Croissants

1. 1Mix the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, milk, water and the 40 g of soft butter into a shaggy dough, then knead for 5 minutes only — just to a smooth ball. Over-kneading now makes the dough fight you during rolling. Flatten to a rough square, wrap and refrigerate overnight.
2. 2Next day, put the 280 g of cold butter between two sheets of baking parchment and beat it with a rolling pin into a neat 18 cm square. It should be pliable but still cold — bendable like plasticine, not greasy. Chill while you roll the dough.
3. 3Roll the dough into a 38 cm square. Set the butter square in the middle at 45 degrees, like a diamond in a window, and fold the four corners of dough over to enclose it completely. Pinch the seams shut.
4. 4Roll out to a rectangle about 20 x 60 cm, keeping the edges square. Fold in three like a letter. That is one turn. Wrap and chill for 45 minutes.
5. 5Repeat twice more, chilling 45 minutes between each. If at any point butter breaks through the surface or the dough resists and springs back, stop and chill it for longer. Forcing it tears the layers and the butter leaks out in the oven instead of steaming them apart.
6. 6After the third turn and a final hour in the fridge, roll the dough to 40 x 30 cm and about 4 mm thick. Trim the edges square, then cut long triangles with a 10 cm base.
7. 7Stretch each triangle gently to lengthen it, then roll from the base to the tip, finishing with the tip tucked underneath. Set on lined trays with room to double.
8. 8Prove at cool room temperature, around 24°C, for 2–3 hours. They are ready when visibly puffy and wobbling like jelly if you shake the tray. Prove them anywhere warm and the butter melts out before they ever reach the oven.
9. 9Glaze carefully, avoiding the cut layers at the ends. Bake at 200°C fan for 16–18 minutes, until deeply browned — pale croissants are underbaked and taste of raw flour.

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