Croissant au beurre

Mix the détrempe. Mix the flour, milk, yeast, sugar, salt and 40 g butter, then knead only until smooth and moderately elastic. Allow 12 minutes. Dough is smooth, cool and elastic but not highly developed. Keep dairy cold and use clean equipment.

Chill the dough. Flatten the dough into a 30 × 30 cm square, wrap and refrigerate. Allow 60 minutes. Temperature: 4 °C. Dough is thoroughly cold and firm but still rollable. Keep at 4 °C during the rest.

Prepare the butter block. Shape the 250 g tourage butter into a level 20 × 20 cm square between parchment sheets; keep it pliable, firm and non-greasy. Allow 10 minutes. Butter bends without cracking and does not look greasy or melted. If butter becomes greasy, chill before locking in.

Enclose the butter. Roll the chilled dough just large enough to enclose the butter square, place the butter diagonally, and seal the dough completely around it. Allow 10 minutes. No butter is exposed and the packet has even thickness. Work on a clean, lightly floured surface.

Make the first fold. Roll to about 60 × 25 cm and make the first single letter fold in thirds. Allow 8 minutes. Edges align cleanly and butter remains in distinct, unbroken layers. Brush away excess flour before folding.

Chill after the first fold. Refrigerate the folded dough. Allow 30 minutes. Temperature: 4 °C. Dough is firm and relaxed enough to roll without springing back. Keep at 4 °C.

Make the second fold. Turn the dough 90 degrees, roll again to about 60 × 25 cm, and make the second single fold. Allow 8 minutes. The sheet rolls evenly without butter smearing. Chill immediately if butter begins to soften.

Chill after the second fold. Refrigerate after the second fold. Allow 30 minutes. Temperature: 4 °C. Dough is cool and pliable. Keep at 4 °C.

Make the third fold. Roll once more and make the third single fold. Allow 8 minutes. The folded packet is square-edged with no visible butter breaks. Do not force cold, brittle butter.

Chill before shaping. Refrigerate the dough before final rolling. Allow 45 minutes. Temperature: 4 °C. Dough feels firm and relaxed. Keep at 4 °C.

Roll, cut and shape. Roll the dough to roughly 60 × 32 cm and about 3.5 mm thick, trim the edges, cut 12 triangles about 10 cm wide at the base and 25 cm long, then roll from base to tip with the tip underneath. Allow 25 minutes. Triangles are even; shaped croissants have visible layered edges and are not compressed. Return pieces to the refrigerator if the butter softens.

Proof gently. Let the shaped croissants rest for their final proof in a draft-free place. Allow 120 minutes. Temperature: 24–26 °C. Croissants are visibly expanded, layers are distinct, and the pastries wobble gently when the tray is nudged. Do not proof above 26 °C; melting butter will destroy layers.

Apply the egg wash. Mix the egg with the 15 ml milk and brush a very thin coat over the proofed croissants without flooding the cut layers. Allow 5 minutes. Surface is lightly and evenly coated, with no puddles at the base. Use clean egg-handling practices and bake immediately.

Bake in two temperature stages. Bake in a fully preheated oven at 200 °C for 8 minutes, then reduce to 180 °C and continue for 12 minutes. Allow 20 minutes. Temperature: 200 °C then 180 °C. Croissants are deeply golden, crisp outside, light for their size, and no raw dough is visible where the layers separate. Bake the raw flour and egg wash completely.

Cool on a rack. Cool the baked croissants on a wire rack before eating. Allow 20 minutes. Crust stays crisp and steam no longer condenses inside. Do not seal warm croissants in an airtight container.