Croissants

Rich, somewhat troublesome, but unequaled by any other form of roll. Good luck! I'm tired just typing the recipe!

Ingredients

• Scald:
• 7/8 cup milk
• Stir into it until melted and dissolved:
• 1 tablespoon lard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Cool these ingredients until they are lukewarm. Add:
• 1 cake yeast dissolved in 1/3 cup lukewarm water
• Stir in or knead in to make a soft dough about:
• 2 1/2 cups sifted bread flour

Directions

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl. Cover it with a cloth. Permit it to rise until it has doubled in bulk (for about 1 1/2 hours). Cover the dough with a lid and place it in the refrigerator until it is thoroughly chilled. Roll out the dough into an oblong 1/4 inch thick . Beat until creamy: 1 cup butter. Dot the dough with 1/4 cup of the butter. Fold the right end over the center, then fold the left end over the center, so that the dough is in three layers. Swing the dough around--bring the right end to the bottom, or as in bridge problems, the East to the South. Roll the dough again to the thickness of 1/4 inch. Dot it with a 1/4 cup of butter and fold it as before. Do this twice again, so that you have rolled the dough, dotted it with butter and folded it and swung it around four times in all. Cover it and chill it for 2 hours or more. Roll it again on a slightly floured surface, to the thickness of 1/4 inch.

Cut the dough into 3 inch squares. Cut the squares on the bias. Roll the triangular pieces beginning with the wide side and stretching it slightly as you roll. Shape the rolls into crescents. Place the crescents on a tin. Chill them for 1/2 hour. Bake them for 10 minutes in a hot oven 450 degrees. Reduce the heat to a moderate oven 350 degrees and bake them until they are done(for about 10 minutes longer).

Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: The Joy Of Cooking
Submitted By: Linda Wilson
lwilson@mail.heritage.com
Croissants