Sourdough Croissants Recipes

Steps:

• Levain: On day 1 at night, mix together starter, flour, and water in a large bowl. Cover with a damp kitchen towel or a large plate and let stand at room temperature 8 to 10 hours.
• Dough: On day 2 in the morning, make a sponge: Dissolve levain in warmed milk, stirring or whisking to combine. Add 300 grams flour (2 1/4 cups) and mix to combine; sponge should feel like a thick batter. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Stir sugar and salt into sponge, then add remaining 275 grams flour (2 cups); stir to combine. Knead with floured hands on a lightly floured surface about 4 minutes. Wash and lightly oil bowl and return dough to it. Cover with a large plate or a damp kitchen towel. Let stand 30 minutes.
• With dampened hands, grab underside of dough, stretch it out, and fold it back over itself. Rotate bowl one quarter-turn. Repeat 6 times. Cover with cloth and let stand 30 minutes. Repeat folding process every 30 minutes until dough feels pillowy and elastic, and has increased in volume about 50 percent-a total of 6 to 8 times, 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours. Cover and let stand 1 hour, then refrigerate 30 minutes along with butter package (see step 5; this is so they have the same temperature and a similar texture, which makes them much easier to work with).
• Butter package: During last resting of dough, combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer and beat on medium speed to combine. Transfer to a piece of parchment, top with a second piece of parchment, and roll out to a 7-by-7-inch square. Transfer to a baking sheet and refrigerate 30 minutes (when ready, package should be waxy and pliable, not rock-solid).
• Turn rested and chilled dough onto a floured surface; let stand 10 minutes. Roll out to a 10-by-10-inch square. Place butter package in center of dough. Roll corners of dough out another 5 inches. Lift one side at a time over butter package, enclosing it in dough; pinch seams to seal. Give dough a few firm knocks along its seams with side of rolling pin.
• Roll dough out to an 8-by-24-inch rectangle. Fold into thirds like a letter (bottom 8 inches of dough up, then top 8 inches down over that). Turn so seam faces side; repeat this rolling and folding process once more. (If butter starts to ooze out, put dough on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes before rolling out further.) Place folded dough on a baking sheet and refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Repeat rolling-and-folding process once more (the third turn). If time permits and you have energy, repeat one more time after another 30-minute rest in refrigerator. Roll dough out until it begins to spring back (this is just to get a jump-start on the final rolling), then transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. (It is possible to roll and shape after a shorter rest of about 4 hours, but the longer rest makes the dough easier to work with.)
• On day 3 in the morning, line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Place chilled dough on a floured surface and roll into a 23-by-16 1/2-inch rectangle. (If you find that it is springing back, or a lot of butter is oozing out, transfer to refrigerator for a few minutes. If small patches of dough break, exposing butter, sprinkle with some flour to cover and refrigerate briefly.) Trim edges straight. Starting at one short end, use a pizza or pastry wheel to cut dough in half lengthwise, so you have two 22 1/2-by-8-inch strips. (If your dough feels unwieldy, briefly refrigerate.) Cut each strip into 5 rectangles, each about 4 1/2-by-8 inches. Cut from one bottom corner to opposite top corner of each rectangle, creating two triangles.
• Arrange triangles on work surface, with shortest sides nearest you and long, pointed ends farthest from you. Gently stretch width of short ends slightly. Then roll croissants toward pointed ends, holding onto the points and gently tugging to elongate as you roll. Bend either end of croissants toward middle slightly to form crescent shapes. Place croissants on prepared baking sheets, spaced about 3 inches apart, tucking points under shaped crescents so they don't unfurl in the oven. (You should be able to fit 10 on each half sheet pan.)
• Drape with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until puffed, expanded by about 60 percent, and very soft, 2 to 3 hours. (Or, if you are shaping the night before baking, place all the croissants on a single baking sheet and refrigerate overnight, as they won't really expand much. Remove about 3 hours before you want to bake, divide them between 2 sheets, and allow to proof as above; it could take slightly longer, given that they are cold.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk together egg yolks and cream. Brush proofed croissants evenly with egg wash and bake, rotating pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through, until puffed, golden brown, and baked through, 25 to 28 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 15 minutes, then transfer directly to racks and let cool completely. (Croissants are excellent the day they're made, but if making ahead, let cool completely, then freeze in resealable plastic bags. To serve, wrap in parchment-lined foil and reheat from frozen in a 350°F oven until just heated through, about 10 minutes.)

Steps:

• Put the flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Measure 300ml cold water into a jug, add the yeast and stir. Make a well in the flour and pour in the liquid. Mix, then knead on your work surface for 10 mins. Shape into a ball, put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and chill for at least 2 hrs.
• Put the butter between 2 sheets of baking parchment. Using a rolling pin, bash and roll it into a rectangle about 20 x 15cm. Leave wrapped in the baking parchment and chill.
• Transfer the chilled dough to a floured surface and roll into a 40 x 20cm rectangle. Place the unwrapped slab of butter in the centre of the dough, so that it covers the middle third.
• Fold one side of the dough up and halfway over the butter.
• Fold the other side of the dough up and over the butter in the same way, so that the two edges of the dough meet in the centre of the butter.
• Fold the dough in half so that the point where the ends of the dough meet becomes the seam. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.
• Repeat the rolling, folding and chilling process (steps 3-6) twice more in exactly the same way - rolling the pastry while it's still folded - without adding more butter. Wrap and chill overnight.
• The next day, roll the dough out on a floured surface into a large rectangle, measuring about 60 x 30cm. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, trim the edges to neaten.
• Cut the dough in half lengthways so that you have 2 long strips, then cut each strip into 6 or 7 triangles with 2 equal sides.
• Take each triangle in turn and pull the two corners at the base to stretch and widen it.
• Starting at the base of each triangle, begin to gently roll into a croissant, being careful not to crush the dough.
• Continue rolling, making sure the tip of each triangle ends up tucked under the croissant to hold in place. If adding any fillings (see tips, below), place across the widest part of the triangle before rolling up.
• Bend the ends of the croissants inwards, then transfer to baking trays lined with baking parchment, spaced well apart. Cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise for 2 hrs, or until doubled in size.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix the beaten egg with a pinch of salt and use to generously glaze the croissants. Bake for 15-18 mins until risen and golden brown, then cool on wire racks.