2tablespoonwhole psyllium husks or 1½ tablespoon psyllium husk powder
1teaspoonfine sea salt
1teaspoonbaking powder
1tbsp plus ¾ tspfast acting (instant or bread machine) yeast
½cup (100 g)granulated sugar
1cup (240 ml)milk
6tablespoonbutter, softened
2largeeggs, beaten
EGG WASH
1largeegg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt
Instructions
FOR THE DOUGH (DETREMPE):
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Place the bowl on the stand mixer and turn it on to low while slowly adding the milk, followed by the beaten eggs and softened butter.
Turn the mixer up to medium high and knead the dough for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mound the dough in the middle of the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and place it directly in the refrigerator overnight and up to 48 hours. Alternatively, you can place the dough in a container with a well-fitting lid.
FOR THE BUTTER BLOCK (BEURRAGE):
The next day, mix the softened butter with 2 tablespoon Kim's gluten free bread flour blend in a small bowl until well combined and smooth.
Place a quart-sized baggie into a large coffee cup or wide-mouthed glass and fold the top over to hold the bag up. With a spatula, scrape the butter mixture into the baggie. Unfold the top of the baggie and seal almost all of it. Using a rolling pin, press and roll the butter inside the baggie into an even thickness spread throughout the entire baggie, up to the zipper (be careful not to push the butter out of the small opening). Push out as much air as possible and seal the rest of the baggie. Place the baggie on a flat surface in the refrigerator. This butter block is to be used with half the dough. Once you get better at making these croissants, if you want to use the entire amount of dough you'll need to double the amount of butter (1 lb of butter and 4 tablespoon flour) and place it in a gallon-sized baggie.
LAMINATING THE DOUGH and MAKING THE FIRST FOLD AND TURN
Remove half the dough** from the refrigerator and knead it on a floured surface until smooth. Roll it out into a rectangle about the size of, or smaller than, a quarter sheet pan (9 by 13 inches). Place it on a parchment-lined pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes. Remove it from the freezer, flip the dough over, cover it, and put it back in the freezer for another 10 minutes.
Remove the dough from the freezer and the butter block from the fridge. They should both be roughly the same temperature and consistency (firm but not too firm). Make sure the butter isn't too firm by running it along the edge of the counter. If it bends somewhat easily, it's perfect. If it breaks, leave it set out for about 5 minutes before using.
Using a pair of kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, cut down the sides of the ziptop baggie to expose the butter block. Set it aside while you prepare the dough.
Roll out the dough until it's about ¼-inch thick. It should be a rectangular shape that will fit the size of the butter block width wise. Place the butter block on the top two thirds of the rectangle. Fold the bottom third over the butter and press to seal the edges. Then fold the top two thirds of dough with the butter over the bottom third. Pinch and press to seal the edges and turn the dough 90 degrees.
SECOND FOLD AND TURN
Using your rolling pin, press along the dough to lengthen it. Then begin rolling out the dough until it's an even ¼-inch thick throughout (the size of the dough isn't important, just as long as it's ¼-inch thick). Make a book fold by folding the bottom third of the dough up and then folding the top ⅔rds of the dough down to meet that bottom third. Then fold the dough over once more to the bottom edge of the dough. You should have 4 layers of dough. Turn the dough 90 degrees again. The short edge should be closest to you.
THIRD FOLD AND TURN
Press and roll the dough as above into a ¼-thick rectangle. Now make a letter fold by folding the bottom third up and then the top third down. Turn the dough 90 degrees.
PREPARING THE DOUGH FOR CUTTING
Roll the dough out once more to a size that's roughly 9 by 13 inches, enough to fit on a quarter sheet pan. Place it on the sheet pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
SHAPING THE CROISSANTS
Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to a rectangle that's about 10 inches high by 12 inches wide (¼-inch thick). Trim the edges (not necessary, but definitely helps with the rise of the dough and showing the layers).
Cut notches about 4 inches apart along the bottom edge of the dough, and then cut triangles using these notches as guides. See the video and pictures for how to do this. You should end up with 6 croissants.
Cut about an inch slit in the middle of the base of each triangle using your pastry cutter. Using your thumb and forefinger, gently pull this slit apart and begin rolling the croissants up very loosely. If they're too tight, they may split open as they rise and bake.
Place the croissants at least 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.
PROOFING THE SHAPED CROISSANTS
Bring a small pot of water to a boil on the stove. Remove from the heat and place the pot in your oven on the very bottom rack or even right on the bottom of the oven.
Place the croissants on a rack in the upper third of the oven. Close the oven door and allow the croissants to slowly rise, which can take anywhere from 1 to 4 hours. Don't rush it. If the temperature of the croissants rises above 80 degrees F, the butter can leak out. When the croissants are well risen, they should be puffy and marshmallow-like, but not doubled in size. They will be noticeably larger and you may begin to see layers.
BAKING THE CROISSANTS
Place the baking sheet of fully risen croissants on another baking sheet to insulate the bottoms of the croissants. Brush the croissants gently with an egg wash consisting of one egg whisked with about a tablespoon of water and a pinch of salt.
Place the croissants in the fridge for about 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 475° F.
Take a couple of ice cubes and throw them onto the oven floor and place the croissants on the middle rack. Quickly close the oven door and set a timer for 5 minutes.
Drop the temperature down to 450° F and set a timer again for 5 minutes.
Again, drop the temperature down to 425° F and set a timer for 5 minutes.
Remove the croissants from the oven. Using an oven mitt, carefully lift up one croissant. If it feels very light, they're done. If it still feels slightly heavy, put the croissants back in the oven and drop the temperature to 375° F and bake for another 5 minutes.
Croissants are best freshly baked. See notes for storage options.
Notes
To freeze unbaked croissant dough, wrap in double layer of plastic wrap followed by foil, label, and freeze for one month. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and begin rolling out dough for cutting, shaping, and proofing. To freeze unbaked shaped croissants, place on parchment-lined baking sheet, cover lightly, and freeze until solid. Place croissants in ziptop freezer bag, removing as much air as possible and freeze for up to one month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and proof as instructed before baking. To freeze baked croissants, wrap each croissant in plastic wrap and place in ziptop freezer bag, removing as much air as possible.To reheat baked croissants, place well wrapped in foil in a 350-degree F oven for about 5-7 minutes or slice in half horizontally and toast. Freshly baked croissants will keep on the counter, well wrapped, for a couple of days. Then they begin to stale, just as any fresh bread does. **I strongly recommend against using all the dough the very FIRST time you make croissants. The small number of croissants is more manageable when just starting out. Your best bet, when first starting out, is to make two batches of 6 croissants. I recommend trying the smaller version with only half the dough first so you can get a feel for how the croissants are made. If you don’t feel like making more croissants right away, wrap the other half of the dough well in a double layer of plastic wrap and place it in a freezer baggie and put it in the freezer. It will keep in the freezer for up to one month. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before proceeding with the recipe. As you feel more comfortable and have made the croissants once or twice, then you can think about using the full amount of dough You will need to double the recipe for the butter block and use a gallon-sized bag. ***DISCLAIMER: The reason I created my own flour blends is because I could not obtain the results I wanted with flour blends that were available in stores, online, or from other gluten free bloggers. My recipes have been developed to be used with my own bread flour blend that I created after painstakingly testing for, in some cases, YEARS to develop what I believe to be a superior gluten free bread like no other. If you do not use my gluten free bread flour blend for this recipe, I cannot speak for the results you will obtain. While store bought blends may give you a satisfactory result, they may NOT give you the results intended in my recipe.