This easy croissant recipe will have you baking Classic French Croissants like a pro. Flaky, buttery, and deliciously authentic. They are absolutely heavenly when fresh out of the oven! I have wanted to try making croissants forever, and there are TONS of croissant recipes out there to choose from. But after creating this easy puff pastry recipe, I had a feeling that I could create a version that’s quicker, simpler, and far less intimidating than anything else.
So I’ve taken my time and done just that. And I think you are going to love how much easier this is! While the texture of a croissant is very similar to that of puff pastry, there are some key differences. Namely, puff pastry does not contain this much sugar. It’s definitely a little more savory than sweet. And, croissants contain yeast, where as puff pastry does not. Both pastries fall in laminated dough category as butter is spread in between each layer. When they’re baked in the oven, the cold butter creates steam, and the layers puff up skyward. So let’s get started…
Do give it a try and let me know how it turned out to be! Please leave your valuable feedback as comments below. 🙂 I love to hear from you all!
Ingredients (makes 12 Croissants)
500g (4 cups) unbleached bread flour or all purpose flour (protein content 11% or above)
50g (1/4 cup) fine sugar
2 tsp instant yeast (or 3 tsp active dry yeast added as instructed below )
1 tsp salt
250ml (1 cup) water (at room temperature 25 C)
50g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter ( at room temperature cubed)
For laminating the dough:
200g unsalted butter (at room temperature, with higher fat content 80% and above)
egg wash (1 large egg beaten)
Note: If you are using active dry yeast, mix it with 250ml luke warm water ( 38C). Wait for 10 -15 mins. You will know yeast has activated once it forms a froth. Allow the mixture to COOL DOWN to room temperature prior to adding it into the flour else it will melt the butter.
Tips and Notes:
1. The most important thing to remember is to keep the dough cold at all times. Work as quickly as you can, and if at any point you notice the butter becoming soft, wrap it right up and chill it until it’s stiff again. Cold butter is the absolute key to success when it comes to laminated doughs!
2. Proof the croissants draft-free at an ideal temperature of 24ºC to 26.5ºC / 76ºF to 79ºF (above that temperature there is a big chance butter will leak out!). The proofing should take about 2 hours. You should be able to tell if they are ready by carefully shaking the baking sheet and see if the croissants slightly wiggle. You should also be able to see the layers of dough when looking at your croissants from the side.
3. Gently elongate each triangle. This is often done by stretching the dough with hands, but I found that elongating with a rolling pin, very carefully, almost without putting pressure on the dough triangle, works better. You can try both methods and see what you think gives the best result.
4. Elongated triangle sheets helps to creates more curls as you roll them into crescent shape. This make the croissants look perfect. Also try and roll the pastry sheet very tightly at the beginning and put enough pressure on the dough to make the layers stick together (but not so much as to damage the layers of course).
5. Arrange the shaped croissants on baking sheet in such a way the rolled end (tip) is facing down. In this way the croissant layers will hold intact while it’s baking. Else there is a slight chance the end of the croissants may lift up during baking.
6. Brush egg wash prior to baking and after flipping the croissants. This will give a uniform colour and shine to the croissants. Also it prevents them from drying out quickly.
7. Pastry Sheets can be kept in the fridge (tightly wrapped) for few days or in the freezer up to a month. When you’re ready to bake croissants, pull it out of the freezer, thaw at room temperature (around 20 mins, not too long as butter will melt) just enough to make it pliable to roll. If you stored the dough or sheets in fridge, you can use it straight away to roll and bake.
8. Serve croissants warm! They don’t taste good when they are cold. If you are having them the next day, microwave for 20 secs or if you like them crispy, preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for 2 -3 mins.
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Music: Sparkle by Roa
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