Croissants

Dough

• strong white flour500 g
• milk155 ml
• water140 ml
• caster sugar55 g
• dried yeast10 g
• salt10 g
• butter40 g

Lamination and glaze

• butter280 g
• eggs1

Dough

1. 01

   Leave the 40 g of butter out to soften. Mix the strong white flour, 140 ml of the cold milk, the cold water, the caster sugar, the dried yeast, the softened butter and the salt into a smooth, firm dough, knead briefly, flatten into a rectangle, wrap and chill overnight.

Lamination

2. 02

   Pound the 280 g of cold butter between baking paper into a flat 17 cm square. It must be cold but pliable, bending without cracking.

3. 03

   Roll the dough to a rectangle twice the size of the butter. Lay the butter in the middle and fold the dough over to enclose it completely.

4. 04

   Roll it out into a long rectangle, fold it in three like a letter. That is the first turn. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

5. 05

   Repeat twice more, chilling between each turn. Three turns give 27 layers of butter.

6. 06

   Keep the dough and butter cold throughout. If the butter softens and breaks through, stop and chill.

Shaping and baking

7. 07

   Roll the dough to about 4 mm thick and cut into long triangles.

8. 08

   Stretch each triangle slightly, cut a small notch in the base, and roll it up loosely from the base to the tip.

9. 09

   Prove at cool room temperature, no warmer than 26°C, for 2 hours until wobbly and nearly doubled. Warmer and the butter melts out. Heat the oven to 200°C for the last 20 minutes of proving.

10. 10

    Beat the egg with the remaining 1 tbsp of milk, brush it over the croissants and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until deep golden.