Sprinkle two tablespoons flour over butter and blend it together on a work surface or in a mixing bowl with your hands. Transfer butter on length of a parchment paper or foil and pat it in a 6 inch square. Fold the foil or paper to form a packet and refrigerate for 2 hours or until chilled.

In a small bowl, combine yeast in lukewarm water with sugar and set aside for 10 minutes, until frothy.

Meanwhile, warm heavy cream and milk to lukewarm in a pot.

In another bowl, mix 2 cups flour with salt. Add yeast and cream mix to the flour and stir well.

Now, the dough should have a batter like consistency.

Stir in 2 cups remaining flour, ¼ cup at a time to form a soft dough. Make sure the dough is not sticky.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough, until smooth, for 5 minutes.

Now, place the dough into a bowl and cover it with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 60 minutes.

To start with rolling and folding procedure, both dough and butter should be at room temperature. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and then roll it in 10 inches square. Set the butter block on the dough. Bring every point of dough in centre of butter square, edges of dough should overlap. Pinch to seal the edges.

Beginning from centre of square and working outwards, use rolling pin for rolling the dough in a rectangle. Butter should be pliable enough to roll out smoothly.

Wrap dough in a plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes before proceeding. Shape the dough into a big rectangle, about 8 by 18 inch.

Now, fold length of the dough into thirds as a business letter.

You can continue to make another fold, if the dough is cool enough. Otherwise, wrap the dough in the same plastic and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Remove dough from refrigerator and allow it to come back at room temperature for 10 minutes prior to you start rolling it again.

Position dough such that open ends are at 6 and 12 o’ clock. Shape the dough in a rectangle again, working out from centre of dough and the pressing outwards. Relocate the dough as needed to fit on the work surface. Make a long rectangle and fold both the ends of dough in the middle, ends do not need to touch, but they should be close.

Next, fold the folded dough into half to make it look like a thick book. Take a plastic, wrap the dough and refrigerate for another hour.

Take the dough out from the refrigerator and allow it to rest for 20 minutes at room temperature. Again roll it into a rectangle and fold into thirds, as a business letter. Wrap in a plastic and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated overnight and used the next day.

To make the croissants, roll dough into 10 by 38 inches rectangle on a floured work surface. This must be ¼ inch in thickness. Use a sharp knife to trim the dough’s edges. Divide this rectangle into half to obtain two 5-inches wide strips of the dough.

Use clean yardstick so as to mark every strip into a triangle of 5 inch width at their base.

Cut triangles and put them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Chill them for about 20 minutes, if needed.

Beginning at the triangle’s base, roll dough in a log, tip of triangle must be under the croissants body to avoid it from unravelling.

Now, bend in corners to form a traditional crescent shape. Repeat the same with the remaining triangles.

Place croissants on a parchment lined baking sheet and let them rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

Beat 1 egg with 1 tbsp water to prepare the egg wash.

Now, brush the croissants using egg wash and bake them in the pre-heated oven until they are deep brown, for 20–30 minutes. Cool them on a rack and then serve.

Note: If you like, you can use fresh yeast in place of active dry yeast.