Croissants are a breakfast favorite, but they can take days to make and are known to be one of the hardest pastries to master. Although these one-day croissants are a simplified version of the traditional form, they still provide all the buttery, flaky goodness of a croissant found at any bakery.
Dough: To start the dough, mix five cups of all-purpose flour with activated yeast. Once the yeast has been thoroughly spread, add ¾ stick of cold butter. Then, slowly add one and a half cups of cold milk, stirring the mixture as you add more milk. Once this has formed a sticky consistency, add half a cup of white sugar and a tablespoon of salt. After this, the dough is ready for kneading, which should be done until you can poke a hole into the dough and it rises back up. Add extra flour as needed if the dough is too sticky. Roll the dough into a rectangle and cover with plastic wrap, letting it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. While the dough sits, take two and a half sticks of unsalted butter and shape it into a 10 by 14-inch butter block by flattening it inside parchment paper with a rolling pin. Let this sit in the fridge for two hours.
Shaping: After the dough has rested, roll it out into a 10 by 20-inch rectangle, which will be the standard size the dough will be rolled out moving forward. Then, add the butter block that you made earlier in the center, folding the outer flaps of the dough inward. Let this rest in the fridge for two to four hours, then roll the dough back out and make sure the butter is spread evenly, trimming excess dough that isn’t covered in butter. Then, it’s time for the first fold. To create the book fold, fold both ends of the dough toward the center, then fold that in half vertically. Let this sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. After this, roll out the dough once more, and then it’s time for the final fold, the letter fold. To achieve the letter fold, fold the dough in half and layer the other half on top of this section. Let this sit in the fridge for an hour, rolling it out after. Once this is done, the dough is ready for its final shaping. Cut the dough into equal-length triangles, from top to bottom across the dough. Then, roll each triangle from the widest end to the tips. Let these sit in a dark environment for one to two hours before baking.
Baking: After resting, cover them in an egg glaze consisting of one egg, a tablespoon of sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract mixed thoroughly, and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Let them cool, and they are ready to eat.
These croissants provide a baking fix while being easy to prepare and ready for breakfast the next morning. While they may not be fresh from a bakery, these croissants are indistinguishable and are just as delicious.
