Croissant
Croissants look composed but are actually a straightforward project if you understand lamination. The dough itself is simple. The technique—folding and turning—asks for patience and cold hands, not precision or special skill. Most home bakers succeed on their first try.
You need time and cold
Croissants demand resting periods between folds—30 minutes to an hour in the refrigerator each time. Your kitchen should be cool, ideally below 72°F. Warm kitchens make the dough sticky and the butter leaks out of the dough before the lamination sets. If your kitchen runs hot, work earlier in the day or chill your bowl and work surface.
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- 9×13-inch baking pan or sheet pan
- Bench scraper or dough scraper
- Rolling pin (long)
- Instant-read thermometer (for dough temperature)
- Parchment paper
- Spray bottle (for misting)
What goes in.
- 500 gbread flour
- 300 gwhole milk, cold
- 10 ginstant yeast
- 10 gsalt
- 25 ggranulated sugar
- 25 gunsalted butter, softened (for dough)
- 250 gunsalted butter, cold (for lamination)
- egg1 large (for egg wash)
Lamination—folding butter into dough
The butter must stay in distinct sheets inside the dough as you fold it. If it melts and mixes in, you lose the layers. Keep everything cold. Fold the dough into thirds (a letter fold), chill 30 minutes. Turn it 90 degrees, fold into thirds again, chill. Repeat twice more—that's four folds total, and they take 2 to 3 hours of elapsed time. The folding creates the hundreds of thin butter-and-dough layers that puff and separate as steam forms during baking.
The method.
Make the détrempe (base dough)
Combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add cold milk and softened butter. Mix on low speed with the dough hook for 2 minutes until a shaggy mass forms. Increase speed to medium and mix for 8 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly sticky, around 26°C (78°F). This is warmer than you'd want for most doughs, but laminated dough generates heat during folding. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight (or up to 24 hours).
Prepare the butter block
Remove cold butter from the refrigerator 10 minutes before lamination. Place it between two sheets of parchment paper. With a rolling pin, pound it gently until it's a flat slab about the size of your work surface—roughly 15×20 cm (6×8 inches) and uniform in thickness. The butter should be cold but pliable enough to fold without cracking. If it cracks, it's too cold; let it sit another few minutes.
Laminate: First fold (enveloping the butter)
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it into a rectangle roughly 20×30 cm (8×12 inches), about 1 cm thick. Place the butter slab in the center of the dough lengthwise. Fold the top and bottom thirds of dough over the butter like an envelope, pressing the edges to seal. You now have a packet with butter sealed inside. Wrap in parchment and chill for 30 minutes.
Laminate: Letter fold 1
Remove the packet from the refrigerator. It should be cold and pliable, not hard. Place it so the short edge faces you. Roll it gently into a long rectangle about 20×60 cm (8×24 inches), moving from the center outward to keep it even. The dough layers will resist at first; work slowly. Fold the dough into thirds like a letter—fold the bottom third up, then fold the top third down over it. Wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Laminate: Letter fold 2
Remove from the refrigerator. Turn the packet 90 degrees (so the folded edges are now on your left and right). Roll it again into a long rectangle, about 20×60 cm. Fold into thirds again. Wrap and chill 30 minutes.
Laminate: Letter fold 3
Remove from the refrigerator. Turn 90 degrees again. Roll into a long rectangle and fold into thirds. Chill 30 minutes.
Laminate: Letter fold 4 (final fold)
Remove from the refrigerator. Turn 90 degrees. Roll into a long rectangle and fold into thirds. Chill for at least 1 hour (you can refrigerate overnight).
Shape the croissants
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it into a rectangle about 25×40 cm (10×16 inches) and roughly 3 mm thick. Using a ruler and a sharp knife, cut it into 12 rectangles of roughly 9×10 cm (3.5×4 inches). At the short end of each rectangle, mark the center. Make two angled cuts from the bottom corners up to that center point, creating a triangular shape with two flaps on either side. This is a croissant blank. On a lined baking sheet, place each blank and gently stretch it slightly lengthwise. Curl the two bottom corners inward toward you as you roll the dough upward, creating a crescent. Place seam-side down on the baking sheet.
Final proof
Cover the croissants with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Leave them at room temperature (around 22°C / 72°F) for 8 to 12 hours until visibly puffed—they should increase in size by about 50% and feel airy when you gently press one. They should look pillowy but not collapsed. Do not over-proof; they should still hold their shape.
Egg wash and bake
Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Beat the egg with a splash of water. Brush each croissant gently with egg wash—don't press hard or you'll deflate them. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until deeply golden brown. The croissants should feel light and hollow when you pick one up, and the outside should crackle slightly when you bend it. Let them cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes before eating, though they're best warm but not piping hot.
Other turns to take.
Pain au chocolat
After the final fold, roll the dough into a rectangle. Cut it into rectangles about 10×12 cm. Place a chocolate bar (or two pieces of dark chocolate) in the center of each, fold the dough around it like an envelope, and shape as above. Proof and bake exactly as croissants.
Almond croissant
After baking the croissant, slice it horizontally while still slightly warm. Spread a thin layer of almond paste or frangipane on the bottom half, top with the upper half, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Return to the oven at 180°C for 5 to 7 minutes until the almond topping is lightly golden.
Ham and cheese croissant
After the final fold, roll the dough, cut rectangles as for pain au chocolat, and place a small piece of ham and a small piece of Gruyère or Emmental cheese in the center. Fold and shape as above. Proof and bake as normal.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Temperature matters. If your dough feels warm or soft during lamination, stop and chill it. Butter that leaks out during folding won't return to the dough.
Don't skip the overnight rest after making the détrempe. It develops flavor and makes the dough easier to roll the next day.
The final proof is the trickiest step. Under-proofed croissants are dense and tough. Over-proofed ones collapse and spread in the oven. Aim for a visible increase in size and a pillowy feel—test by gently pressing one with your fingertip. It should slowly spring back but leave a slight indent.
Use a serrated knife to cut the unbaked croissants. A dull knife will crush the layers.
Croissants are best eaten the day they're baked, but they can be frozen after shaping (before proofing) for up to one month. Thaw in the refrigerator and proof as normal—they may need an extra hour or two.
If your kitchen is very warm, do the final proof in the refrigerator overnight instead of at room temperature. It will take 12 to 18 hours, but the result is often better.
The ones that keep coming up.
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?
You can, but bread flour's higher protein content creates more gluten structure, which helps the dough hold the butter layers. All-purpose flour will work; your croissants may be slightly more tender but less dramatically layered.
Why did the butter leak out of my dough?
The dough or work surface was too warm, or the butter was too soft. Keep everything cold—your hands, your bowl, your work surface, and the dough between folds. If it happens mid-lamination, refrigerate for at least an hour and continue.
How do I know when the final proof is done?
The croissants should be visibly larger—roughly 50% bigger than when they went into proof. They should feel airy when you gently press one; your finger should leave a slight indent that slowly springs back. If they feel dense, they need more time. If they look loose and collapsed, you've over-proofed them.
Can I make croissants without a stand mixer?
Yes. Make the détrempe by hand—it takes longer to develop the gluten, roughly 15 minutes of kneading and folding—but the result is the same. The lamination is the same regardless of how you mixed the dough.
Do I have to do all four folds on consecutive days?
No. You can spread the folds over two days. Do two folds on day one, wrap and refrigerate overnight, then do the final two folds the next day. This is often easier logistically.
What's the difference between a French and an Austrian croissant?
An Austrian croissant typically includes a small amount of yeast in the dough and relies less on pure lamination; it tends to be slightly less flaky and slightly more bread-like. This recipe is French-style, with yeast but dependent on lamination for its structure.
Can I use margarine instead of butter?
Margarine will laminate, but croissants made with it lack the rich flavor and the distinctive shattering quality that butter gives. Butter is worth the cost here.