How to fold the perfect pastry on National Croissant Day
We learn how to make the perfect croissant with pastry chef Grace Buesnel
Bakers across the Channel Islands are celebrating National Croissant Day.
To mark the occasion, we have been learning how to create the perfect pastry.
To fold a croissant, you first have to cut your dough into equal triangles, slicing the bottom by about an inch.
Then, grab the split dough, roll it up over itself and continue to fold - pitching the point at the end, making sure to squeeze it tight.
You can also add an egg glaze to your raw croissants to leave them with a golden glow in the oven.
How to make a croissant:
Combine flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Measure 300ml cold water into a jug, add the yeast and stir. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Shape into a ball, put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and chill for at least two hours.
Put the butter between two sheets of baking parchment. Using a rolling pin, flatten and roll it into a rectangle about 20 x 15cm. Leave wrapped in the baking parchment and put in the fridge to chill.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll into a 40 x 20cm rectangle. Place the unwrapped slab of butter in the centre of the dough, so that it covers the middle third.
Fold one side of the dough up and halfway over the butter.
Fold the other side of the dough up and over the butter in the same way, so that the two edges of the dough meet in the centre of the butter.
Fold the dough in half so that the point where the ends of the dough meet becomes the seam. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins.
Repeat the rolling, folding and chilling process twice more in the same way – rolling the pastry while it’s still folded – without adding more butter. Wrap and chill overnight.
The next day, roll the dough out on a floured surface into a large rectangle, measuring about 60 x 30cm.
Cut the dough in half lengthways so that you have two long strips, then cut each strip into six or seven triangles.
Take each triangle in turn and pull the two corners at the base to stretch and widen it.
Starting at the base of each triangle, begin to gently roll into a croissant.
Continue rolling, making sure the tip of each triangle ends up tucked under the croissant to hold in place.
Transfer the croissants to baking trays lined with baking parchment, spaced well apart. Cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise for two hours.
Heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Bake for 15-18 mins until risen and golden brown, then cool on wire racks.