Homemade Croissants Recipe

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This flaky, buttery French pastry is known as 'Croissants de Boulanger'. It is a yeast-based dough laminated with layers of butter then shaped to create this distinct croissant shape. Today, I will show you my simple and easy method to make homemade croissants from scratch.

Have you ever tried making croissants? It's time consuming and not an easy pastry to make. They are not difficult, but they do have quite a few steps, which can be discouraging for home bakers.

Personally, croissants hated me for a long time before I finally felt I could make them confidently. They would either turn out too dark, or I'd have a pool of butter on my baking tray. And, if they had a good color on the outside they'd still be underdone inside. Has any of this happened to you? Well, then you've come to the right place. Today, I am going to teach you how to make perfect homemade croissants every single time. With step-by-step progress pictures as well as a video tutorial.

About this recipe

This is a home baker's recipe and if you have never made croissants before, I highly recommend you start with this dough. It's a very forgiving dough that's easy to knead with a stand mixer or by hand. There are two main components to this dough:

• The dough - this is simple yeast-based dough with a small amount of butter and sugar.
• Butter block - this is lots of butter, which we cream with a little flour and then laminate between the dough. The purpose of the flour in the butter is to help stabilize it. Most professionals often skip the flour, but I recommend you use it.

The process and timeline for making these homemade croissants are fairly simple as well. Here's my guide for you to use.

• Make and chill the dough - 10 + 30 mins
• Make and chill the butter block - 10 + 20 minutes
• Laminate the dough - 5 minutes
• First fold then chill the dough - 30 minutes
• Second fold then chill the dough - 30 minutes
• Third fold then chill the dough - 60 minutes up to 48 hours
• Shape the croissants - 10 minutes
• Proof croissant - 60 minutes
• Chill croissants - 30 minutes
• Bake - 25 minutes

The secret to making perfect homemade croissants

From my trials and errors over the years I've learned a few important lessons to making croissants.

• Ensure the dough is soft - this makes it easier to roll. A stiff dough means you have to work hard to roll it later.
• Chill the butter block for only 20 minutes - this means when laminated it will spread between the layers and not break into pieces.
• Chill the dough between folds, but don't over chill. It takes longer to thaw the butter between the layers.
• After the third fold, I let the dough rest overnight. This is not just because I want to give myself a break, but it also lets the dough rest well. This is the time you can over-chill and it will still be ok.
• When rolling the dough for croissants, do not roll too thin. Croissants are all about those layers.
• Commercially made croissants are proofed at room temperature then baked. I like to chill for 30 minutes while my oven is preheating. This helps keep those layers intact.
• Ensure your oven is preheated for at least 20 minutes before you put the croissants in. Otherwise, the butter will melt and your croissants will be swimming in a pool of butter.
• Commercially made croissants are brushed with an egg wash made of egg yolks and milk. I find that for my home oven a beaten whole egg works best and prevents overbrowing. This may be different for different ovens.

Ingredients and substitutes

• All-purpose flour - Yes, plain all-purpose flour works perfectly with these croissants. Don't use bread flour and definitely do not use self-raising flour.
• Sugar - Croissants are not very sweet but it is considered a sweet dough. You can definitely reduce the sugar by half.
• Liquid - I prefer a combination of milk and water. I think this works better for our home-based ovens. I find the sugar in the milk tends to brown too much when I use all milk. So, I replaced some of the milk with water. You can certainly use all milk as well.
• Yeast - I am using instant dry yeast today, but you can certainly use other variety of yeast including fresh yeast. You can read all about yeast and their substitutes here - baking with yeast a beginner's guide.
• Butter - The best butter to use is European butter. The reason for that is that good European butter has a high-fat content. High-fat means less moisture, which can cause the butter to melt and create steam in the croissants when baking.

Step by step instructions (pin)

Dough

• In the bowl of the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine water, milk, and yeast. Add the sugar - combine well.
  Tip - you can let the yeast mixture sit for 3 to 5 minutes to foam up. But, not all varieties of yeast need to be activated.
• Add salt to the flour, then add the flour to the mixer bowl (see video).
  Tip - It is best to add salt directly to the yeast mixture as it slows the process of fermentation so we add it to the flour.
• Combine on medium-high speed until all flour is incorporated. You may or may not knead the extra flour for kneading.
  Tip - a good indication that you have enough flour is that the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Avoid adding too much four as it will make the dough stiff resulting in dense croissants
• Knead on medium speed for 2 minutes, until you have a fairly smooth elastic dough.

• Next, add the room temperature butter, one cube at a time. Once all the butter is in knead for two minutes more.
  Tip - the dough should be soft, smooth, and elastic. Don't over knead as we will still be laminating and rolling the dough a few more times.
• Remove the dough from the stand mixer and shape into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Butter block

• In the same stand mixer with the paddle attachment (no need to clean the mixer), add the butter.
• Cream for 30 seconds then, add the flour and cream 30 seconds more
  Tip - cream the butter ensures there are no lumps. But, don't over mix we want the but at room temperature not melted
• Butter template - Use an 8-inch square baking pan or a rule to measure the parchment paper. Fold it so you have an 8-inch square guide (see video).Tip - You can also line the 8-inch square baking pan with plastic wrap and create an 8-inch square block of butter.
• Transfer butter onto the parchment paper. Use an off-set spatula to spread the butter to an 8-inch square using the guide you created.
• Fold the paper over the butter - into an 8-inch square. Then, use the rolling pin to spread the butter into the corners. (see video)
  Tip - if the butter block is not a proper square you will have gaps in your lamination.
• Place in the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes.

Laminate the dough

• Remove the dough from the fridge onto a lightly floured surface.
• Roll to a 12 x 12-inch square.
• Place the chilled butter block diagonally on the square. Then, fold the dough over - seal the edges well (see video).
• Now, roll in one direction so you have a long 10 x 20-inch rectangle. Dust off excess flour as you go.

• First fold - Fold the dough lengthways into thirds like a business letter (see video). Wrap and place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
• Second fold - Roll the dough lengthways again with the short side facing you - (see video) to about 10 x 20-inch long again. Fold the dough into thirds again like a business letter (see video). Place in the fridge for 30 minutes if necessary.
• Third fold - roll the dough again lengthways with the short side facing you to about 10 x 20-inches long. Fold the dough one last time into thirds again like a business letter (see video).
• Chill in the fridge for an hour or until well chilled. This can be chilled for up to 24 hours.

Shape the dough

• Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface to 6 x 12-inches. Divide into 2. Place one in the fridge while you work on the second one.
  Tip - do not use too much flour when rolling and keep a dry brush to dust off excess flour.
• Roll the dough into a long rectangle about 10 x 19-inches (we actually need 9 x 18-inches the extra is to cut edges).
  Tip - I always roll a bit extra so I can trim off the edges. This will open the edges and the layers will open during baking.

• Cut the edges on all sides, making sure that you have a 9 x 18-inch rectangle (see video).
  Tip - if you find that the dough is shrinking it means the gluten needs to relax. Let it rest on the counter for 10 minutes or in the fridge.
• Mark at every 4-inch so you have 4 x 9-inch rectangles. (see video)Tip - A standard croissant is 4 x 9-inch but can make smaller or larger ones too.
• Then, take each rectangle and cut diagonally, which will give you two triangles (see video). Each triangle makes a croissant (total - 8 croissants).

Shape the croissants

• Take each triangle. Stretch it lengthways slightly, cut a slit or notch at the wide end.
  Tip - do not stretch the dough too hard or you will break/lose those layers. Be gentle.
• Then, hold the two sides of that slit and roll onto itself until you reach the tip (similar to a jelly roll). (see video)
• You can bend the two ends towards you to make a curved croissant shape.
  Alternatively, you can roll without making a slit or notch and keep the two ends straight. (see video)

Proof and bake

• Place the croissant on a baking tray making sure the tips are on the bottom.
  Tip - If the tips are on top they will open, so make sure to tuck them under. If you press slightly they will sit well.
• Cover and let proof at room temperature for an hour or until almost doubled in size.
• Then, place it into the fridge for 30 minutes.
  Tip - I find letting the last 30 minutes chill in the fridge works better for homemade baking.
• Preheat the oven at 200 C/ 392 F. Brush the croissants with egg wash.
• Bake for 10 minutes at 200C / 392 F. Then, reduce the temperature to 190 C / 375 F for 15 minutes more until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven - cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving.
• Enjoy!

Frequently asked questions

If you like this you may also like

• Danish pastry from scratch
• Ham and cheese croissants
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• Different types of pastry using in baking
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