Croissant

You should prepare this recipe the night before

With a spoon, cream together the butter or margarine and flour until smooth

Spread it over a sheet of parchment paper or silicone mat, to form a rectangle of 30 x 15 cm

Put it in the refrigerator

Heat the milk

Mix in the sugar and salt

Add the lukewarm water and mix well with a spoon

Add the 3 1/2 cups of flour and mix until smooth with a wooden spoon

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth

Let it rest in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in volume

Put it back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes

With a rolling pin lightly dusted with flour, roll out the dough to form a square of 35 cm

Remove the butter from the refrigerator and flip it over onto half of the dough square

Remove the parchment paper

Fold the other half of the dough over the butter, pressing the edges together to seal

With the rolling pin, roll out the dough to form a strip of 50 x 20 cm

Fold the strip in three, starting from the narrow end

Closer the edges tightly

Wrap in parchment paper and put it back in the refrigerator for 1 hour

Open it up again to form a strip of 50 x 20 cm

Fold it in three again, starting from the narrow end

Put it back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes and repeat the process of opening and folding the dough

Leave it in the refrigerator overnight

The next day, open and fold the dough one more time

Put it back in the refrigerator for another hour

Divide the dough into 4 pieces

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into circles of 30 cm diameter

Cut each circle into 6 slices

Roll up each slice, starting from the longer end

Bend the ends inward to form half-moons

Place the croissants in an ungreased baking sheet with the central point facing inwards, leaving about 5 cm between each one

Cover the baking sheet with a cloth and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour

Heat the oven to a hot temperature (200º)

Baste each croissant with the egg beaten mixed with milk

Bake for 10 minutes

Reduce the heat to moderate (180º) and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the croissants are puffed and golden brown

Let it cool for about 10 minutes before serving

You will have 24 croissants.