Life-Changing Cheater’s Croissant Dough

Hi everyone. Today I'm going to show you how to make croissants the easy way. The recipe comes from Nigella Lawson and it's been a longtime favorite for its ease and for the rich buttery flaky pastry it produces. As you will see the dough is made in the food processor but if you do not have one check the recipe box for how to make it by hand. To make the dough blend together two and a quarter cups of flour, two teaspoons instant yeast, one and a half teaspoons kosher salt, and two tablespoons of sugar in a food processor. Metric measurements are given in the recipe. Add one cup of cold butter cut into small pieces then pulse roughly 10 times at one second intervals. Transfer the contents of the food processor to a large bowl and set it aside. In a small bowl whisk together a half cup milk, a quarter cup water, and one egg. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and using a rubber spatula mix until you have a wet sticky dough ball. Cover the bowl and transfer it to the fridge for at least two hours and for as long as four days. When you are ready to proceed turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two roughly equal portions. I like to use my scale to portion the dough to ensure that each piece is the same which is roughly 384 grams. Pat each portion into a rough square or rectangle then set one aside while you begin working with the other one. Using flour as needed to prevent sticking on both your work surface and your rolling pin begin rolling the dough into roughly a 10 to 11 inch square. This first set of rolls tends to be the trickiest because the dough with its large pieces of butter is still quite fragile. Once your dough is rolled out you're going to fold it envelope style. Start by folding the top third down, then the bottom third up, then the right third to the left, and the left third to the right. Your first set is complete. You are now going to repeat this process three more times. As you can see with this second set I was able to roll the dough out into a slightly larger square. Just know that whether the square is slightly larger or slightly smaller than what you are seeing here is just fine. If you ever find the dough hard to roll out or that it is resisting too much just let it rest for 10 minutes. You can stick it in the fridge while it is resting which will help the gluten relax and will make it easier to roll out when you get back to it. When you have completed your fourth set there should be little to no visible signs of butter flecking the dough. Transfer your dough to an airtight container. Repeat this process with the remaining portion of dough and stick both portions in the fridge. The dough should chill for at least 30 minutes before proceeding. You can use this dough to make cheese danishes, kouign-amann, and croissants of all kind. Today I'm going to use the dough to make classic croissants. Working with one portion at a time roll the dough into an 8 by 12 inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half vertically to create two 4 by 12 inch rectangles then cut each rectangle on the diagonal. Turn each triangle so that the flat end is closest to you then coil up each triangle. I saw this shaping technique on various YouTube videos so I decided to give it a go today though I'm not totally convinced it works any better than when I simply coil the triangle up starting at the flat end ending at the tip. The key is simply to ensure that the tip is tucked underneath so that the coil holds together as it proofs and while it bakes. Transfer the croissants to a parchment lined baking sheet and cover them with a pan to ensure they do not dry out while they proof. Let them proof at room temperature for roughly two hours or until they feel light and marshmallowy to the touch. Brush the croissants with an egg wash then bake at 400 degrees for roughly 15 minutes or until golden brown to your liking. I'm transferring this second set of croissants to the first pan purely for photographic and videographic purposes otherwise I would simply transfer them immediately to a cooling rack. Let the croissants cool briefly on a cooling rack before serving. Every time I make these I am astonished by how light and airy and just how flavorful they are. They are delicious on their own they also are delicious halved horizontally toasted up further and used as a vessel for egg sandwiches. As always I hope you love the recipe let me know if you have any questions. Bye!