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Title: Croissants Part 2
Categories: Breads
Yield: 8 servings

DIRECTIONS CONTINUE

You're going to enclose the butter block in the dough and roll them
out together. To ensure they do so evenly, they should have the same
firmness, with the dough being slightly colder than the butter. The
butter should be chilled but able to bend without breaking. If it
feels stiff or brittle, let sit at room temperature for a few
minutes. Unwrap the butter just so the top is exposed, then use the
parchment paper to carefully invert the block in the center of the
dough rectangle, ensuring all sides are parallel. Press the butter
gently into the dough and peel off the parchment paper. You should
have a block of butter with overhanging dough on two opposite sides
and a thin border of dough along the other two.

Grasp the overhanging dough on one side and bring it over the butter
toward the center, then repeat with the other side of the dough,
enclosing the butter. You don’t need the dough to overlap, but you
want the two sides to meet, so stretch it if necessary, and pinch the
dough together along all seams so no butter peeks out anywhere. Lift
the whole block and dust a bit of flour underneath, then rotate the
dough 90 degrees, so the center seam is oriented vertically.

Orient the rolling pin perpendicular to the seam and lightly beat the
dough all along the surface to lengthen and flatten. Roll out the
dough lengthwise along the seam into a 24" long, 1/4" thick narrow
slab, lightly dusting underneath and over top with more flour as
needed to prevent sticking. Rather than applying pressure downward,
try to push the dough toward and away from you with the pin, which
will help maintain even layers of dough and butter. Remember to
periodically lift the dough and make sure it's not sticking to the
surface, and try your best to maintain straight, parallel sides.
(It's OK if the shorter sides round a bit - you're going to trim
them.)

Use a wheel cutter or long, sharp knife to trim the shorter ends,
removing excess dough where the butter doesn't fully extend and
squaring off the corners for a very straight-edged, even rectangle of
dough. Maintaining the rectangular shape, especially at this stage,
will lead to the most consistent and even lamination. If at any point
in the process you see air bubbles in the dough while rolling, pierce
them with a cake tester or the tip of a paring knife to deflate and
proceed.

Dust any flour off the dough's surface. Grasp the short toward the
midline of the dough slab, aligning the sides. Press gently so the
dough adheres to itself. Repeat with the other side of the dough,
leaving an 1/8" gap where the ends meet in the middle. Now, fold the
entire slab in half crosswise along the gap in the center. You should
now have a rectangular packet of dough, called a "book," that’s four
layers thick. This is a "double turn," and it has now quadrupled the
number of layers of butter inside the dough.

Wrap the book tightly in the reserved plastic. If it is thicker than
about 1 1/2", or if it's lost some of its rectangularity, roll over
the plastic-wrapped dough to flatten it and reshape it. Freeze the
book for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Unwrap and
place on a lightly floured surface. Beat the dough and roll out as
before (Step 10) into another long, narrow 3/8" thick slab. It should
be nice and relaxed, and extend easily. Dust off any excess flour.

Fold the dough in thirds like a letter, bringing the top third of the
slab down and over the center third, then the bottom third up and
over. This is a "simple turn," tripling the layers. Press gently so
the layers adhere. Wrap tightly in plastic again and freeze for 15
minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, then unwrap
and place on a lightly floured surface. Beat the dough and roll out as
before, but into a 14" by 17" slab (15" by 16" for pain au chocolat or
ham and cheese croissants). The dough will start to spring back, but
try to get it as close to those dimensions as possible. Brush off any
excess flour, wrap tightly in plastic, and slide onto a baking sheet
or cutting board. Freeze for 20 minutes, then chill overnight (8 to
12 hours). If making pain au chocolat or ham and cheese croissants,
see recipes.

Four and a half hours before serving, arrange racks in the upper and
lower thirds of the oven. Bring a skillet of water to a simmer over
medium-high heat. Transfer the skillet to the floor of the oven and
close the door. (The steam released inside the oven will create an
ideal proofing environment.)

As the steam releases in the oven, line two rimmed baking sheets with
parchment paper and set aside. Let the dough sit at room temperature
for about 5 minutes. Unwrap (save the plastic for proofing), place on
a very lightly floured surface, and, if necessary, roll out to 17" by
14". Very thoroughly dust off any excess flour with a pastry brush.
Use a wheel cutter or long knife and ruler to cut the shorter sides,
trimming any irregular edges where not all the layers of dough fully
extend and creating a rectangle that's exactly 16" long, then cut
into four 4" X 14" rectangles.

CONTINUED TO PART 3 (Shades of Stan Frankenthaler)

By: Claire Saffitz

Yield: 8 croissants

RECIPE FROM: https://cooking.nytimes.com

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