1. DÉTREMPE — Combine bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in the stand mixer bowl. Add cold milk. Mix low 4 min, then medium 5–6 min until smooth and slightly tacky. Do not over-develop. 2. Shape into a flat rectangle, wrap, rest 45 min at room temperature, then chill minimum 1 hour (overnight preferred). 3. BEURRAGE — Beat 250g cold butter into a 16×16cm square at 14–16°C. It should bend without cracking. Reserve 30g butter for egg wash. 4. Enclose the butter block in the dough. Roll to ~65×22cm and perform a letter fold (fold 1). Chill 30 min. Repeat for fold 2 (chill 30 min) and fold 3. Rest minimum 1 hour before shaping. 5. SHAPE — Roll laminated dough to 4mm. Cut isosceles triangles (10cm base, 22cm height). Nick the base centre. Roll firmly from base to point. Curve into a crescent. 6. PROOF — Prove at 26°C / 75% humidity for 2–2.5 hours until jiggling visibly when the tray is shaken and layers are clearly visible. 7. Egg wash with egg beaten with a splash of milk. Bake 190°C fan for 16–18 min until deep amber. Rotate halfway. Cool on a wire rack.
Yield: 12 portions · Prep 60 min · Bake 18 min
Ingredients
500 g Bread Flour (Strong)
280 g Unsalted Butter (83%)
275 ml Full Cream Milk
50 g Caster Sugar
10 g Fine Salt
8 g Instant Dried Yeast
50 g Whole Egg (egg wash)
Method
Détrempe — Base Dough Combine 500g bread flour, 50g caster sugar, and 10g fine salt in the stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook. Add 8g instant yeast to 275ml cold full cream milk (4°C) and stir briefly. Pour the cold milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix on speed 1 for 4 minutes until a shaggy dough forms. Increase to speed 3 and mix for 5–6 minutes until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky. Do not over-mix. Shape into a 2cm-thick rectangle, wrap in cling film, and rest at room temperature for 45 minutes. Then chill for a minimum of 1 hour, ideally overnight.
Beurrage — Lamination Butter Use 250g unsalted butter (reserve 30g for egg wash). The butter must be at exactly 14–16°C. Beat the butter into a 16×16cm square of even thickness. The butter and dough must be at similar temperatures when you begin lamination.
Tourage — Three Letter Folds Roll the dough to 35×22cm, enclose the butter, and perform 3 letter folds with 30-minute rests between each. After fold 3 you have 27 alternating layers of dough and butter. Rest at least 1 hour before shaping.
Détaillage — Rolling and Shaping Roll laminated dough to an even 4mm. Cut isosceles triangles with a 10cm base and 22cm height. Nick a 1cm cut in the centre of the base. Roll each triangle firmly from base to tip. Curve the ends into a crescent with the tip underneath.
Pousse — Proofing Prove at 26°C and 75% relative humidity for 2–2.5 hours. Croissants are ready when they have grown 50–60%, layers are visible from the side, and the tray jiggles visibly. Never prove above 28°C.
Cuisson — Baking Preheat to 190°C fan. Apply two coats of egg wash, avoiding the cut layers on the sides. Bake 16–18 minutes, rotating halfway, until deep amber. Transfer to a wire rack immediately.
