itself until you see a smooth surface on the dough.
5. Once done, gently shape it into a ball and place back into your medium-sized bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 10 minutes.
6. Once rested, perform “it’s first turn.” Grab an edge of the dough, gently pull and stretch it, folding it over itself and gently patting it down with the palm of your hand. Repeat this process all the way around the perimeter of the dough, until you’ve stretched all the sides. Flip the dough over and place it seam side down, covering in plastic wrap and resting it in the fridge for 10 more minutes.
7. After 10 minutes, repeat the process of “turning” for a total of two turns; being careful not to tear the dough when stretching it.
8. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap one last time and let it rest in the fridge for 25 minutes.
9. Once rested, place the finished dough on a sheet of wax paper. Roll the dough into square using a ruler 17cm x 17cm. Make sure your dough is evenly flat.
10. Once shaped, place in the fridge overnight for 12 hours.

For day 2

11. Lay out the butter on baking paper, until they’re roughly a rectangle. Fold your paper over the butter. Using a rolling pin, pound out the butter so it spreads out evenly. Roll the butter into a rectangle- this is going to be put inside the dough. Place in the fridge to chill for 15-25 minutes.
12. Lightly flour a work surface and pull your dough out of the fridge. With your rolling pin, flatten out and elongate all of the edges of your dough. Place your butter in the centre of your dough diagonally.
13. Take each edge of the dough and stretch it over the butter, encasing it. Once it is totally encased and no butter is showing, pinch and close the edges shut. Flip over seam side down.
14. Lightly flour your rolling pin and the top of your dough. Using your rolling pin, press down multiple times along the entire length of the dough, helping encase the butter. Next, roll with an even pressure and form the dough into a long rectangle.
15. Once rolled, grab the bottom of your dough - the part closest to you - and fold it ¾ of the way up the rectangle. Take the top half and fold it the remaining ¼ of the way until both ends meet evenly. Lightly pat down so they stick. Then fold the longer portion over the short portion, making an envelope shape.
16. Using your rolling pin, lightly tap down so that all of the layers are stuck together.
17. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for one hour.
18. Once rested, unwrap your dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Using your rolling pin, roll the dough in the same direction; shaping it into a wider rectangle. As before, give the dough a tap along the entire surface and roll it out with even pressure.
19. Grab the top portion of your dough and fold it ⅓ of the way down, then fold the bottom part so that it overlaps evenly on the other side.
20. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1-12 hours depending on how much time you have.
21. For the final roll, roll your dough into a wider and thicker rectangle.
22. To shape the croissants, make marks along the bottom of the dough at 3-4 cm intervals. Repeat by following in between the two marks at the top as well.
23. To cut the croissant, take a long sharp knife and make cuts following along the points you made earlier. These cuts should make 5-6 croissant triangles.
24. Take a triangle of dough and gently elongate it to make it about an inch longer. Next, roll the dough up very tightly, starting from the longer end up to the point of the triangle. Make sure to not squeeze the layers. Repeat this process with every croissant.
25. Place croissants tail side down on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Brush the tops with egg wash (one whole egg whisked together). Cover with a baking tray inverted and let proof at 25 C -30C for 2 hours. You can proof these in the lowest rack of your oven with the light turned on, leaving the door open slightly.
26. Once proofed, give another egg wash brushing and bake at 195 C for 6 minutes. Then, bake again at 165 C for 10-15 minutes or until they’re golden brown and puffy.