This buttery and crunchy French breakfast dish takes a long time to make from scratch, but the delicacy is undeniable. The time and effort it takes to make it will forge your desire to eat it right away, and you'll never want to eat a factory-made croissant again. Here's how to make your own croissants at home.
Ingredients
Servings: 12 croissants
- 1 1/4 tsp. dry active yeast
- 3 tbsp. warm water
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 220 g wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 120 ml milk
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil or grapeseed oil
- 115 grams unsalted butter, cooled
- 1 egg, for greasing
Step
Method 1 of 4: Making the Dough
Step 1. Mix the dough
Combine warm water, sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl, and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy and bubbly. Warm the milk in a saucepan on the stove, or in 5-second intervals in the microwave. Place flour, warm milk, yeast mixture, and oil in a bowl, and mix well.
- You can use a stand mixer to mix the dough or mix it by hand with a spatula.
- Make sure the milk doesn't boil when you warm it. If it boils, make it again with new milk.
Step 2. Knead the dough
If you're using a mixer, you can simply let it continue to work for a minute or two after the ingredients are mixed. If you are kneading by hand, beat the dough 8 to 10 times. The dough should feel smooth and elastic when finished kneading.
Step 3. Let the dough rise
Place the dough in a clean, floured bowl. The flour will make the dough come off the bowl easily later because it won't stick to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a napkin. Let the dough rise for one to two hours. When the dough has doubled in size, you will be ready for the next step.
- You can make an X-shape across the top of the dough to help the dough rise a little faster. This X is about 5 cm wide and is in the center of the dough.
- Place the dough in a warm area of the kitchen to help it rise faster.
Step 4. Press the dough
Once the dough has doubled in size, gently remove it from the bowl and place it on a table that has been lightly dusted with flour. Press and roll the dough into a rectangle measuring 20 x 30 cm. Try to keep the edges as straight as possible. You can use your hands, or gently press them with a rolling pin.
Step 5. Turn the dough over
Fold the dough in thirds, like folding a letter. This is called "flipping" the dough. Fold the bottom third so that it covers the middle third, then fold the third over the other two layers.
Step 6. Let the dough rise a second time
Cover the dough lightly with plastic wrap or a cloth. Let it rise until it's doubled in size again, which should take about an hour and a half. Place in the refrigerator for the last half hour, as the dough will need to cool for the next step.
If you wish, you can let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator. Just store it in the refrigerator, and the dough will be ready for the next step the next morning
Method 2 of 4: Creating the Butter Layer
Step 1. Roll out the butter
Cover the table with a wide piece of parchment paper. Place the cooled butter on the parchment paper, then fold the remaining paper over so that it covers the butter. Use a rolling pin to roll out the butter into a 30x15 cm rectangle. Press the butter a few times with a rolling pin to flatten it, then roll it quickly into a rectangle. Try to work fast so the butter won't get too warm and melt.
- The important thing to remember during this process is that you don't want the butter to melt until you place it in the oven. Try to keep the butter from getting warmer than room temperature. Place back in the refrigerator if necessary.
- Cooling your hands and kitchen utensils will help with this, so you won't be heating up the butter. Wash your hands in cold water, and work with utensils that have been refrigerated. Make sure your kitchen isn't too warm either.
Step 2. Put butter on top of the dough
Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and flatten it into a 35x20 cm rectangle. Place the buttered rectangle in the center of the rectangular dough, at least 1.27 cm from the edges of the dough, and fold the last third to cover the two folds, as if you were folding letter paper. Make sure the butter coats the dough evenly and folds with the dough.
Step 3. Roll out the dough
Turn the rectangular dough 90 degrees, so that the short side of the rectangle (the 'wide' side) is facing you. Roll the dough into a rectangle measuring 35x20 cm. This is the most important part of the croissant process, and the hardest for most people to understand: You don't roll the butter so it mixes or gets into the dough. Instead, you roll out the dough and butter so that the layers are very thin.
If in the previous steps you needed a lot of time and the butter starts to look a bit soft when you place it on top of the dough, consider refrigerating the dough for 15 to 20 minutes before processing it for this step. Remember, you want the butter to stay cool and form a thin layer in the dough. You don't want the butter to melt or mix and become part of the dough
Step 4. Fold the dough again
Just as you did before, fold the dough into thirds like folding letter paper.
Step 5. Cool the dough
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and place in the refrigerator. Leave it for 2 hours.
Step 6. Open the dough and place it on a table or flat surface that has been lightly dusted with flour
Press the dough gently with a rolling pin several times to deflate it. Position the dough against you so that the top and bottom sides are short, and the right and left sides are long. Let the dough rest for 8 to 10 minutes.
Step 7. Roll out and fold the dough two more times
Flatten the dough into a rectangle measuring 35x20 cm. Again, be careful not to press too hard - you don't want to destroy the coating, but only thin it out. Fold the dough again (fold it into thirds like a letter). Now turn the dough rectangle so the short side is facing you. Roll it again into a 35x20 cm rectangle. Fold it into thirds one last time.
Step 8. Cool the dough
Wrap the dough again with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Let the dough cool in the refrigerator for more than two hours. You can leave it overnight if you want, as long as you put something heavy on it to prevent it from rising.
Method 3 of 4: Cutting Croissants
Step 1. Get ready to cut the dough
Spread a thin layer of butter on the pan you will be using. Place a sheet of parchment paper on the second baking sheet. Now, dust the table with flour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and rest on the counter for 10 minutes. After that, roll the dough into a rectangular shape measuring 50x12 cm.
Step 2. Cut the dough lengthwise
Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough in half. You should get two pieces of dough measuring 25x12 cm. Place one portion of the dough on a baking sheet that has been lined with wax paper. Place one more wax paper on top of the dough.
Step 3. Cut the second piece of dough into 3 square dough pieces with a size of 12x12 cm
Make two slices or strokes of sufficient width on the dough piece. Place 2 square dough pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. There should be another piece of parchment paper separating this piece of dough from the larger rectangle of dough. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to keep the butter cool.
Step 4. Cut the remaining 1 dough square in half diagonally
You will get two triangles, which will become your croissant.
Step 5. Roll the dough triangle into a crescent shape
Starting at the widest side, roll the dough up to the top of the triangle. Shape into a crescent shape, and place on the greased baking sheet so that the top of the triangle rests against the pan. Repeat with the other triangle dough.
Step 6. Finish your croissant
Remove the other square of dough from the refrigerator. Repeat the cutting and rolling process as before. Continue removing the square dough from the refrigerator, cutting it into triangles, and rolling the triangles into croissants until you run out of dough. You should get 12 croissants on your buttered baking sheet.
Step 7. Let the croissants rise
Cover the baking sheet loosely with a clean washcloth, and let the croissants rise for an hour.
Method 4 of 4: Baking Croissants
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 475°F (240°C)
Step 2. Make the egg spread
Break the eggs into a small bowl, and use a fork to mix them with 1 teaspoon of water.
Step 3. Apply this egg to the top of the croissant using a pastry brush
Step 4. Bake the croissants for 12 to 15 minutes
Croissants should be golden brown on top when cooked.
Step 5. Serve the sandwich
Remove the sandwich from the oven, and let it cool for 10 minutes on the cake rack. Resist the urge to eat them straight away because these croissants are still very hot!
Tips
- Old croissants won't taste as good as freshly baked croissants; so make sure to consume your fresh croissants right after baking.
- If you want to have a round croissant like the ones sold in bakeries, simply pull the two ends of the croissant dough together until the ends touch each other. This round shape will also make it easier for you if you want to make stuffed croissants or ham and cheese croissants.
- Croissants go well with anything from unsalted butter, jam and marmalade (orange preserves), to ham and cheese. To make a cheese croissant, open a cooked croissant on the sides, butter the inside, and toss in your favorite cheese slice. Sprinkle with pepper if you like. Reheat in the preheated oven (475ºF, 240ºC).
- Croissants are also delicious sprinkled with sugar.
What you need
- Rolling pin
- Wrapping plastic or parchment paper
- Pizza cutter or knife
- 2 pans
- Bowl
- Duster
- Cake brush
- Stand Mixer (optional)
