How to make Croissants

Want to know how to make croissants? Get all the tips and tricks you need for authentic buttery, flaky French croissants at home.

For best results, use a kitchen scale and the grams measurements. Cup and oz measures may not give a good results but are offered here for those who choose not to use grams.

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Prep Time: 1 10

Cook Time: 22

Resting and chilling: 18

Total Time: 9 32

Servings: -10 croissants

Calories: 392kcal

Equipment

Stand mixer with dough hook attachment helpful but not essential
Or mixing bowl
Dough scraper
Ruler or tape measure
Knife or pizza cutter
Insulated baking trays helpful but not essential
Silicone baking mat helpful but not essential
Proofing mat helpful in cold weather but not essential

For best results, weigh ingredients with a kitchen scale.

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH (DETREMPE)

335 g bread flour (~11 ¾oz / ~ 2½ cups)
50 g white sugar (~ 1 ¾oz / ¼ cup)
5 g salt (~1 tsp)
8 g instant dry yeast (2 ⅔ tsp)
125 ml water (½ cup)
80 ml whole milk (⅓ cup)
21 g unsalted butter cold and cubed (1 ½ oz)

BUTTER BLOCK (TOURRAGE)

200 g unsalted butter (82-84% butter fat) (14oz)

FINISH

1 egg yolk
20 ml whole milk or thickened cream/heavy cream

Instructions

THE CROISSANT DOUGH (DETREMPE): Place the flour, sugar and yeast to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a standmixer. Place the salt on the opposite side of the bowl to the yeast. Add the water, milk and 21g of cubed butter. Beat with the dough hook attachment on low or your hands until the butter has worked it’s way into the dough.
Turn the stand mixer up to the second setting or knead by hand for a further 5-8 minutes until the dough is mostly smooth, elastic and the sides of the bowl are clean. If kneading by hand, it will just become less sticky over time and look mostly smooth and elastic.
Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and place the bowl upside down over it. Rest for 45 minutes at room temperature.
Once rested, roll the dough out to a rectangle, 20x40cm (8x16 inch). Transfer to a sheet of baking paper or baking mat on top of a baking tray or chopping board, cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight (or for at least 2 hours).
THE BUTTER BLOCK (TOURRAGE): Line a 20cm (8 inch) square baking pan with baking paper (see note below if you don’t have one).
Grate the 200g of cold butter (under the butter block ingredients section) on the coarse side of a box grater into the lined pan.
Dust your fingers with flour, and sprinkle just a little flour over the grated butter. Press the butter down all over firmly, pushing it into any gaps and molding it back into a flat piece of butter. It doesn’t need to be perfect at this point.
Tear off a square of baking paper a little around 12cm (5 inches) and place it on top of the butter, then fold in the baking paper at the sides over the top so your butter is fully encased.
Turn the wrapped butter block out onto a clean surface and gently bash it with a rolling pin, the roll with a rolling pin on both sides to make sure it’s flat and even. Chill until required.
ADDING THE BUTTER BLOCK TO THE DOUGH: Take the frozen dough out of the freezer at least 1 hour before you want to start rolling and folding. Make sure its corners are as square as possible and that it is at least 20x40cm (8x16in).
Take the butter block out of the fridge and give it a gentle bash again with the rolling pin (not hard, you shouldn’t break the paper). Unwrap the butter block and place in the centre of the dough (if needed, pull out the side edges so the butter doesn’t overhang the dough).
Fold each of the ends over the butter to meet in the centre and press the seam together as best you can. Run a knife gently down the folded edges just to release a bit of tension - no need to cut all the way through.
FIRST FOLD: As long as it still feels cool to the touch (if not, chill for 10 minutes), roll the dough out to 20x60cm (8x24in). Keep it as rectangular as possible, tapping in the sides to straighten them from time to time. If you find it feeling sticky or sticking to the work top you can dust with a little flour but if it’s happening too often it probably needs to be chilled more. Turn and flip the dough as required.
Choose the ugliest side of the dough and face that upwards (this will then get encased inside so you end up with a smooth dough). With the short side closest to you, imagine the dough in 3 sections - fold the closest third up and over the middle third.
Now, fold the top section in half so that the two ends meet (not over the top of the middle but to meet the first one you folded to create a join). Press those two ends together gently to form a seam.
Finally, fold it in half away from you (so the bottom edge meets the top edge).
- You should now have 4 visible layers and this is called a double-fold or book fold.
Chill for 15 minutes.
(Or, you can freeze the dough to proceed with another day if you prefer. Make sure it thaws - it should be malleable but still cold before you start rolling again.)
SECOND FOLD: Score the folded edges with a knife again. Roll the dough out once again to 20x60cm (8x24in). Keep it as rectangular as possible, tapping in the sides to straighten them from time to time.
With the short side closest to you, imagine the dough in thirds again. Fold the bottom third up over the middle. Fold the top third down over the top.
- You should now have 3 visible layers and this is called a single-fold, simple fold or letter fold.
Chill the dough for 10 minutes in the fridge.
TURN THE DOUGH INTO CROISSANTS: Score the folded edges of the dough again. Roll the dough out to 30x45cm (12x18in) keeping the sides as straight as possible. Make sure to roll it to an even thickness all over of about 5mm (~⅕ in)
Put the longest side closest to you and the shorter sides to the left and right. Place a ruler along the long edge furthest from you. Use the tip of a sharp knife to make small nicks at 10cm intervals (for 8 larger croissants) or 8cm intervals (for 10-11 smaller croissants). This is just a guide at this stage.
Now, place the ruler along the long edge closest to you. Starting 5cm in from the side edge (for 8 croissants) or 4cm (for 10-11 croissants), make small cuts again every 10cm or 8cm (whichever you chose at the top). The cuts along the bottom edge should line up with the halfway point between the cuts along the top edge.
Use the ruler as a guide and cut cleanly with a pizza cutter or sharp knife from the top corner of dough to the first cut at the bottom (which is 4 or 5cm in from the side). If using a knife, don’t drag it, press down to cut 2-3 times along the line as needed.
Now, line the bottom of that cut up with the next top cut and cut along the edge of the ruler again so you have a long triangle. Repeat this process over and over until you have all the triangles cut. You should have 8 triangles with some small offcuts at either end or 10 with a larger offcut at the far end.
ROLL THEM UP: Start by making a little cut in the widest end of each triangle so that if you pull them apart slightly, it looks like the Eiffel tower.
Lift a triangle by it’s longest edge and gently drag your other hand down the triangle to stretch it a little, not too much. Lay it down on the work surface again, pull the two corners of the wide end just very slightly away from each other, then roll it up tight but not taut. Gently press the little tail underneath. Sit the croissant onto a lined non-stick baking sheet (an insulated baking sheet is perfect here) with the tail underneath.
Repeat with all the triangles. Proof the dough at room temperature or up to 24C for 1 ½-3 hours. The cooler it is the longer the dough will take to rise but you don’t want it to get too warm or the butter will melt. They are ready when they look puffy, pillowy and they jiggle when you shake the tray. You can gently press the dough with your fingertip and the indentation slowly springs back halfway, they’re ready to bake.
- You can freeze the croissants at this point. Let them thaw on the day of baking or overnight in the fridge then continue.
BAKE: When you can see they’re getting close to being fully proofed, preheat the oven to 170C fan forced (or 190C/375F with no fan) - I find fan best for croissants. Try to preheat at least ½ an hour to make sure the oven is fully heated throughout. You can transfer the croissants to the fridge if you need to slow down the proofing process.
Mix together the egg yolk and milk (or cream), then gently brush it over the croissants.
Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown on the outside. Let them cool before cutting.
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Notes

Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
If you don’t have a 20cm pan, draw a 20cm/8in square on a sheet of baking paper, flip it over and grate the butter into the square. Press it down lightly, folding the edges in to help, then top with the smaller square of baking paper and fold in the edges. Press it down and you can use the rolling pin to help you roll it out to the edges and corners. Try not to let the butter force the sides of the paper to push out.
Offcuts: No need to throw those hard-fought scraps of laminated dough out, try pushing them together without ruining your layers and turn them into pain au chocolate. Or, grease a few muffin pan holes well with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Cut squares of dough and fold the corners into the centre. Push the squares into the muffing pan holes and sprinkle with more sugar. Proof then bake - you have a sort-of kouign-amann.
Nutritional values are based on 8 croissants.

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