Homemade Croissants Step by Step
Homemade croissants require a bit of patience and precision but this detailed recipe will walk you through each step so you can make them successfully at home. They’re flaky, buttery and oh-so-delicious.
There’s nothing quite like a fresh croissant. The outside is a delicate and crisp shell of golden brown pastry and the inside is soft and buttery, filled with beautiful layers. It’s nothing like those limp store-bought croissants.
There’s a bit of technique required in laminating them by hand but even if your layers aren’t perfect, they’ll still taste great! Read through the post first before starting so you can see the photos of each step.
I make the first part of the croissants, the dough part the day before and chill it overnight. During the initial mixing and kneading, gluten is developed in the dough, which makes it elastic. While this is needed for structure, too much elasticity causes the dough to shrink back when rolling it out. Chilling the dough overnight lets the gluten to relax and it makes the dough much easier to handle during the lamination process.
If you’re familiar with it, you can also click ‘jump to recipe’ at the top of this post and it will take you straight down to the recipe card.
Method with Pictures
The dough (détrempe)
The first step is making the dough portion – the détrempe. I make mine by hand but you can also use a stand mixer. It’s a bit sticky but once you work on it it will become supple and smooth.
- I mix together all the ingredients except for the butter first, to start developing the gluten. Fat can coat the flour particles, inhibiting gluten formation, so I like to give the gluten a head start before adding the butter.
- Then once the dough has been kneading, work in the butter until smooth.
- Once it’s a smooth dough, let it rise until doubled in size. Then shape it into a rectangle chill overnight.
The butter block (beurrage.)
The butter block is literally a block of butter, that gets rolled into the dough in very thin layers. When the water in the butter evaporates in the oven it creates the layers you see. I mix a small amount of flour into the butter to make it easier to handle during lamination.
- Mix together room temperature butter with flour until combined. Place the butter mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- To get clean, straight edges, fold the edges of the parchment paper around the butter block to create a 15×20 cm / 6×8 square frame.
- Once the parchment is folded, press the butter with the rolling pin to fit neatly into this frame.
- Place the butter block in the refrigerator to firm up. You want the butter to be cold but still pliable when it’s time to laminate the dough. Once you remove your butter block from the fridge and roll it in the parchment paper a bit with the rolling pin to make it pliable and mouldable.
Laminating
- Roll the chilled dough into rectangle. The dough should be twice the width of the butter and be about 1.5 times the height of the butter.
- Place the butter block in the center of the dough, folding the top and bottom edges over the butter to fully encase it.
- Turn it 90 degrees so the crease is vertically in front of you.
- Roll the dough out to rectangle. Fold the bottom third of the dough up and the top third down, like folding a letter.
- Turn the dough 90 degrees, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and repeat the process—roll out to a rectangle and fold into thirds. Turn, wrap, and refrigerate for another hour.
- Repeat the folding process one more time, then refrigerate the dough for at least two hours.
Shaping
- After the final rest, roll the dough into a 60×30 cm (24×12 inch) rectangle, about 5 mm (1/4 inch) thick.
- Mark 5 cm (2 inches) intervals along the top and bottom edge of the dough rectangle. Cut diagonal lines connecting the top marks to the bottom marks to form triangles.
- Gently stretch each triangle, especially along the base. Starting from the wide base, roll the triangle toward the tip. Tuck the tip under the croissant to secure it.
- Place the croissants on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a towel.
- Let them proof for 2-5 hours at room temperature, until doubled in size and puffy. Brush with egg wash.
- Bake, rotating the tray halfway through, until the croissants are puffed and deep golden brown.
- Let the croissants cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
Top tips
Use high-quality butter (European-style butter) with a higher fat content (82% or more) is ideal for croissants. It has less water and more fat, which results in better layers and flakiness.
The butter and dough need to stay cold to prevent the butter from melting into the dough. Always chill the dough after every fold (about 30 minutes to an hour) and after laminating to ensure the butter remains intact between the layers.
Lamination is easier in a cool kitchen. If the butter starts softening or melting, the dough can become greasy and lose its structure. If the room is too warm, pop the dough in the fridge frequently to keep it cold.
When rolling out the dough, always roll forward with gentle, even pressure. Avoid pushing too hard, as this can tear the dough and crack the butter layers.
Cut off scraggly or uneven bits of dough to maintain clean, sharp edges. Clean edges help ensure that the layers stay neat and even.
Let the croissants proof long enough. During proofing, the yeast in the dough ferments, creating air bubbles that help the dough rise. This expansion is needed for creating the flaky layers.
Under-proofed croissants won’t have developed enough air pockets, leading to a dense and gummy interior. At room temperature croissants can take anywhere from 2-5 hours to proof. It greatly depends on the ambient temperature. If you put them in a warm spot make sure it’s not warmer than 26°C (79°F) or the butter will melt.
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Homemade Croissants Step-by-Step
Ingredients
Dough (détrempe)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 160 ml whole milk lukewarm
- 120 ml water
- 470 g all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 30 g unsalted butter room temperature
Butter block (beurrage):
- 250 g all-purpose flour room temperature
- 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the milk, water, yeast and sugar. If using active dry yeast, let it sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy. Skip this step if using instant yeast.
- Add the flour and salt and combine until a rough dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and begin kneading. Work the dough for about 3 minutes to start developing the gluten. The dough should become smoother and less sticky.
- Once the gluten has begun to develop, add the 30g of room temperature butter to the dough. Continue kneading for another few minutes until the butter is fully incorporated.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap or a towel, and let it rise for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Once risen, punch down the dough to release air, roll it into a rough rectangle, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Butter Block
- Mix 250g butter with 1 1/2 tbsp flour until combined.
- Place the butter between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it into a 20x15cm (8×6 inch) rectangle, about .5 cm (1/4 inch) thick. To get clean, straight edges, fold the edges of the parchment paper around the butter block to create a square frame, then press the butter with the rolling pin to fit neatly into this frame.
- Refrigerate the butter block until it’s firm.
Laminating
- Remove your butter block from the fridge and roll it in the parchment paper a bit with the rolling pin to make it pliable and mouldable. It should be cold but be able to be bent a bit.
- On a floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 20×32 cm (8×12.5 inch) rectangle. The dough should be twice the height of the butter, and around the same width.
- Place the butter block in the center of the dough, folding the top and bottom edges over the butter to fully encase it like a letter. Press this seal closed with your fingertips. Use a sharp knife to make shallow slits along the edges of the dough. This helps prevent excessive tension in the dough, especially if it's slightly too tight around the butter block.
- Turn it 90 degrees so the crease where you encased it is vertically in front of you.
- First fold: Applying gentle pressure, roll the dough into long rectangle about 6mm thick. Don't worry about how wide it is. Always roll forward with gentle, even pressure and focus on length not width. Avoid pushing too hard, which can tear the dough and crack the butter layers. Ensure the dough is not sticking to the bench, and dust with more flour if needed.
- Once rolled, brush away excess flour on the dough.Fold the top third of the dough down and the bottom third up, like folding a letter. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Second fold: Place the dough so it's vertically infront of you. Repeat the rolling process as before. Cut off scraggly or uneven bits of dough to maintain clean, sharp edges. Fold into thirds, turn, wrap, and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- Third fold: Repeat the folding process one more time, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Shaping
- After the final rest, roll the dough into a 60×30 cm (24×12 inch) rectangle, about 5 mm (1/4 inch) thick.
- Mark 5 cm (2 inches) intervals along the top and bottom edge of the dough rectangle. Cut diagonal lines connecting the top marks to the bottom marks to form triangles. You should get around 12 triangles and two off cuts.
- Gently stretch each triangle, especially along the base. Starting from the wide base, roll the triangle toward the tip. Tuck the tip under the croissant to secure it and curve the edges into a crescent shape.
- Place the croissants on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a towel and let them proof for 2-5 hours at room temperature, until doubled in size and visibly puffy. If you shake the tray gently the croissants should jiggle.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
- Whisk the egg with a tablespoon of water and use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the croissants with the egg wash.
- Bake the croissants for around 20-22 minutes until deeply browned. Croissants are great served fresh on the day they are baked. The layers in the croissants will be most prominent if the croissant has cooled down to room temperature before slicing.
Notes
Top Tips
Use high-quality butter (European-style butter) with a higher fat content (82% or more) is ideal for croissants. It has less water and more fat, which results in better layers and flakiness. The butter and dough need to stay cold to prevent the butter from melting into the dough. Always chill the dough after every fold (about 30 minutes to an hour) and after laminating to ensure the butter remains intact between the layers. When rolling the dough, make sure the dough doesn’t stick to the bench and can move freely. Brush away any excess flour when folding the layers. Lamination is easier in a cool kitchen. If the butter starts softening or melting, the dough can become greasy and lose its structure. If the room is too warm, pop the dough in the fridge frequently to keep it cold. Cut off scraggly or uneven bits of dough to maintain clean, sharp edges. Clean edges help ensure that the layers stay neat and even. Keep track of the number of folds. The classic single-fold method should be repeated three times for ideal layering. Let the croissants proof long enough. During proofing, the yeast in the dough ferments, creating air bubbles that help the dough rise. This expansion is needed for creating the flaky layers.Under-proofed croissants won’t have developed enough air pockets, leading to a dense and gummy interior. At room temperature croissants can take anywhere from 2-5 hours to proof. It greatly depends on the ambient temperature. If you put them in a warm spot make sure it’s not warmer than 26°C (79°F) or the butter will melt.
