Homemade Croissants

**Make the yeast dough** 1. In a pot, warm the soy milk to about 104 °F (40 °C) and pour it into a small bowl. Add the sugar and the yeast and stir to dissolve. Then set aside for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture starts to foam. (That way you’ll know the yeast is working). 2. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Form a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture and water. Mix with a wooden spoon until everything comes together. Then transfer to a work surface and knead with your hands for about 5-8 minutes until a smooth dough forms (or use a food processor with the dough hooks attached). 3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it with a damp tea towel, and let rise for about 60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size. Then place the dough in the refrigerator overnight so you can continue the next day. (Important: cover with plastic wrap or a lid, otherwise the dough may stick to the tea towel as it will rise even more in the fridge!). **Prepare the butter square** 4. Cut the butter in even slices and arrange it on a piece of parchment paper or cling foil. Then fold the parchment paper or foil around the butter to create a 6.5 x 6.5-inch square. Flip it so the edges are tucked underneath. Using a rolling pin, carefully spread it around evenly until all the corners are filled. Then place in the refrigerator overnight too. **Wrap in the butter** 5. The next day, take the dough and the butter out of the refrigerator and unwrap (if the butter is very hard, leave it at room temperature for a while and allow it to soften slightly). 6. Lightly sprinkle your work surface with flour and roll out the dough into a 15.5 x 8-inches (40 x 20 cm) rectangle. Place the butter square on one side of the dough and encase it by folding the other side over and pressing the sides down to completely seal. (During each process, please always brush away excess flour before folding the dough, otherwise, it won't hold together!). **First tour** 7. Roll out the dough lengthwise into a 23.5 x 8-inches (60 x 20 cm) rectangle. Push down first, then roll, so that the dough does not tear as shown in the step-by-step photos. Make sure the butter does not ooze out. Fold the upper third of the dough down toward the center, then do the same on the lower third of the dough until you end up with 3 equal layers. **Second & third tour** 8. Then roll out the dough lengthwise into a 23.5 x 8-inches (60 x 20 cm) rectangle again. Push down and roll as done on the first tour. This time, fold both ends of the dough toward the center. Press the ends together and roll over the dough briefly. Then fold one end over the other like a book to make 4 layers. Wrap the dough in cling wrap or parchment paper and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or in the freezer to speed this up). 9. For the third tour, repeat this process. (I find that 3 tours are sufficient, but you can repeat the process several times to make 4 or even 6 tours. If the dough gets too warm while laminating simply wrap it up and refrigerate it, then continue. Otherwise, you run the risk of the butter combining with the dough. You can also leave the dough in the fridge overnight to make croissants the next day, or freeze it for other days). **Making croissants** 10. To make croissants, roll out the dough into a 16 x 16-inch (40 x 40 cm) square and cut in half lengthwise with a pizza cutter or sharp knife to make 2 rectangles. Cut out 6 triangles per rectangle, so that you get a total of 12 triangles (if you want to make larger croissants, you can roll out the dough into just 1 large rectangle and cut 6 triangles out of it). 11. Carefully pull the triangle slightly lengthwise and cut a small slit in the middle of the wide side. Pull apart a little and roll up towards the tip. 12. Place the croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let them rise for another 30-60 minutes covered (to prevent them from drying out you can spray them with a little water or brush with dairy-free milk beforehand). 13. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 428 °F (220 °C). 14. After the resting time, brush the croissants with a little non-dairy milk again. Then put them in the preheated oven, turn the temperature down to 392 °F (200 °C) and bake for about 20 minutes, depending on their size (if they get too dark, you can reduce the temperature to 356 °F (180 °C) after 8 minutes). 15. Enjoy!