DAY ONE

Remove the butter from the fridge to allow it to become pliable while you make the dough.

* Croissants require European butter which is 84% fat. Regular butter, which has a lower fat content, will not work as the butter will melt quickly during baking and the dough will not bake and laminate correctly.

Place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer and give it a quick mix together. Attach the dough hook. Add in the milk and water and mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Increase to medium speed and mix for a further 7 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Press the dough down gently to form a rectangle shape. Wrap the tray with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.

Next make the butter block. Fold a sheet of parchment paper to 20cm x 40cm and place the butter on the paper. Put another piece of parchment on top and use a rolling pin to roll the butter into a thin layer to 20cm x 40cm.

Wrap up the butter block and place in the fridge overnight.

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DAY TWO

Dust the bench lightly with flour. Place the dough onto the bench and roll to 40cm x 40cm in size, keeping as much of a square shape as possible. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Remove the butter block from the fridge at the 15-minute mark.

Take the dough out of the fridge and lay on the bench (roll out again if it is has shrunk during resting) to 40cm x 40cm size.

Remove the butter block from the parchment and place in the middle of the dough.

Fold the left and right sides of the dough over the butter to encase it and press down gently on the join with a rolling pin to seal it.

With the seam facing up, running down the middle of the dough, extend the dough to 60cm. Do not extend the width, only extend the length from 40cm to 60cm. Perform the first letter fold.

Imaging the dough in thirds, fold A in the right direction to end on top of B. Then fold C in the left direction to end on top of A.

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Wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes to retard fermentation.

After 20 minutes, remove the dough from the freezer and roll to 60cm again and perform the second letter fold. Wrap the dough tightly again and put in the freezer for another 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the dough from the freezer and roll to 60cm again and perform the third letter fold. Tightly wrap the dough again and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes. This is the final period of freezing

Take the dough out of the freezer and roll it slightly larger than 60cm x 28cm. Using a sharp knife or pizza wheel, trim any rough edges so the dough is exactly 60cm x 28cm.

On the top edge of the dough, mark 10cm increments. On the bottom edge, mark 10cm increments, offset by 5cm from the start.

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Using a ruler, score the dough with the knife or pizza wheel to join the 5cm and 10cm increments. You will have 11 full triangles and 2 half triangles on the ends.

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Gently stretch each triangle to elongate and relax it, then make a small cut in the base of the triangle 1cm long.

Place the triangle on the table and roll, spread the base edges apart a little and then roll the croissant up tightly and evenly. Tuck the tip of the croissant under it and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment. Repeat with each croissant.

Make an egg wash by mixing the egg and water and strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Brush each croissant with the egg wash, making sure not to brush egg over the lamination layers.

Place a large plastic bag over the tray and proof the croissants for 2-4 hours until the croissants have doubled in size. Proofing time will vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

Preheat the oven to 392F (200C). Brush another coat of egg wash over the croissants.

Bake the croissants for 20 minutes or until golden brown then remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

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