How To Make Croissants (and Pain Au Chocolat!)

"A few months ago, I announced to Erich that I was going to learn how to make croissants, and develop my own recipe for them too. To that, he responded “Are you crazy?!” Yes. Yes I am. I’m not one to back down from a challenge, even if it’s self-imposed. Having visited France and specifically Paris several years ago, I know what a great croissant is supposed to be. It should be flaky, with as many rich buttery layers as humanly possible, this beautiful pastry defying gravity itself. "