1. Weigh out ingredients and put all except the butter in the refrigerator 12 hours prior to mixing the final croissant dough, so they are cold.

2. Leave out the butter to mix at room temperature or soften with a rolling pin just prior to mixing.

3. Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl except the room-temperature butter. Mix for 5 minutes in a stand mixer with hook attachment or by hand until dough is partially developed.

4. Incorporate softened or room-temperature butter into the dough until the dough is well developed.

5. Round the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and put in the freezer to chill. (It should become very cold, but not freeze.)

6. While the dough is chilling, soften butter for butter book and make by folding a piece of parchment paper into a square, being sure to fold the outside edges into the center so the seam of the square is in the center (roughly 6 by 6 inches). Unfold parchment paper and place butter in the center, then fold back up and with a rolling pin smooth butter out to the edges of the paper. Place in the refrigerator to chill. Remove while the butter is still pliable.

7. Remove dough from the freezer when cold but not frozen yet—ideally between 36° and 40°F.

8. Roll out dough into a long rectangle, three times the width of butter book (roughly 6 by 22 inches).

9. Remove the butter book from the parchment paper and place in the middle of the dough and, folding the two ends of dough into the middle to meet and make a seam, encase the butter inside the dough

10. With a rolling pin, roll out dough in the direction of the seam until ¼ inch thick.

11. Fold dough into thirds, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator until butter is cold again, but still pliable.

12. Repeat steps 9—11 two more times, rolling the dough out in the opposite direction each time, ending up with three tri-folds of the dough.

13. Place in the refrigerator to let rest and get cold again before continuing to use.

14. If continuing to use, when dough and butter are cold (but still pliable), roll out dough in the opposite direction of the last trifold until ⅛ inch thick.

15. Cut to desired sizes and shapes. For butter croissant, cut triangles roughly 4 inches wide at the base and 11 inches long.

16. Egg wash dough (once after shaping and once just prior to baking).

17. Let dough proof until layers of croissants are starting to split apart (roughly 1½ hours).

18. Bake at 400° for 15—20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

BUTTER BOOK

The term “butter book” refers to the step when a baker inserts a thin sheet of butter between the sheets of dough and “turns” (folds) the dough (also folding the butter) before rolling. By doing this step repeatedly, the dough is kept square with folds making “pages” or layers that resemble a book. The goal is to create a multitude of very thin layers of butter in between the thin layers of dough. This is how croissants get their flakiness.