Croissant rolls

Day 1 (morning): Making the dough
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment (or use a hand mixer with a hook attachment, or knead the dough by hand in a large mixing bowl), add the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Mix to combine.
2. Add the milk and water and knead on low for 4 minutes until a shaggy piece of dough has formed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
3. Then, add the butter and knead on medium-low for 8 minutes or until the dough is smooth, stretchy, and not sticky to the touch.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Leave to proof for 1-1.5 hours at room temperature or until almost doubled in volume.
5. Deflate and roll out the dough on a floured surface into a 5" by 11" (13cm by 28cm) rectangle. Be as precise as possible. Wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it for 1 hour, then transfer it to the fridge for 4-12 hours.

Day 1 (evening): Butter block
1. Draw a 4 ½" by 4 ½" (12cm by 12cm) square on parchment paper using a ruler and a pencil. Arrange pieces of the butter so they approximately fill in the square. Fold the parchment paper on all sides, following the lines and enclosing the butter. Gently beat it with the rolling pin, evenly spreading and connecting the pieces.
2. Roll the butter within the envelope, gently forcing it into the corners and creating a precise square that is even in thickness. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until cold but still bendable.

Laminating
1. Place the dough onto a lightly-floured surface and position the butter block in the middle so it has thin dough borders on the left and right sides.
2. Fold the bottom and top dough overhangs towards the center of the butter block so they meet. Pinch them and the dough on the sides to seal the butter inside.
3. Rotate the slab 90 degrees left and add some flour underneath. Gently beat it with the rolling pin, elongating the dough and filling the possible space inside the slab with butter. Roll it to make it even and adjust the ends so the dough keeps a rectangular shape. The slab should be approximately 7" by 14" or 18cm by 36cm.
4. Brush off the visible white flour (do this every time before folding the dough).
5. Do the first three-fold turn, aka letter fold or simple fold: fold the bottom third over the middle third. Then, fold the top third over the bottom third that you folded previously. From the side, this fold should look like a spiral. Wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
6. Turn the dough 90 degrees left, so the exposed end of the spiral is looking to the left side before you start rolling. Roll the dough into a 7" by 14" or 18cm by 36cm slab. If any air bubbles appear on the surface, gently burst them with a toothpick and seal the dough again to prevent the butter from leaking out later down the road.
7. Perform the three-fold turn two more times with 1 hour of refrigerating time in between. In total, you should perform 3 three-fold turns.

Day 2 (morning): Shaping and baking
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Let the dough warm up for a few minutes at room temperature. Then, roll it into a 9" by 12" (23cm by 31cm) slab and cut it into six triangles and separate them.
3. Take one triangle and gently elongate it by tugging its long, pointy tail. Then tug the short tails of the triangle outwards a bit and roll the croissant from the short side of the triangle towards the tail. The croissant should be rolled tight but not to the point that the layers are squeezed.
4. Place the croissant on a baking sheet so the pointy tail is precisely under the croissant body. Gently press on top of the croissant to secure the position. Repeat with the rest triangles.

5. Cover the croissants with plastic wrap and place them in a warm, draft-free space to proof for 1.5-2 hours or until they are puffed up and jiggly if gently shaken. I proof my croissants in the oven with the lights turned on until it's time to start preheating the oven.

6. Preheat the oven to 200C (390F).
7. Brush the croissants with egg wash and bake in the middle of the oven for 15 - 17 minutes or until deep golden brown. Serve warm!