Homemade Croissants Recipe

Homemade Croissants stacked on a cooling rack.

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Step-by-step directions for making flaky croissants from scratch.

Course Baking

Cuisine French

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 20

Chilling Time 11 5

Total Time 13 25

Servings croissants

Calories 270kcal

Author Kathy Berget

Equipment

Digital Scale
French Rolling Pin
Pastry Brush
Metal Bench Scraper
Plastic Bench Scraper
Pizza Cutter
18x24 food-safe bag optional, plastic wrap also works

Ingredients

Croissant Dough (Detrempe)

255 grams all-purpose flour
25 grams granulated sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
28 grams unsalted butter
85 grams whole milk
63 grams water cool

Butter Block (Beurrage)

113 grams unsalted butter use high fat butter 82-84% fat

Egg Wash

1 egg
15 grams water 1 tablespoon
1 pinch salt

Instructions

Dough (Detrempe)

Combine all dry ingredients together in a bowl.
* The active dry yeast does not need to be activated prior to adding to the dry ingredients.
255 grams all-purpose flour, 25 grams granulated sugar, 1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
Cut butter into flour by rubbing between your fingers or by using a pastry blender.
28 grams unsalted butter
Add milk and water and combine. Use a soft bench scraper to scrape down the side of the bowl and to mix the dough.
85 grams whole milk, 63 grams water
Place shaggy dough on a lightly floured board. Knead to incorporate everything together and the ingredients are incorporated and no patches of dry flour remain. The dough should spring back when poked gently but will not be completely smooth.
Form dough into a 3x4 inch rectangle and place in a plastic bag. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours.

Butter Block (Beurrage)

Create a parchment envelope by taking a large piece of parchment paper and drawing a 5 ½ inch square in the center. Flip the paper so markings are on the outside. Fold paper on the lines.
Slice butter into thin pats. Place on parchment within the lines. It's okay to stack the butter if needed. Fold parchment around butter.
113 grams unsalted butter
Use the end of your rolling pin to tap on the butter. You are softening and shaping the butter into one pliable mass. Roll the rolling pin over the butter packet as needed. You want the butter to be cold, but pliable. You should be able to bend it without it cracking in half, but you also don't want it so soft that it's greasy and melted.
Unfold the parchment and reshape the sides with a metal bench scraper so your square is exactly 5 ½ inches on each side. Add to dough right away (next step).
Roll dough into a 6 x 12 inch rectangle. Add butter block to the lower half of the dough and fold the dough over the butter. Pinch the dough around the butter block so it is completely sealed.
Fold #1
Sprinkle counter with a bit of flour. Turn the dough so the folded edge is on the left. Keeping the folded edge on the left, reroll the dough into a 6 x 16 inches rectangle. Double check after starting to roll that the butter is still sealed inside the dough. Brush off any excess flour.
Fold the bottom third of the dough up and the top third down. This is a letter fold. Place dough in plastic bag and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Fold #2
Start with the fold on the left. Roll dough to a 6 x 16 inch rectangle. Use a sprinkle of flour if the dough becomes sticky. Fold into a letter fold (same as above). Place folded dough in plastic bag and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
Fold #3
Start with the fold on the left. Roll dough to a 6 x 16 inch rectangle. Fold into letter fold. Cover and refrigerate for 5 hours or overnight.

Shaping the Croissants

Roll dough into a large rectangle (slightly larger than 8 x 16 inches) If you have difficulty getting the dough to reach the correct size, let it rest for 1-2 minutes and then try rolling again. This helps relax the gluten.
Use a ruler and trim all the edges to an 8 x 16 inch rectangle. Trimming the edges opens up all the layers.
Cut the dough into 8 x 4 inch strips and then cut each strip in half diagonally to form triangles.
Working with one triangle at a time, gently stretch out the triangle by holding the top of the triangle with one hand and gently pulling the dough between your thumb and forefinger. The stretching helps elongate the dough, making more rolls or shoulders with the croissant. It also helps create flaky layers.
Make a small notch at the end and separate the end slightly.
Use flat hands to roll up the croissant. Start at the wide end and fold over the end then roll towards the point.
Place rolled croissant on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave space between croissants so there is room to expand.
Gently cover with plastic wrap or a large plastic bag.
Allow the croissants to rise until they are almost doubled in size. They should look puffy and feel spongy and marshmallow-like.
Combine egg, water, and a pinch of salt together to make an egg wash. Brush over the croissants. Try to avoid getting the egg wash on the edges.
1 egg, 15 grams water, 1 pinch salt
Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 20 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Video

Notes

Read through the entire recipe before beginning so you have a game plan for making croissants. Refer to the pictures above or the video for more details.

- When rolling the dough, if you get a small area of butter that is showing through, just pat the area with a floured finger to help seal the butter back into the dough.

- Don't roll beyond the end of the dough, or you will have uneven ends. Roll just to the end and stop. If the ends bulge a bit, place the rolling pin at the end and press down slightly to even it out.

- When rolling, always start in the center and roll towards one end (up), then pick up the rolling pin and come back to the center and roll towards the other end (down). Avoid a back-and-forth motion.

- Use the metal bench scraper to keep the sides crisp and straight.
- This recipe does not double well because you have to roll out a very large rectangle (38 inches). Instead, make two batches and work each batch separately.

- If your croissants brown too quickly while baking, add a sheet of foil over the top of the croissants during the final 10 minutes. Don't seal the foil, just lay it gently on the top.

Nutrition