1

To prepare the puff pastry, mix together the flour, salt and sugar. Stir the yeast into the water and add it to the mixture. Knead the mixture to form a soft, elastic dough. Cover the mixing bowl and leave it to rise at room temperature for approx. 2 hours until it has increased to twice the original volume.

2

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to form a rectangle of approx. 30 x 35 cm. Cover one half of the dough with slices of butter. Fold the second half over the first half. Cover the dough and place in the refrigerator for approx. 30 minutes.

3

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to form a rectangle of approx. 40 x 20 cm. Brush off the flour. Fold both of the narrow sides into the center and then fold it in half again so that it is four layers thick. Cover and place in a refrigerator for 30 minutes. Repeat this complete procedure 2 to 3 more times. Well wrap the dough and place it in a very cool refrigerator for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

4

Cut the dough in half. Roll out each half to form a circle of approx. 35 cms diameter. Cut each half into 8 pieces (segments). Roll up each V-shaped segment to form a croissant. Lay them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover and leave for 30-40 minutes. Brush the croissants with egg yolk.

Baking

Bake for 18-20 minutes in the middle of an oven pre-heated to 200°C.

Suggestions

- Deep freeze the croissants. Place the formed croissants on a tray and deep freeze them. Place the frozen croissants in a plastic bag and return them to the freezer. To bake them, place the frozen croissants on a baking tray lined with baking paper, leave at room temperature to thaw and then bake as explained above.
- The preparation of the dough is very time consuming. Therefor it makes sense to prepare twice or three times the required number of croissants and deep freeze some of them.
- The croissants also taste great when filled with chocolate. Use either a thin chocolate finger or a single row from a bar of chocolate and wrap it inside the dough when forming the croissant. Bake the croissants as described above.

Source:

IG Dinkel, Judith Gmür-Stalder