Croissants

Instructions

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add butter, salt, flour, sugar, and yeast in that order. With a dough hook attachment, stir the mixture for 1 minute on a low- medium speed. With the mixer running, add the cold milk in a slow, but steady, stream. Once the milk has been added, bump the speed up to a medium- high speed and knead for 5- 7 minutes. Hold onto your mixer so that it doesn't fall off your counter! The dough is done when it pulls away from the bowl and doesn't stick to your fingers when you poke it. Lightly flour a silicone baking mat or parchment paper on a baking sheet. Use your lightly floured hands to shape the dough into a ball and place on the prepared sheet. Gently flatten the dough a bit and cover with cling wrap. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes, no more. Take the baking sheet out of the fridge. Pull the silicone mat (or parchment paper) onto the counter where you will be rolling a shaping the dough. Lift up the dough, using a bench scraper if it is too sticky, and lightly flour the surface. Roll and shape the dough into a 10x14 inch rectangle. The dough will resist this shape, so stop regularly and use your hands to shape the edges into sharp corners. Transfer the silicone mat (or parchment paper) back onto the baking sheet and cover the dough with cling wrap. Chill for 4 hours, or overnight.

2. Begin this step 30 minutes before you are ready to take the dough out of the fridge. Place the butter and flour in the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on low until thoroughly combined. Dump the butter mixture onto a silicone baking mat or parchment paper on a baking sheet and use an offset spatula to shape it into a 7x10 inch rectangle. Be precise! If using parchment paper, draw the shape on the reverse side to make this super easy. Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes, no more.

3. Remove the dough and butter slab from the fridge. The butter should be firm, but pliable. If it is too hard, let it rest on the counter for a 2- 5 minutes, but leave the dough in the fridge. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Place the butter slab on the dough, lining it up to fit precisely in the center. If the butter is too wide, trim the edges and place the trimming in the center of the butter. Fold the top of the dough down and the bottom up and over the butter. Seal this seam and the edges. The butter should be completely enclosed in dough. Make sure the dough is not sticking to the counter at this point. Add more flour underneath and around the work area if necessary. Roll the dough to a 10x20 inch rectangle. The butter will be thick and cold, so this will require some elbow grease. Use the rolling pin to beat down the butter/ dough and then roll out. Again, use your hands regularly to get sharp edges and corners. Once you have the right size, brush away the excess flour and fold the top third of the dough down and the bottom third up, like folding a business letter. Turn the dough 90°. That's the first turn. Transfer the dough back to the lightly floured silicone mat (or parchment paper) on a baking sheet and cover with cling wrap. Place baking sheet in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes, no more. Take your baking sheet out of the fridge and invert the dough onto your lightly floured counter with the short end facing you with the seam side down. Roll the dough out to another 10x20 inch rectangle. Regularly use your hands to get sharp edges and corners and make sure the dough is not sticking to the counter. Once you have the right dimensions, brush off the excess flour. Fold the top third down and the bottom third up. Rotate 90° and transfer to the lightly floured baking sheet (or parchment paper) on a baking sheet. That's the second turn. Cover in cling wrap and chill for 30 minutes, no more. Repeat the previous step to complete the third turn. Cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge. Chill for 4 hours, or overnight.

4. Take the dough out of the fridge and transfer to a lightly floured counter. Roll the dough to an 8x20 inch rectangle, making sure the dough is not sticking. Use your hands to get sharp edges and corners. With a pizza cutter, slice the dough in half horizontally, then cut each half into 4 equal squares. You will end up with a total of 8 equal squares. Work with one square at a time, placing the rest in the fridge on a baking sheet.

5. To make a classic croissant, cut one of the squares diagonally, giving you two triangles. Gently press and roll the dough into an 8 inch V shaped triangle. Cut a slit, about 1 inch long, in the base of the dough and roll it up. Place the croissant on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Turn the ends of the croissant in, creating a crescent shape.

6. Slice a square down the center to create two rectangles. Gently roll and pull the dough to be a 4x8 inch rectangle. Place some chopped chocolate on the short end near you and roll it up. Place the croissant on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.