Line the countertop with a large piece of wax paper. Put the chilled butter on the wax paper, and fold the end of the paper over the top. Use a rolling pin to roll the butter between the sheets of wax paper, into a 12x6-inch rectangle (30x15cm). Pound the stick a few times with the rolling pin to flatten it, then roll it out quickly into the rectangle. Try to work fast so the butter won't get too warm.


An important thing to keep in mind throughout this process is that you never want the butter to melt until you place it in the oven. Try to prevent it from ever getting warmer than room temperature. Place it back in the refrigerator when necessary.
It helps to chill your hands and kitchen equipment so you don't warm up the butter. Wash your hands with cold water, and work with cooking instruments that have been chilling in the refrigerator. Make sure your kitchen isn't too warm, too.
 Get the dough out of the fridge, and flatten it into a 14x8 inches (35x20 cm) rectangle. Place the rectangle of butter in the center of the rectangle of dough, lining it up so that it is at least a half-inch away from the edge of the dough.
 Fold up the bottom third of the dough to cover the middle third, and the top third down to cover both layers, like you'd fold a letter. Make sure the butter is evenly layered and folded up with the dough.
 Rotate the rectangle of dough 90 degrees, so that the short side of the rectangle is facing you. Roll the dough into a 14x8-inch rectangle (35x20 cm). This is the most important part of the process, and the trickiest one for most people to grasp: you're not rolling the butter into the dough. Instead, you're rolling out the dough and the butter so that the layers are ultra thin.


If the previous steps took you awhile and the butter was starting to look a little soft when you put it into the dough, consider chilling the dough for 15 to 20 minutes before rolling it out in this step. Remember, you want the butter to stay cold and in thin little layers within the dough; you don't want it to melt or become part of the dough.
 Just as you did before, fold the dough like a letter, into thirds.
 Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or wax paper, and place it in the refrigerator. Let it sit for 2 hours.
 Tap it gently with your rolling pin a few times to deflate it. Place it so that the top and bottom sides are short, and the right and left sides are long. Allow the dough to rest for 8 to 10 minutes.
 Roll out the dough into a 14x8 inches (35x20 cm) rectangle. Again, be careful not to press too hard — you don't want to crush the layers, just thin them out. Turn the dough again (folding it into thirds, like a letter). Now rotate the rectangle so that the short side is facing you. Roll it out into another 14x8-inch rectangle (35x20 cm). Fold it into thirds a final time.
 Wrap it in plastic wrap or wax paper again. Let the dough chill in the refrigerator for two more hours. You can leave it overnight if you wish, as long as you put something heavy on top to prevent it from rising.
Roll the butter.
Lay the butter on the dough.
Turn the dough.
Roll the dough.
Turn the dough again.
Chill the dough.
Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface.
Roll and turn the dough twice more.
Chill the dough.
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