Croissant Bread

Make the Dough

1. Add 1 cup milk,1 packet active dry yeast, and 3 tablespoons honey to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together and cover for 5 minutes. The mixture should foam up.
2. To the same bowl, add the softened 3 tablespoons butter, 2 cups of the 2-3 cups all-purpose flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Using the dough hook attachment, mix the ingredients until they begin to come together. Scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients.
3. Add additional flour, if needed, two tablespoons at a time, until a soft dough forms, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. The dough should pull away from the bowl of the mixer but not be too dry.
4. Once the dough has formed, knead it for 5 minutes in the mixer on medium speed or on a lightly floured surface with your hands.

Rest and Chill the Dough

1. Add the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it. Let the dough rest at room temperature for about an hour. The dough should double in size.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Once the dough has risen, dump it onto the lined baking sheet and pound it flat into a 9x14-inch rectangle.
3. Cover the dough and place it in the fridge for 20 minutes. Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge.

Laminate the Dough

1. For the first step of laminating the dough, slice the slightly softened ⅔ cup butter, into ⅛ inch-thick slices.
2. Lay half of the slices in the center ⅓ of the slab of dough, and fold one side of the center of the slab on top of the butter.
3. Lay the other half of the butter slices on top of the dough and fold the other side on top of that. You should have a butter, dough, butter layering pattern where the outside of the slab is all dough with no exposed butter.
4. Roll this slab out into another 9x14-inch rectangle. Fold it again one side over the center and the remaining side on top of that, like a letter fold. Roll it into another 9x14 inch slab, place it back on the pan, cover and place it back in the fridge for another 20 minutes.
5. After 20 minutes, take the dough out and off the pan, do a tri-letter fold on it again, and roll it back into a 9x14-inch slab. Do the tri-fold one more time and roll it back into a 9x14-inch slab.

Shape and Rise the Dough

1. Now, working from the short side, roll the dough into a log about 9 inches in length.
2. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and place the loaf into the pan. Cover the loaf and let it rest at room temperature to rise. While the loaf is rising, preheat an oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Score and Bake

1. When the loaf has risen to just above the height of the pan, score it horizontally a few times with a knife. Make the egg wash by whisking together 1 egg and 2 tablespoons milk, and brush the egg wash on the top of the loaf.
2. Bake the loaf for 10 minutes, uncovered. Lightly place foil over the top to keep it from getting too dark. Continue baking for 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the internal temprature reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Take the loaf out of the oven and let it rest in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan to finish cooling.