Butter Croissants

In a small bowl combine water , yeast and sugar.Stir well , cover and set aside until proofed and foamy.

In a deep mixing bowl add flour , salt mix well.Later combine the proofed yeast mixture , milk and knead into a sticky dough..

Transfer the dough on to a flat surface or platform and continue kneading for good 10 mins or until the dough is soft , paliable and not sticky anymore..

Grease a bowl with vegetable oil and place the dough in it .Brush the dough top with oil as well .

Now cover this and set aside for 2hrs until doubled in volume .

Later knock out the air , shape it into a flat disc then wrap it with a cling film and rest in the refrigerator overnight .

Next morning measure the butter and shape it into a 5 by 9 inch rectangular block .

Remove the dough from the refrigerator , unwrap and transfer on to a floured surface .

Now roll this dough into a rectangular sheet measuring 18×10 inch .Place the butter block over the upper two thirds of the dough leaving 1/4 inch border.Fold the bottom third of the dough upto the middle.

Dust the dough and surface generously and start rolling again to a 18×8 inch rectangular sheet .once rolled fold bottom third to the middle and overlap other third on it . Check out the image for reference.

Now wrap it with a cling film and refrigerate for half hour .

Later remove the dough , unwrap and repeat the rolling , folding and chilling steps two more times.

After the third time,remove the chilled dough and shape into a rectangular sheet .Place the sheet over a flour dusted baking pan and refrigerate it covered for 2 hrs to overnight depending on your convenience i kept it for 2 hrs.

Two hours later , On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to be a 16 by 8 inch rectangle. Cut into 4 rectangles, each 8 by 4 inches. Then cut each rectangle diagonally into 2 triangles. Trim edges, make a little incision in the base of the triangle, and stretch lightly into skinny long triangles. Roll up fairly tight, starting from the base with the incision and rolling forward. Stretch the ends towards each other to create a little crescent shape.

At this point, you can let the croissants rise again right away, fridge overnight and rise next day, or freeze (defrost overnight in fridge before rising).

Place the croissants on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush over tops of croissants with milk . Let the croissants rise in a warm space, until doubled and jiggly, about 1 1/2 hours. Brush another layer of milk after theyve risen.

Preheat oven to 425°F / 200°c. Bake at 425°F/ 200°cfor 10 minutes then rotate the pan and turn down the oven to 375°F/180°c and continue baking for 15 minutes until golden.

Now transfer to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before serving. Try your hardest not to eat them straight from the oven, as they need to cool for the layers to set properly.

Recipe courtesy : Rasamalaysia..