Ingredients

• 500g flour

• 120ml whole milk

• 3 eggs

• 150g butter

• 60g sugar

• 8g salt

• 6g baker’s dry yeast

Further Improvements

• Active dry yeast must be rehydrated. Added straight into the flour, it gave a slow rise and a yeasty taste. If it doesn’t foam, it’s dead.

• Keep the milk at 35°C or below, hot milk weakens the yeast and melts the butter.

• Keep the dough below 26°C while adding the butter. If it gets warm or greasy, chill the bowl for 15 minutes.

• Don’t add leftover egg whites to the dough, they make the crumb dry and firm.

• For more flavour, use 3g yeast, a 1 hour first rise, then 10-14 hours in the fridge.

Directions

• Warm 25ml of the milk to 30°C. Stir in the yeast and a pinch of the sugar. Let sit 15 minutes until foamy.

• Add the rest of the milk, eggs, flour, sugar and salt. Knead 8-10 minutes until smooth and very elastic.

• Add the butter a few cubes at a time while kneading, until the dough is glossy and passes the windowpane test.

• Cover and let rise until doubled, 1-1.5 hours, in the switched-off oven with a bowl of boiling water.

• Press the dough down, flatten it into a rectangle, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.