I love a croissant. Always have, probably always will.
For some reason I had it in my head that they were hard to make.
They really aren’t that hard. But they are time consuming!
The dough is very, very soft. It feels like you should add another cup or two of flour. But you really don’t need it in the end.
Having some type of scrapper is a necessity. I don’t think you could flip the dough without the scraper.
The fun part comes when you add the butter. Every time you fold it over you can see the butter chunks in the dough.
Of course every time you roll it and fold it, the butter chunks get smaller and incorporate more into the dough.
This is what gives the croissant the flakiness. All the butter.
I wasn’t thrilled with how small the croissants were. They were quite small.
You could easily make them at least double the size.
Really, though, any size croissant is a good size! They were delicious!
Croissants
7/8 Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Lard or Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Warm Water
1 Package Active Dry Yeast
2 1/2 Cups Sifted All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Cold Butter
Scald milk. Stir in lard, sugar, and salt until melted. Cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add to milk mixture. Stir in or knead in flour to make a sticky dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface, using a pastry scraper to flip the soft dough end over end 10 times. The dough should now hold together. Place in an ungreased bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Then, cover the dough with a lid and place in the refrigerator until thoroughly chilled, at least 20 minutes. Roll or pat the dough out on a floured surface into an oblong 1/4 inch thick. Spread butter over two thirds of the the surface of the dough, leaving an unbuttered boarder 1/4 inch wide around the outside. Fold the unbuttered third over the inner third. Fold the remaining third over the doubled portion. The dough is now in three layers. Swing the layered dough a quarter turn. Roll it again into an oblong 1/4 inch thick. Fold again in thirds as before. Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour, cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 1/2 hours. Allow the unwrapped dough to rest on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes. Twice again roll into a rectangle and fold into three layers. Roll a final time into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into 3 inch squares. Cut each square on the diagonal to form a triangle. Roll the triangle pieces, beginning with the wide side and stretching them slightly as you roll. Shape the rolls into crescents. Place them on a baking sheet. Chill for 1/2 hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake an addition 10 to 15 minutes.
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