Sweetie Pie and Cupcakes

Perfectly Flaky Homemade Croissants Recipe

This homemade croissants recipe is easy to make and produces perfectly flaky croissants. We show you step-by-step how to make the croissant dough as well as an easy technique for creating the butter layer. With this recipe, you will be able to make chocolate croissants, almond croissants, and plain croissants all in one bake! This is over a year of croissant baking and testing. Our secrets are unlocked here!

CourseBreakfast
CuisineFrench

Servings	Prep Time
8Croissants	2Days

Cook Time	Passive Time
17-20Minutes	1Overnight

Servings	Prep Time
8Croissants	2Days

Cook Time	Passive Time
17-20Minutes	1Overnight

Ingredients

400grams bread flour
200grams All-Purpose Flour
60grams Sugar
6grams Active Dry Yeast
270grams Warm Water
70grams warm milkwe use almond milk
50grams extra warm water only if needed
4Tbsp room temperature salted butter
10grams Salt

Butter Layer

20Tbsp salted butter cut into squares and arranged into layer

Fillings and Toppings

1egg Egg with a little water for eggwash
1cup Marzipan for almond croissants
1/2cup chopped almonds for topping
1cup chopped chocolate chipswe use Guittard brand
1/4cup Turbinado sugar for topping

Instructions

In a mixing bowl, add 400 grams of bread flour and 200 grams of all purpose flour. Add 60 grams of sugar 6 grams of active dry yeast 270 grams of warm water 70 grams of warm milk (almond milk is okay) Stir ingredients together with a wooden spoon and allow dough to be shaggy (Add 50 grams warm water only if needed to make the dough shaggy)
Add 4 Tbsp of room temp softened butter to the dough Add 10 grams of salt. Use a hand to squish and mix the butter and salt into the dough. The dough will start to get glossy from the butter, but it will be absorbed into the dough when you let it proof.
Cover the bowl with a towel and place the bowl in a warm place for one to two hours. Check it at one hour, and if it has doubled in size, it’s ready to be rolled out.
On a lightly floured surface, spread out the croissant dough. Use a rolling pin to gently roll it out. Fold it into a letter fold by pulling the top down halfway, then folding the bottom up and over the top fold, so it ends up being a trifold. Wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the fridge overnight.
To make the butter layer or sheet of butter, you’ll need 20 Tbsp of butter. You can use salted or unsalted depending on your preference. You’ll need cold sticks of butter or a cold block of butter, and we have a very easy way of making the butter layer and keeping it chilled until you need to use it. Simply cut rectangular slices from the brick of butter, and place them side by side into a small Ziplock bag.
Use your fingers to mash the butter rectangles into one another and then use a rolling pin to completely flatten the sheet of butter inside the bag. Place it in the fridge overnight. You can also use plastic wrap if you don’t have Ziplock bags.
The next day, take both the chilled croissant dough and sheet of butter out of the fridge. Set the butter aside so it has time to loosen up. Place the croissant dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough to a size of about 15″ x 24″. Lay the butter sheet on one side of the croissant dough and fold over the other half, called a book fold. Fold the edges up and over to completely encase the sheet of butter.
For the first fold, gently roll the dough out to by starting in the middle of the dough and rolling out to one side and then starting in the middle again and rolling out to the other side. This method allows you to roll the butter layer out evenly inside the outer layer of dough. For the first fold, I usually recommend doing just a regular letter fold. You can do this by taking one end of the dough and folding it 1/3 over the dough. The take the other end of the dough and fold it over the first fold completely, creating a letter shape. Brush off any excess flour, wrap up the dough and store it in the fridge for an hour.
For the second fold, you can try a 4 Fold technique. Roll out the dough gently (if it doesn’t roll out easily, it needs more time to rest… place it back in the fridge and check it in another hour). When you go to roll out the dough, you might feel the butter breaking as you roll it out. Continue rolling from the center out to each end to push some of the butter all the way to the ends. Once it’s rolled out, you’ll take one end of the dough and fold it to just past the middle mark. Then take the other side of the dough and fold 1/4 of the way to meet the other edge. So now, both edges are meeting. Then take one end and fold it over completely. Brush off any excess flour, wrap up the dough and store it in the fridge for another hour.
For the last fold, simply roll out the dough and do another letter fold. The wrap up the dough and let it rest in the fridge for another hour. *Note: if you are making almond or chocolate croissants, you’ll want to prepare the fillings now. Chop up chocolate chips or chocolate chunks into small pieces. And prepare your marzipan if you are making almond croissants.
Shaping the croissants… Roll out the refrigerated dough on a gently floured work surface. Roll the dough to about 15″ x 24″ size. To get the crescent shapes, you simply cut the dough in triangles by making diagonal cuts from the long side of the dough with a sharp knife. Then cut a tiny slit in the top of each triangle and pull the tail of the dough while rolling it up. Once you are done rolling, bend the ends in to form a perfect croissant shape. *Note: Traditionally, the crescent shape is made for plain and almond croissants. To make an almond croissant, add marzipan to the top part of the triangle before rolling it up. Chocolate croissants are made by cutting the dough into a long rectangle and then placing chopped chocolate on one end and then rolling up the dough.
After you have made each crescent, place it on a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. I recommend placing 6-8 crescents on a standard baking sheet. If you are baking in a smaller convection oven, place 3 shaped croissants in a cake pan lined with parchment paper. Place the crescents in an enclosed oven (not turned on) and allow the crescents to rise another hour.
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F. Once the crescents have risen, prepare egg wash by mixing one egg with a few tablespoons of water. Use a pastry brush to gently coat the croissant tops. Add any toppings you desire. We add chopped almonds to the almond croissants and turbinado sugar to the chocolate croissants.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 17 to 20 minutes or until the croissants are a deep golden brown. Allow the croissants to cool completely on a wire rack or plate. ENJOY your freshly baked croissants!