Golden Croissants

Golden Croissants
Courtesy of Rachel of Washington

Note: It is important not to halve this recipe. If you only want half of what you bake, bring some to share with your friends of family.

1-1/2 cups whole milk, heated until warm (105°-110°)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (two 1/4 oz packages)
4-1/2 to 4-3/4 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups (3/4 pounds) unsalted butter

To make the dough: Stir together warm milk, brown sugar, and yeast in a bowl and let stand for 5 minutes until foamy. (If the mixture doesn't foam then you must start again, try buying new yeast). Add Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix and salt to yeast mixture and mix with a hand mixer or with a dough hook in a stand mixer on low speed for about 7 minutes.

Transfer dough to a work surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes, adding more Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix as necessary to help keep the dough from sticking. Form dough into a 1-1/2 inch thick rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic, for 1 hour.

Prepare and shape butter: Arrange sticks of butter horizontally, their sides touching, on a piece of plastic wrap. Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften slightly (butter should be malleable but still cold). Roll out butter until it forms an 8-inch by 5-inch rectangle. Chill, wrapped in plastic wrap and a kitchen towel while rolling out the dough.

Roll out dough: Unwrap chilled dough and roll out onto a lightly floured surface, dusting with Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix as necessary, into a 16-inch by 10-inch rectangle (the dimensions do not have to be perfect). Arrange the dough with a short side nearest you. Place the butter in the center of the dough so that the long sides of the butter are parallel to the short sides of the dough. Fold the dough with the bottom third up over the butter, then the top third down over the dough. Turn dough so a short side is facing you, then flatten dough slightly by pressing down horizontally with rolling pin across dough at regular intervals. Roll out the dough into a 15-inch by 10-inch rectangle. Be careful not to let any butter poke through the dough. Try to patch any holes with excess pieces of dough or pat Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix on top of butter to cover.

Note: If the butter seems to be breaking into pieces beneath the dough rather than remaining solid, allow the dough/butter to warm a few minutes. If the butter becomes too soft, oozes while making folds or rolling, put the dough back in the refrigerator for several minutes.

After rolling dough fold the two short ends into the center and then close, like closing a book. Wrap the dough in a kitchen towel (don't use a terry cloth) or in plastic wrap. Place dough in the refrigerator to chill for 1 to 2 hours. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out into a 10-inch by 15-inch rectangle. Fold dough into thirds, as like a letter, dusting with Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix as necessary. Roll dough out again and fold short ends of dough into the center and close. Wrap dough and replace in refrigerator to chill for 1 to 2 hours. Repeat step 7 one more time and then leave wrapped dough for 6-18 hours, or overnight (8 hours is the best amount of time).

Cut and shape dough: Roll out dough one last time into a 10-inch by 38-inch rectangle, until 1/4-inch thick. Making the dough 1/4-inch thick is crucial as it will determine the texture of the croissants. Trim irregularities to make the strip uniform in width. Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut the strip lengthwise to make two 5-inch pieces. Cut each strip into individual triangles. Roll each triangle into the traditional croissant shape by rolling the triangle from the bottom to the point. Make the rolls slightly loose so that the dough has room to rise. Place the croissants on a baking sheet and allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours. Bake in a preheated the oven at 425° for 20-23 minutes. Start watching croissant after 15 minutes as the butter can cause them to burn quickly. Allow croissants to cool on a rack before serving.