Croissants From Scratch

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Croissants From Scratch

This detailed recipe breaks croissants into manageable steps so you can create beautifully flaky pastries in your own kitchen. From butter selection and temperature to technique, I’ll guide you through it. When it comes to baking, combi steam gives that crisp finish and ethereal interior that's hard to get in a regular oven.

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time30

Proofing time22

Total Time1

Course: Breads, Breakfast

Cuisine: French

Keyword: combi steam croissants, croissant, croissants, steam oven croissant

Servings: croissants

Calories: 690kcal

Ingredients

For the dough

600 g bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (4 and 2/3 cups) see notes
65 g granulated sugar 1/3 cup
12 g fine salt 2 tsp
7 g active dry yeast 2 tsp
210 grams water at room temperature (¾ cup plus 2 Tbsp)
120 grams whole milk at room temperature (½ cup)
55 grams unsalted butter cut into ½-inch/2cm pieces, chilled (¼ cup)

For the butter block

350 grams unsalted high fat butter European-style, 82%+ butterfat, chilled (3 sticks or 1½ cups) see notes
additional flour for rolling

For assembly

1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp cream

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

About 24 hours before you want to eat your croissants, start the dough (or détrempe, as it's properly known). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast, and stir to combine. Pour in the water and milk, and mix on low speed until a tight dough comes together around the hook, about 5 minutes. Remove the hook and cover the bowl with a damp cloth. Set aside for 10 minutes.
600 g bread flour, 65 g granulated sugar, 12 g fine salt, 7 g active dry yeast, 210 grams water, 120 grams whole milk
Re-attach the dough hook. Put the butter pieces into the bowl and mix on low to medium speed, until the dough has formed a very smooth, stretchy ball that is not sticky or tacky to touch, 8 to 10 minutes.
55 grams unsalted butter
Form the dough into a nice smooth ball and place seam-side down on a lightly floured work surface. Using a sharp knife, cut two deep slashes in the dough, forming a cross. This helps the dough expand into more of a square shape as it rises, making it easier to roll out later. Place the dough slashed-side up inside the mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until about 1½ times its original size. In my kitchen at 73F/23C, this took just under an hour. Transfer the bowl to the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 12 hours.
While the dough chills, make your butter block. Cut your butter into rough slabs, rather than leaving it in block form. Put the slabs of butter side by side in the center of a large sheet of parchment or silicone paper, then loosely fold all four sides over the butter to form a square shape. Turn it folded-sides down, and use a rolling pin to lightly beat the cold butter into a flat layer, about half an inch (1.5-2cm) thick, squashing the butter together into a single mass and making it pliable. Don’t worry too much about the shape for now. Once the butter is a single mass, unwrap and refold the paper over the butter again (you can replace it if it's gotten holes in it). This time you need neat, clean folds at right angles, making an 8 inch (20cm) square. Turn it folded-sides down again and roll your pin across it, further flattening the butter into a thin layer that fills the entire square while forcing out any air pockets. You should end up with a level and straight-edged square slab of butter. Transfer the butter block to the fridge.
350 grams unsalted high fat butter
Eighteen hours before you want to serve, remove the dough from the fridge, uncover and transfer to a clean surface. It should have doubled in size. Press out the dough with the heel of your hand, then, using the corner points that formed where you slashed the dough, stretch it outward and flatten into a rough square measuring no more than 8 inches (20cm) on the sides.
Place 2 long pieces of plastic wrap on the counter, crossing one over the other to make a large cross, and place the dough on top. Wrap the dough, maintaining squared-off edges, then roll your pin over top as you did for the butter, forcing the dough to fill in the plastic and form an 8 inch (20cm) square with straight sides and right angles. Freeze for 20 minutes.
Remove the butter from the refrigerator and the dough from the freezer. Set aside the butter. Unwrap the dough (save the plastic wrap, you’ll use it again) and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough, dusting with flour if necessary, until 16 inches (40cm) long, maintaining a width of 8 inches (20cm) (barely wider than the butter block). Use a pastry brush to brush off any additional flour from the surface of the dough, so it has a smooth finish.
additional flour
Now we're going to enclose the butter block in the dough and roll them out together. They should have the same firmness, with the dough just slightly colder than the butter. The butter should be cool but able to bend a little without breaking. If it feels stiff or brittle, let sit at room temperature for a few minutes. Unwrap the butter so the top is exposed, then use the parchment paper to flip over the block into the center of the dough rectangle, making sure all the sides are parallel. Press the butter gently onto the dough and peel off the paper. You should have a block of butter with a rectangle of dough on opposite sides and a thin border of dough along the other two sides.
Grasp the overhanging dough on one side and bring it over the butter toward the center, then repeat with the other side of the dough, enclosing the butter. You don’t need the dough to overlap, but the two sides should meet, so stretch it if necessary, and pinch the dough together along all seams so no butter shows anywhere. Lift the whole block and dust flour underneath, then rotate the dough 90 degrees, so the center seam is vertical.
Place the rolling pin perpendicular to the seam and lightly and evenly beat the dough all along the surface to lengthen and flatten. Roll out the dough lengthwise along the seam into a 24 inch (60cm) long, ¼ inch (6mm) thick narrow slab, lightly dusting underneath and on top with more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Try not to apply the rolling pin pressure downward, rather push the dough toward and away from you with even pressure, which helps maintain even layers of dough and butter. Remember to periodically lift the dough and make sure it’s not sticking, and try your best to maintain straight, parallel sides. The shorter sides will always round a bit; don't worry as you’re going to trim them off.
Use a long, sharp knife to trim the short ends, removing excess dough where the butter doesn’t fully extend into it, and squaring off the corners for a very straight-edged, even rectangle of dough. Maintaining the rectangular shape will lead to the most consistent and even lamination of your dough. If at any point you see air bubbles in the dough while rolling, pierce them with a skewer or the tip of a paring knife to deflate, then proceed.
Dust any flour off the dough’s surface with the pastry brush. Grasp the short side of the rectangle farthest away from you and fold it toward the middle of the dough slab, aligning the sides. Press gently so the dough adheres to itself. Repeat with the other side of the dough, leaving a small gap where the ends meet in the middle. Now, fold the entire slab in half along that gap in the center. You should have a rectangular block of dough, the 'book', that’s four layers thick. You've just done what's called a double turn, quadrupling the number of layers of butter inside the dough.
Wrap the book tightly in the plastic wrap you saved earlier. Freeze it for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Unwrap and place on a lightly floured surface. Beat and roll out the dough as before, into another long, narrow ⅜ inch (1cm) slab. It should be nice and relaxed, and roll out pretty easily. Dust off excess flour again, and trim the ends if necessary.
Fold the dough in thirds like a letter this time, bringing the top third of the slab down and over the center, then the bottom third up and over. This is called a simple turn, tripling the layers you made with your double turn earlier. Wrap tightly in plastic again and freeze for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, then unwrap and place on a lightly floured surface. Beat the dough and roll out one more time, but into a 14 by 17 inch (35 x 43cm) slab this time. The dough may spring back more on this roll, but try to get it as close to those dimensions as possible. Brush off excess flour, wrap in plastic, and slide onto a baking sheet or cutting board. Freeze for 20 minutes, then chill overnight, for 8 to 12 hours.
Four hours before serving, line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone paper and set aside. Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Unwrap (save the plastic again), place on a lightly floured surface, and, if necessary, roll out once more to get to 14 by 17 inches (35 x 43cm). Very thoroughly dust off excess flour. Use a long knife and ruler to cut the shorter sides, trimming irregular edges where not all the layers of dough fully extend and creating a rectangle that’s exactly 16 inches (40cm) long. Cut into four 4 by 14 inch (10 x 35cm) rectangles.
Use the ruler and knife to slice a straight line from opposite corners of one rectangle to form two long triangles. Repeat with the remaining rectangles to make 8 triangles. Trim the short side of each triangle at a slight angle, making them into triangles with two long sides of equal length.
Working one triangle at a time, grasp the two corners of the shorter end, and tug gently outward to extend the points and widen the base to about 3 inches (7.5cm). Then, gently tug outward from about halfway down the triangle all the way to the point, to lengthen the triangle and thin the dough where it narrows. Starting at the wide end of each triangle, snugly (but not too tightly) roll up the dough, keeping the points centered. Try not to stretch the dough around itself. Place the croissants on the lined baking sheets, resting each one on the point of the triangle. If the dough gets too soft while you’re working, cover and freeze for a few minutes before resuming. Space the croissants evenly on the baking sheets, four per sheet. Very loosely cover with plastic wrap, so the croissants have some room to expand.
Time for the final proof. You want the croissants to proof at 70-75F (22-25C). Any hotter and the butter will start to melt, leading to a denser croissant. If your steam oven's proof settings won't go this low (many won't), I recommend proofing your croissants covered with the plastic wrap on the counter instead; temperature is more important than humidity for this step. Either way, let the croissants proof until they’re about doubled in size, extremely puffy, and jiggle a bit when the baking sheet is gently shaken. It will take roughly 2 to 2½ hours. Don't touch or poke the croissants as they proof, they’re very delicate. Try not to rush the process, either, as an underproofed croissant will not be as light and flaky.
Carefully uncover the proofed croissants, then transfer to the fridge and chill for 20 minutes while you heat the oven. Preheat your oven to Combi Steam, 350F/180C, 70% (high) humidity.
Stir the egg yolk and heavy cream in a small bowl until it's combined. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the smooth surfaces of each crescent with the yolk and cream mixture. Do your best to avoid brushing the cut sides with exposed layers of dough.
1 egg yolk, 1 Tbsp cream
Place the croissants in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Switch the oven settings to regular convection (no steam), and rotate the baking sheets and switch racks. Continue to bake until the croissants are deeply browned, another 8 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.

Notes

Ordinarily, I want you to make a recipe your own, switching and changing things to suit what's in your kitchen, and what you have the energy or capability to make. With croissants, throw that out the window. This recipe, and the required ingredients, are detailed and exact because that's necessary for croissants. Ingredients, temperature, technique and timing are all critical to a perfect croissant. So, I'd argue, is practice. You may not make the perfect croissants on your first go - I certainly didn't! I've overproofed, underproofed, rolled the final pastries too tightly and baked them with too much steam. There's learning in every single batch. Even if they aren't perfect, if you've followed the process, your own home-baked ones will be better than most croissants you can buy.
Measurements. As for the above note, this recipe is all about detail. If you aren't using scales to weigh your ingredients for baking already (why not?!), then you must, must do it here. Volumetric measures are provided, reluctantly, in the commentary for each ingredient, but cups and spoons really won't give you the necessary precision in ingredient quantities for this recipe. If you're going to the trouble of the technical process, do yourself a favor and get the ingredients right too.
Flour: a high-protein bread flour is ideal for croissants, giving the dough a stronger gluten structure and stretch. If you can't get it, they'll work with all-purpose flour.
Butter: given the predominant flavor of a croissant is butter, you really need a good one. The ideal butter for croissants is a high-butterfat, cultured and unsalted butter. That means something with a fat content of at least 82% (higher is even better, but can be hard to find in many places). The higher the fat, the more pliable and 'bendy' the butter block is when you go to roll it into the dough. That means less chance of the butter cracking or breaking apart, and better, more even and flaky layers in the final product. I tested multiple supermarket butters for this recipe, and I found (in Australia at least) that Kerrygold was the winner. It actually beat out a couple of butter brands that had higher fat content, and I couldn't fault its pliability; it never cracked during the lamination/rolling process.
Batch quantity. I have tried batches ranging from 4 to 16 croissants, and settled on a batch of 8 as the perfect number. Any less and it doesn't seem worth all the effort. Any more, and you'll have trouble keeping the dough at the ideal temperature while working with it. If you want more than 8 croissants, I'd recommend making two quantities of the recipe but keeping those separate, so you can work with one quantity at a time, keeping the other dough in the fridge until you're ready for it.
Croissants are best within an hour or two of baking. After that, revive them by warming in the oven, using Combi Steam 320F/160C, 50% (med) humidity for 5 to 8 minutes. They'll keep in an airtight container for a day at room temperature, but if you won't eat them on the day of baking, I'd freeze them. Reheat using those same settings straight from frozen; you may need a couple of extra minutes on the timer.
Finally, an acknowledgement and credit, to the fantastic Claire Saffitz, whose croissant-making video and accompanying recipe on the New York Times website is enormously helpful for technique and extra visuals. It's paywalled but if you're a NYT subscriber you'll be able to watch it as often as you like (I've racked up quite a few views during the testing process for this recipe!).

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