Sourdough Croissants
sourdough croissants
active time: 3.5 hours / total time: 24 hours
ingredients for poolish
- 200g organic all-purpose flour
- 200g water (~75°F)
- 3g active dry yeast
for leaven
- 1 tbsp mature starter
- 200g organic all-purpose flour
- 200g water (~80°F)
for dough
- 450g whole milk
- 1000g organic all-purpose flour
- 28g sea salt
- 85g cane sugar
- 7g active dry yeast
for lamination
- 400g unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup organic all-purpose flour
for egg wash
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp whole milk
method
To make poolish:
Mix flour, water, and yeast in a bowl. Let stand for 3 to 4 hours in a warm area (75 to 80°F).
To make leaven:
In a bowl, feed starter with flour and water. Let sit for 12 hours in a warm area (75 to 80°F).
Test poolish and leaven to see if they are ready to use by dropping a small amount of each in room temperature water. If they float, they are ready to use. If they sink, give more time to ferment.
To Make Dough:
Bring milk to room temperature In a large bowl, add poolish, leaven, and milk. Break up the mixture with your hands, and then add in the 1000 grams of flour, sea salt, cane sugar, and remaining yeast. Mix with hands until a shaggy dough forms and no dry flour remains. Let rest for 30 minutes.
Transfer dough to a clear container and let ferment in a warm area for an hour and a half, stretching and folding every 30 minutes. To stretch and fold - dip hand in water, taking hold of the underside of the dough on one quarter and stretching it up over the rest of the dough. Repeat this action 2 more times, rotating bowl a quarter turn for each fold.
Transfer dough into a plastic bag, flatten it into a rectangle, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
Get butter ready for lamination right before laminating the dough. Do this by cutting cold butter into cubes and placing on parchment paper, with a second piece of paper covering the butter. Pound with rolling pin to create one mass, incorporating the 1/2 cup of flour into the butter as your pound. You want to make the butter pliable, but without warming it - creating an 8x12 inch rectangle. Keep butter slab cool, but still pliable.
Take chilled dough and roll out to a 12x20 inch rectangle on a floured surface. Arrange butter slab in center of dough and fold each side of the dough over the butter, like a letter. Turn dough 90° and roll out into another 12x20 inch rectangle. Fold dough like a letter again, wrap in parchment paper, and chill for 1 hour so dough can relax. Make sure butter does not get too hard while being chilled.
Complete a second turn by rolling out dough to another 12x20 inch rectangle and folding like a letter. Repeat chilling process, and then complete a third turn. Once folded for the third time, wrap in parchment paper and chill in freezer for 1 hour. You can use now, or place in refrigerator overnight to use the next day.
To shape croissants, roll dough into an 18x24 inch rectangle, about 1/2 thick. Cut it in half to create two long rectangles, 9x24 inch each. Cut each rectangle into 6 to 8 triangles. Roll up each triangle, starting on the widest side.
Place croissants on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Cover with towel and let rise at 75 to 80°F for 2 hours. They should be slightly puffy. You can also refrigerate before the final rise and bake in the morning. Just bring let rise for 3 hours before baking.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Make egg wash by whisking egg and milk and brushing on each croissant. Sprinkle each with sea salt. Bake until croissants are golden brown and flaky, about 30 minutes. Serve warm.
