Croissants

Steps

1. 1
   Mix the flour, sugar, salt and yeast, add the water, milk and soft butter and knead for 5 minutes into a smooth, fairly firm dough. Flatten it into a rectangle, wrap and chill overnight.
2. 2
   Beat the cold butter between two sheets of baking paper with a rolling pin into a 19 cm square, 1 cm thick. Chill until firm but still pliable.
3. 3
   Roll the dough into a rectangle twice the size of the butter, lay the butter on one half, fold the dough over and pinch the edges so the butter is fully enclosed.
4. 4
   Roll it out into a strip about 60 × 20 cm, fold it in three like a letter and chill for 30 minutes. That is the first turn.
5. 5
   Give the dough two more turns the same way, starting each with the open ends facing you and chilling for 30 minutes in between. If the butter breaks through or feels soft, chill longer: warm butter melts into the dough and the layers vanish.
6. 6
   Roll the dough into a 25 × 50 cm rectangle, 4 mm thick, and cut it into long triangles with a 10 cm base.
7. 7
   Make a 1 cm cut in the middle of each base, then roll each triangle up from the base towards the tip without pressing, and set them tip-side down on lined trays.
8. 8
   Cover loosely and prove somewhere warm, but no hotter than 26°C, for 2–2½ hours, until doubled and wobbly when the tray is shaken.
9. 9
   Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Brush the croissants gently with beaten egg, avoiding the cut edges.
10. 10
    Bake for 15–18 minutes until deep golden brown, then cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes so the inside sets.