Croissants with Sourdough Starter

To prepare the croissants with sourdough starter, start with the dough. Pour the all-purpose flour, bread flour 1, and sourdough starter (which should be refreshed at least 4 hours before using, so it has the right strength to leaven the dough, but not more than 24 hours before) 2 into the stand mixer. Start kneading at medium/low speed with the hook, adding the water little by little 3.

When the dough is smooth and homogeneous 4, add the lightly beaten egg a little at a time 5, allowing the dough to absorb it gradually. Finally, when the egg is completely absorbed, add the sugar 6

and the salt 7. Knead for about 5 minutes until your dough is smooth and well bound 8. Transfer it to a surface, shape it into a ball 9

and place it on a tray, covering with cling film 10. Transfer to the fridge for 2 hours. Meanwhile, take the butter from the fridge and let it soften at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Place it between two sheets of parchment paper and, with the help of a rolling pin, roll it out to a thickness of 0.5-0.75 inches. You should get a butter square of about 8x8 inches 11. At this point, keep it in the parchment paper in which you rolled it out and transfer it back to the fridge to avoid it getting too warm. After the 2-hour rest, remove both the dough and butter from the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and gently roll out the dough with a rolling pin 12

until you form a square of about 12x12 inches 13. Make sure the dough is not too floured, or you will find it difficult to seal it after adding the butter. At this point, place the butter square in the center of the dough to form a diamond shape 14. Fold the edges of the dough over towards the center of the butter block 15,

bringing the edges together without overlapping and seal the ends with your fingers 16. Now stretch it lengthwise 17, ensuring it's elongated only from one side until you get a rectangle about 20 inches long 18.

Then make the first fold in thirds by bringing the top edge of the dough to 1/3 of the rectangle 19. Then lift the bottom dough and fold it over to cover the previous one 20. The first fold is done. Rotate the block, positioning it with the short fold facing you, where the folds are visible, and roll it out again 21 to always get a rectangle of the same size as before 22.

At this point, repeat the fold in thirds by always bringing one dough edge towards 1/3 of the rectangle 22 and covering with the other 23. Transfer the dough onto a tray, cover with cling film 24, and let it rest in the fridge for 20 minutes 25.

After the 20 minutes, take the dough from the fridge and give it the last fold in thirds, as done previously 25. Place it back in the tray, cover with cling film 26, and let it rest again in the fridge, this time for 2 hours. After this time, take the block and roll it out to obtain a rectangle 30 inches long and 6 inches wide, with a thickness of about 1/8-3/16 inches 27.

From this, you should obtain 15 triangles with a base of 4 inches and a height of 6 inches 28. Form the first croissant: firmly hold the base of one of the triangles with one hand and gently stretch the dough with the other hand to increase its length by 1/4. Now, roll your croissant starting from the base without pressing or squeezing too much 29. Prepare all the croissants this way 30

and place them, with the closure facing down, on a baking sheet spaced well apart 31. Cover them with cling film 32 and let them proof again at room temperature until they double, which will take about 5/6 hours 33. You need to monitor them every once in a while, as each sourdough starter has different proofing times.

Once they have risen, beat an egg yolk with some milk 34 and use it to brush the croissants 35. Bake the sourdough croissants in a preheated static oven at 390°F for about 20 minutes, in the middle rack of the oven. When the croissants are nicely golden, you can take them out 36. Let them cool at room temperature and serve them!