Today we’re conquering our fears and making homemade croissants! If you’re about to run away screaming, I understand. I’m not sugarcoating it: croissants aren’t easy. Croissants require time, patience, and a lot of rolling. However, just because this recipe is advanced doesn’t mean that YOU have to be an advanced baker to try it. You can absolutely handle this quintessential baking bucket list recipe. ♥
Let me hold your hand through the whole process. I’m sharing step-by-step photography, a full video tutorial, plenty of tricks based on what I’ve learned, and the croissant recipe. I started working on croissants earlier this year. I studied a couple recipes, tested them, tweaked what I found necessary, and played with this dough for weeks. The croissants are golden brown, extra flaky, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and unbelievable warm from the oven. One bite of this delicate French pastry will immediately transport you to a quaint French bakery. I’m confident in this homemade croissants recipe and I’m confident in YOU baking them.
The good news! You need zero fancy equipment and zero special ingredients. If you’re looking for a weekend project, know how to read directions, and crave a fresh homemade pastry (don’t we all?), then stick around. You’ll be rewarded with the BEST treat ever!!!
Let’s get right into it. Making croissants is a labor of love. The long recipe directions and all these step-by-step photographs seem intimidating, but let me walk you through the basic process so you aren’t nervous.
The Process
- make easy dough from butter, flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and milk
- roll out dough into a large rectangle
- make the butter layer (I have an easy trick for this!!!)
- enclose the butter layer inside the dough
- roll out the dough into another large rectangle, then fold it back together
- roll out the dough again, fold it back together again
- roll out the dough one more time, fold it back together
- shape the croissants
- bake
There’s resting time between most steps, which means most of the time is hands off. To help us develop all the layers, croissant dough needs to rest in the refrigerator often. That’s why I call making croissants a project. Do it over a couple days with long breaks between the steps.
All that rolling out and folding back together? That’s called LAMINATING.
What is Laminated Dough?
Laminating dough is the process of folding butter into dough many times, which creates multiple alternating layers of butter and dough. When the laminated dough bakes, the butter melts and creates steam. This steam lifts the layers apart, leaving us with dozens of flaky airy buttery layers.
Just like we do when we make a croissant bread loaf, We’re going to laminate the dough 3 times, which will create 81 layers in our croissants. Yes, 81! Let me paint that picture for you.
- Start with dough, butter layer, dough = 3 layers
- Roll it out and fold it into thirds = 9 layers
- Roll that out and fold it into thirds = 27 layers
- Roll that out one last time and fold it into thirds = 81 layers
So we’re only laminating the dough 3 times, but that gives us 81 layers. When the croissants are rolled up and shaped, that’s one 81 layer dough rolled up many times. So when you bite into a croissant, you’re literally biting into hundreds of layers.
Isn’t that SO COOL???
Croissants Video Tutorial
Watch me make croissants in this video. I talk you through the whole video too.
Now let’s see everything come together in step-by-step photographs.
DOUGH
Croissant dough begins with butter, flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and milk. Unlike most yeasted doughs that require warm liquid to activate the yeast, you’re going to use cold milk. The yeast will work its magic later on in the recipe. In the beginning steps of croissants, the dough should always be cold. If, at any point, the dough becomes too warm… stop. Stop what you’re doing and place the dough back in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
The mixer will beat the dough for about 5 minutes. Stand by your mixer as it works the dough. This dough isn’t particularly heavy, but your mixer will still get a workout. Did you see my Instagram story when my mixer FELL OFF MY COUNTER? I walked away at the wrong time and the whole thing danced off the counter. Unplugged itself and everything. Don’t make my mistake!
We made the dough, now we’re going to cover it and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Now let’s roll out the dough into a 14×10-inch rectangle. Use a clean ruler or measuring tape. The ruler or measuring tape, besides your rolling pin, is the most crucial tool when making croissants.
I recommend using a silicone baking mat. While we will still lightly flour it, the mat is nonstick and it’s a handy guide for the exact measurement. You also need to transfer the dough to a baking sheet and the silicone baking mat makes that possible.
The dough isn’t extremely cold after only 30 minutes in the refrigerator, so it will be easy to roll out. Be precise with the 14×10-inch measurement. The dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working the edges with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle. You can see how I do all this in the video below.
Cover the rolled out dough and chill it for 4 hours or overnight. Literally pick up the silicone baking mat, put it on top of your baking sheet, cover the dough, and chill it. I usually chill it for 4 hours because there is one more 4 hour or overnight chill period coming up. That’s when I typically chill it overnight, making this a 2 day recipe.
BUTTER
Many croissant recipes instruct you to shape extremely cold butter into a rectangle or square. Have you ever tried to manipulate cold sticks of butter into another shape? It’s really hard. I learned the following trick from Zoe at Zoe Bakes. Please go follow Zoe, she is the absolute best. ♥
Start with softened butter, beat it with flour so it has some stability, then spread into a rectangle and chill it. It’s 100x easier to shape softened butter than it is to shape cold butter. Thank you Zoe!
You can use any butter you like best. If you’re going to spend money on European style butter, croissants are when to do it. If I’m being honest, I use store-brand butter and love the croissant’s flavor. It’s butter. It’s going to be good regardless.
The butter rectangle is 7×10 inches, half the length of the dough and the same width, so it fits into the dough. We will chill the butter rectangle right on the silicone baking mat. After it’s chilled, we can peel it right off and place it on the dough to begin lamination.
Make sure you only chill the butter for about 30 minutes. Our goal is to have the croissant dough and butter be the same temperature. It makes lamination possible. Butter solidifies much quicker than a soft dough, so that’s why our dough will chill for 4 hours and our butter will only chill for 30 minutes. Make sense?
Because you shaped the butter into the precise 7×10-inch size, it fits nicely on the 14×10-inch dough. (After the butter rectangle chills, you can always cut sharp edges with a pizza cutter or knife to make it the appropriate size.)
Fold the cold dough over the cold butter. Use your fingers to seal the butter inside.
Now we’re going to laminate the dough 3x with a 30 minute break between the 2nd and 3rd time. Why between the 2nd and 3rd time? Because our dough has been out of the refrigerator for long enough by this point and needs to be chilled again. 30 minutes is plenty.
I do not have step-by-step pictures of the lamination process because it’s time sensitive and the dough just became too warm as I tried to set up the shot. However, you can see me laminate the dough and talk through the process in the video below. (3:20-5:15 minutes) Watching me work through this step is more helpful anyway.
Our dough has been rolled out and folded 3x, now it’s time to rest.
Cover the laminated dough and chill it for 4 hours or overnight. This is when I usually chill it overnight.
Roll out the dough 1 more time. This time you’ll roll it into an 8×20-inch rectangle.
Use your pizza cutter and slice the rectangle down the center to create two 4×20 rectangles. Then slice across 3x to create eight 4×5-inch rectangles.
Look at all these layers!!!!
Now slice each of the 8 rectangles into 2 triangles. Using your fingers or a rolling pin, stretch the triangles to be about 8 inches long. Do this gently as you do not want to flatten the layers. Cut a small slit at the wide end of the triangle, then tightly roll up into a crescent shape making sure the tip is underneath.
Loosely cover the shaped croissants and allow to rest at room temperature (I suggest just keeping them on the counter) for 1 hour, then place in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour. Unlike a lot of croissant recipes, I prefer the shaped croissants to be cold going into the oven. They won’t spread as much. They will rise and proof for the 1 hour at room temperature and continue to do so in the refrigerator for another hour.
The croissants are ready to bake after that! FINALLY.
Brush them with egg wash (egg + milk).
Bake.
Indulge. Because after making the dough and rolling it out a million times, you completely deserve to. Enjoy them plain or with jam or homemade raspberry sauce. Interested in chocolate croissants? Of course you are!
If you happen to have any leftovers, day old croissants are perfect so soak up flavors in an easy breakfast casserole.
FAQ: Why Are There Are Chunks of Butter in my Dough & Why Did Butter Leak Out of the Croissants?
These are 2 common questions and I’m happy to sum it all up for you. Some butter leakage during the baking process is normal and expected, however if your baking croissants are sitting on pools of butter, your butter layer may have been too cold. It would make sense to give the best temperature for the butter layer, but you’re really looking for texture. You want the dough and sheet of butter to be similar in softness. If the butter layer is too hard, it will crack and split under the dough. Let it sit at room temperature to soften before the laminating process (step 7) OR reduce the chill time in step 6 down from 30 minutes to about 15.
See Your Croissants!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
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How to Make Croissants
- Prep Time: 12 hours, 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 13 hours, 10 minutes
- Yield: 16 croissants
- Category: Pastries
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Description
Buttery, flaky, and perfect homemade croissants!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for rolling/shaping
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon active dry or instant yeast
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) cold whole milk
Butter Layer
- 1 and 1/2 cups (3 sticks; 345g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (16g) all-purpose flour
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) whole milk
Instructions
- Preliminary notes: Watch the video below and use the step-by-step photos before you begin. Read the recipe before beginning. Make room in the refrigerator for a baking sheet. In step 6 and again in step 13, you will need room for 2 baking sheets.
- Make the dough: Cut the butter in four 1-Tablespoon pieces and place in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (or you can use a handheld mixer or no mixer, but a stand mixer is ideal). Add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Turn the mixer on low-medium speed to gently combine the ingredients for 1 minute. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the milk. Once all of the milk is added, turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat the dough for at least 5 full minutes. (If you don’t have a mixer, knead by hand for 5 minutes.) The dough will be soft. It will (mostly) pull away from the sides of the bowl and if you poke it with your finger, it will bounce back. If after 5 minutes the dough is too sticky, keep the mixer running until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Remove dough from the bowl and, with floured hands, work it into a ball. Place the dough on a lightly floured silicone baking mat lined, lightly floured parchment paper lined, or lightly floured baking sheet. (I highly recommend a silicone baking mat because you can roll the dough out in the next step directly on top and it won’t slide all over the counter.) Gently flatten the dough out, as I do in the video below, and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and allow the covered dough to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Shape the dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. I like to keep the dough on the silicone baking mat when I’m rolling it in this step because the mat is nonstick and it’s a handy guide for the exact measurement. Begin flattening out the dough with your hands. You’re rolling it out into a rectangle in this step, so shaping it with your hands first helps the stretchy dough. Roll it into a 14×10-inch rectangle. The dough isn’t extremely cold after only 30 minutes in the refrigerator, so it will feel more like soft play-doh. Be precise with the measurement. The dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working the edges with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle.
- Long rest: Place the rolled out dough back onto the baking sheet (this is why I prefer a silicone baking mat or parchment because you can easily transfer the dough). Cover the rolled out dough with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and allow the covered dough to rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. (Up to 24 hours is ok.)
- Butter layer (begin this 35 minutes before the next step so the butter can chill for 30 minutes): In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and flour together until smooth and combined. Transfer the mixture to a silicone baking mat lined or parchment paper lined baking sheet. (Silicone baking mat is preferred because you can easily peel the butter off in the next step.) Using a spoon or small spatula, smooth out into a 7×10-inch rectangle. Be as precise as you can with this measurement. Place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the butter layer for 30 minutes. (No need to cover it for only 30 minutes.) You want the butter layer firm, but still pliable. If it gets too firm, let it sit out on the counter for a few minutes to gently soften. The more firm the butter layer is the more difficult it will be to laminate the dough in the next step.
- Laminate the dough: In this next step, you will be rolling out the dough into a large rectangle. Do this on a lightly floured counter instead of rolling out on your silicone baking mat. The counter is typically a little cooler (great for keeping the dough cold) and the silicone baking mat is smaller than the measurement you need. Remove both the dough and butter layers from the refrigerator. Place the butter layer in the center of the dough and fold each end of the dough over it. If the butter wasn’t an exact 7×10-inch rectangle, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to even out the edges. Seal the dough edges over the butter layer as best you can with your fingers. On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough into a 10×20-inch rectangle. It’s best to roll back and forth with the shorter end of the dough facing you, like I do in the video below. Use your fingers if you need to. The dough is very cold, so it will take a lot of arm muscle to roll. Again, the dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working it with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle. Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter. This was the 1st turn.
- If the dough is now too warm to work with, place folded dough on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before the 2nd turn. I usually don’t have to.
- 2nd turn: Turn the dough so the short end is facing you. Roll the dough out once again into a 10×20-inch rectangle, then fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter. The dough must be refrigerated between the 2nd and 3rd turn because it has been worked with a lot by this point. Place the folded dough on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before the 3rd turn.
- 3rd turn: Roll the dough out once again into a 10×20-inch rectangle. Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter.
- Long rest: Place the folded dough on the lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. (Up to 24 hours is ok.)
- At the end of the next step, you’ll need 2 baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. The dough is currently on a lined baking sheet in the refrigerator, so you already have 1 prepared!
- Shape the croissants: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough out into an 8×20-inch rectangle. Use your fingers if you need to. Once again, the dough is very cold, so it will take a lot of arm muscle to roll. The dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working it with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the dough in half vertically. Each skinny rectangle will be 4-inches wide. Then cut 3 even slices horizontally, yielding 8 4×5-inch rectangles. See photo above for a visual. Cut each rectangle diagonally to make 2 triangles. You have 16 triangles now. Work with one triangle at a time. Using your fingers or a rolling pin, stretch the triangle to be about 8 inches long. Do this gently as you do not want to flatten the layers. Cut a small slit at the wide end of the triangle, then tightly roll up into a crescent shape making sure the tip is underneath. Slightly bend the ends in towards each other. Repeat with remaining dough, placing the shaped croissants on 2 lined baking sheets, 8 per sheet. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rest at room temperature (no warmer– I suggest keeping on the counter) for 1 hour, then place in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour or up to 12 hours. (Or freeze, see freezing instructions.) I prefer the shaped croissants to be cold going into the oven.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Egg wash: Whisk the egg wash ingredients together. Remove the croissants from the refrigerator. Brush each lightly with egg wash.
- Bake the croissants: Bake until croissants are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. If croissants show signs of darkening too quickly, reduce the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Remove croissants from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before serving. They will slightly deflate as they cool.
- Croissants taste best the same day they’re baked. Cover any leftover croissants and store at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm up to your liking.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Croissants are perfect for getting started ahead of time. The dough can rest for 4 hours or overnight in step 5 and again in step 11. You can also freeze the dough after the 3rd turn in the lamination process (after step 10). Instead of the 4 hour rest in the refrigerator in step 11, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, place in a freezer zipped-top bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and continue with step 12. You can also freeze the shaped croissants after they rest for 1 hour at room temperature in step 13. (Before placing in the refrigerator.) Cover them tightly and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw completely in the refrigerator, then bake as directed.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Rolling Pin | Pizza Cutter | Pastry Brush | Silpat Baking Mat | Baking Sheet
- Yeast: I use and recommend Red Star Platinum, an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead if needed. No changes to the recipe or prior proofing required; just mix it in as instructed. (Most modern yeasts are already active!) Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Keep Dough Cold: Make sure the dough is ALWAYS cold. If it warms up too much, stop what you’re doing and place the dough back in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Floured Surface: Lightly flour the work surface, your hands, the dough, and the rolling pin as you work.
- Air Bubbles: Are there air bubbles in your dough as you roll? That’s ok. Pop them with your fingers or a toothpick, then lightly flour where you popped the air bubble.
- Croissants for Brunch: I recommend starting the recipe the day before in the early afternoon. Complete steps 1-10, then let the laminated dough have a long rest in the refrigerator overnight (step 11). Begin step 13 2-3 hours before brunch.
- Dough adapted from Joy of Baking, Fine Cooking, and Epicurious
Keywords: croissants, homemade croissants
I hadn’t made croissants for several years. Last time I pounded the butter into shape. This method did work easily. I screwed up the first rest by rolling the dough flat because I wasn’t paying attention, but no harm done. I used 1/2 pastry flour and 1/2 all purpose because that is Julia Child’s thing. I also set my (commercial grade) oven to 375.
They were PERFECT. I made a few pain au chocolat and the rest plain. My husband, who stayed long periods in Paris as a kid, said you couldn’t get a better croissant anywhere except perhaps there.
I froze part of the triangles and they are proofing this a.m. for some more. Absolutely foolproof recipe. Thank you.
My daughter said, “You can deliver 100 of those to me at your earliest convenience, Mom.” Hahahaha!
★★★★★
This was a great recipe, and having grown up in Montreal, I know a good croissant! Just a couple of things: I found the getting the butter temperature right to be the most challenging part (like some others have mentioned, the butter broke and then didn’t fully incorporate in the rolling process- they still turned out great though). I read in another recipe that butter should be cold but still pliable (like you can take it and bend it). Second, following another recipe, I started the croissants at 400 for 5 minutes, then turned down to 350 and baked for 25-30, tenting with foil when they got to a good brown. Delish!!
★★★★★
Yes! I’ve just made them with vegan butter and oat milk instead of dairy milk. They came out great. Make sure you use a block of vegan butter, rather than anything more spreadable!
★★★★★
A trick with the butter layer is to pound yes pound it lightly with your rolling pin. Your goal is to make it flexible. The first time I saw this I thought it was weird but it does work. Start with tapping just make sure the way your hold your rolling pin meets the butter as close to horizontal as you can. If you haven’t seen this is action you can see it on British Baking show! You should have the butter covered in either plastic wrap or parchment paper. It only takes a few minutes 3-5. Start easy for a minute and check flexibility then add a minute at a time. It really works!
Sally – I practically NEVER bake. I don’t think anything has ever come out looking remotely like the food I thought I was making. I don’t know what gave me the confidence to try these but they shocked me! I’m so happy! Thank you for making this literally fool proof. Question – I froze half the dough so I could try making them with chocolate for my fiancé this Sunday on Valentine’s Day. I know it’s a hard question for you to answer definitively regarding someone else’s appliances, but about how long ahead of time should I try thawing it in the fridge? Would it be problematic if it stayed in there a little longer until I was ready? Thanks in advance!!
★★★★★
Dear Sally,
Thank you for another fabulous recipe. The croissants turned out perfect. I baked them on parchment paper at 375 for 24 minutes . I’d include a picture but technology…
Next project, macarons for Valentine’s Day. I did them last year and I hope they work as well again this year.
★★★★★
I always wanted to make croissants and saw your recipe, usually every recipe I use from your website is fantastic. Unfortunately these did not work for me. The bottoms burnt they became way to dark and crispy the oven temperature is way off.
★★★
As an experienced bread baker I thought this was in my wheelhouse. Ha! It was only after trying this that some significant issues arose. First, and most important, is the temperature of the butter: trying to roll butter chilled to the 38 degrees that my refrigerator is set to into the dough was a disaster, it was simply too hard to be manipulated, and left a dough with big chunks of butter in it, and actually tore the dough during rolling. If I make this again, I think I will try the butter at room temperature as I am guessing the objective is to get the butter infused into the dough. When I baked the croissants there was a lot of liquid butter on the silicon mat, and the croissants had a slightly greasy mouth feel, so I have to wonder if less than three sticks, eg, 2.5 sticks, of butter would be better.
There is a great deal of emphasis on exact measurements and square edges, but this precision doesn’t really matter. What matters is the very last phase when the dough is rolled out to 8″ x 20″ and cutting the dough into squares. I agree with the comment that this recipe results in very large croissants, and in the cutting into square phase, 3″ x 3″ could be done as well by changing the 8″ x 20″ to 9″ x 20″. And yes, this makes * a lot* of croissants so cutting the recipe in half, or freezing half of the dough may work for folks who don’t need quite so many or who prefer smaller croissants.
On the presentation of the recipe, two notes: first (and this is a quibble) technically I believe the pans used in this recipe are half sheet pans, and this can be corrected by putting the dimensions of the pan in the description, and second, a big deal is made of the point in the directions in which two sheet pans are used, but that occurs earlier in the process and is not noted, when the dough is chilling and the butter also has to be chilled, two pans are required at that point as well. Lastly, two observations: not all kitchens have stone work surfaces that are cool, in my kitchen there is but a butcher block work surface, and the tool that was most useful that is not specified is a steel icing spatula with a 10″ blade, which worked great for squaring up the dough edges, and getting under the dough and butter to facilitate moving.
★★★★
On your first lamination it is easier to lat your dough flat. Strike a blow with with your rolling pin in the center at the seam. Then repeat going from end to end. With this size rectangle you will end up with 5-7 indentations in the dough from striking with rolling pin. This will spread your butter out 75% while at the same time sealing your edges. NOTE: make sure your rolling pin strikes do not go to thin, you are merely hammering out first layer of butter to help spread it out inside dough. After you will find rolling the other 25% is just leveling out your dough for a even fold. After the first time you will find rolling out becomes a lot easier on your 2nd and 3rd fold. After a couple of times you will become a pro at it. You can follow this method with puff pastry dough as well.
★★★★★
Hi Sally!
Had so much fun trying this recipe! It was my first time baking croissants so I didn’t expect them to turn out perfectly and I was right. My croissants ended up being really dense and heavy instead of light and flaky. I do have layers but there isn’t enough air between them. Any thoughts on what I might have done wrong? I would appreciate any advice you have! Looking forward to giving it another try. 🙂
Thank you!
Ashley
★★★★
Wow! I never comment on recipes, but felt I had to here. This was my first time baking croissants or puff pastry. (I do bake bread and sourdough regularly.) I chose this recipe since it was the only one that didn’t insist on using fancy butter. I was fully prepared for these to be pretty bad the first time I made them, but they were FABULOUS! Even though the butter didn’t roll uniformly (see notes below), the layers and texture were just like the best fresh bakery croissants I’ve had. They were flaky on the outside, I could see the beautiful layers, the insides were soft and puffy. Other than looking wonky because I needed to get the hang of shaping them correctly, they were unbelievable. My daughter, who is the pickiest ever, loved them and can’t stop praising them. The only downside is that it is hard to stop eating them! These were surprisingly easy — I followed the recipe and they turned out!
Quick notes for next time I bake them:
– I agree with many commenters that these should be baked at 375F, not 400F. The bottoms of mine got dark even at 375.
– Don’t let the butter sheet get too cold in step 6. I refrigerated it for 30 mins, and it ended up being too hard to roll out uniformly. I could see that it had broken up while I was laminating the dough. (From what I’ve read, this is a function of using regular butter, not the special expensive butter.
– I used salted butter and omitted the salt. Next time I will use unsalted and add salt, since these seemed a tad undersalted.
– After forming a few and seeing how huge they were, I cut each triangle in half. The smaller ones were the perfect size.
– This is a big recipe! Next time I will make a half recipe.
★★★★★
Oh. My. Gosh. Made these this weekend and they just came out of the oven. I’ve wanted to try croissants forever but have been afraid. The butter trick for that layer is awesome. It all came together so well, I followed the directions exactly and they are so, so fabulous. I did four chocolate and a dozen regular. Flaky, buttery and worth all that waiting and rolling! The only change I made was reducing the oven to 375 because so many people suggested it. Thank you so much for walking me through it, I feel very accomplished now.
★★★★★
Awesome recipe! It was my first time attempting croissants or really doing any kind of complex baking and these turned out great! The recipe steps and video made it easy to follow!
★★★★★
Hi, Sally! My slightly-funny-looking croissants are resting now. Thank you for this helpful recipe — I am a little bit intimidated by yeast, and yeast + lamination? Whew! You helped me overcome my fears.
One question. As I was laminating, there was decent about of butter that ended up oozing out the edges (despite care with re-chilling). I have a hunch this was the little bit of butter that “stuck out” on the edges when I first applied it, and then got squished/softened as I rolled. I wonder if I should have cut the butter layer a teeny bit shorter, then lightly pressed the dough edges together to fully encase it before I began to roll? Does this seem reasonable? Or maybe this is not really any big deal and no need to worry about it? I found it made shaping harder, as the dough edges became slick.
★★★★★
These were good, but I’m not quite certain about the temperature and time. Mine browned way too much on the bottom before they were cooked all the way through. I wonder if baking at the 375 would have been the better choice. This wouldn’t be something I’d make often because it was an all day process and bread baking is simply just a hobby for me. Good step by step recipe though.
★★★★
Mine did the same thing! I froze most of mine so I’m going to bake them at 375° and see if that helps. Otherwise they were absolutely perfect and delicious!
I had the same experience. I tried again later at 375 for 15 minutes and felt more successful. I have a Julia Child cookbook that recommends 350 for 12 minutes. Planning to give that a go this weekend.
Hello Sally! My family and I were just trying to find out how many calories are in each croissant! This is an amazing recipe and was a great hit with my family.
Thanks again.
Hi Tessa, we’re unsure of the nutritional info of this recipe, but there are many great online calculators like this one: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp So glad to hear they were a hit with your family!
I love your recipes! I accepted the challenge of croissants and knew who was going to be my teacher! These are definitely a project! Mine came out doughy in the middle but after reading the comments I know how to fix. How thick should the dough be before shaping the croissant? I feel mine may have been too thick. Thank you for baking fun!
★★★★★
I made these today after a friend recommended I take on a challenge. They came out AMAZING and were a big hit with my family!
★★★★★
Delicious! Worth the time and effort. I followed the recipe exactly. Watched the video a few times before making and again while I was making. Thank you for making this intimidating process so much less intimidating. I did allow the dough to rest a full 24 hours before shaping into the rolls. I definitely recommend allowing the full 24 hours. Would post a photo if this review allowed.
Also tried making this recipe with GF flour as 1:1 replacement. While my daughter with celiac loves them, they are no where near as good as the full gluten ones.
★★★★★
Never been so inspired to leave a comment on any recipe before. Instructions and video made my first attempt at croissants a breeze. They came out perfectly beautiful, flakey and tasty. Definitely heeded the advice to take time between steps to keep the consistency at just the temp to get all those flakey layers perfect. Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Sally,
Your recipe is absolutely amazing! I followed each step of the recipe, carefully, and it was perfect! I finally overcame my fear of making croissants
I made 2 changes in my recipe. First I used Plain yogurt instead of whole milk (I didn’t have whole milk at home) an second I baked them at 375F instead of 400F (because of the comments I read).
And after 2 days working patiently with the dough…. they came out flaky, buttery, and perfectly delicious
★★★★★
I don’t usually comment on anything on the internet, but I made these croissants this past week and they might have been the best things I’ve ever made. Seriously, I carefully followed each step, and they were absolutely perfect. Crispy on the outside, and so soft on the inside, with so many flaky layers. The only thing I changed was that I baked them at 375 instead of 400, because I read that some people had trouble with their croissants being undercooked in the middle or overcooked on the outside.
Anyway, if anyone else is hesitant to try this recipe because you’re afraid it will be too hard, I’d definitely encourage you to go for it! I am not an expert baker by any means, but the steps are so well explained that, with a little patience, anyone can make them…and they are well worth the patience.
★★★★★
I just finished sampling my first ever croissant. Absolutely delicious! I’m going to work on shaping these a little bit more. They came out kind of weird looking but the flavor was so good and flakiness was perfect!
★★★★★
Sally I love your recipes! I finally have lots of time for them during the lockdown. Probably the only silver lining. You taught me how to make the best choux pastry! However, as for the croissants I made them twice and I always end up with doughy center and can’t achieve the flakiness (the are relatively heavy and not light)! What are other possible causes besides the under-proofing(that’s leaving them out at room temperature for longer time right?)? Thank you so much!!
Hi Jan, I don’t think it’s under-proofing or anything to do with leaving them out. I feel like this could be easily fixed with an adjustment to your oven’s temperature. Try baking them at 375°F (190°C) for the first 10 minutes then down to 350°F (177°C) for 10+ minutes after that. Lower oven temperature will help cook the centers a little better.
Hi Sally!
Thanks for the recipe! Just wondering if you have ever substituted evaporated whole milk in place of fresh. And, secondly, for your Canadian followers, American standard measures both wet and dry are different from Canadian standard measures, which may account for this recipe being too sticky or too dry for some people, depending on how they measure their ingredients. I have remedied this by buying dry and wet measuring equipment from both countries. Also, weighing ingredients is the most reliable form of measurement, of course thanks again!
I tried this recipe over the weekend and it was a huge hit!!! My boyfriend has wanted me to make croissants for quite some time and I was nervous because the last time I made them was over 15 years ago, with a French pastry chef, using professional equipment. Fast forward to present day where I’m making them alone in my tiny apartment in Amsterdam, yikes!
I honestly can’t thank you enough for the time and effort you put into taking pictures of the process and of the video. I watched that video at least 20 times! It helped so much and the croissants came out nearly perfect. The only reason they weren’t perfect were a few errors on my part which I now know to do better next time. However, they still came out so buttery and flaky and decadent and delicious. Thank you for this incredible recipe!!! After doing it for the first time I also have realized that it’s not hard at all, just need to plan the time accordingly. These were great and I will definitely do it again!!
★★★★★
Hi Sally! I’m just starting my first attempt at croissants, and based on the instructions I put my yeast (active dry) in with the butter & dry ingredients. I have just kneaded for five minutes and put the dough in the fridge, and I can still see the granules of yeast in the dough, is this correct? I’ve never put yeast into dry ingredients before so I’m not sure how it should go.
Hi Willah, Our dough looks like that too– it’s no problem! Continue on with the recipe 🙂
Excellent detail on how to do this for beginners! I’m still perfecting as my first couple of batches were great but I still wanted to do better. Something I learned elsewhere that helps is to score the folded edges with a knife to take off some of the “tension” as the dough rises during each resting period.
★★★★
So, I followed your proportions to the letter, and got a sticky mess in the mixing bowl which needed scraping out. Despite using excess flour on my surfacing, the whole lot stuck to the surface. And the butter broke up up into a thousand pieces. Nice waste of an afternoon. Thanks.
★★
The dough is sticky until you knead it to develop the gluten. It feels impossible, but is sort of like magic. Just flour your hand a little, or use a bench scraper to help. The stickiness slowly disappears as your dough organizes itself…
They worked out great. Thanks for the recipe and video.
★★★★★
I followed the directions to a T, but my croissants turned out heavy, not flaky. Could it be my yeast or rolling them too tightly?
★★★