Homemade Croissants
recipe for homemade croissants from King Arthur Baking
Servings: 8 croissants
Ingredients
Dough (detrempe)
- 255 grams all purpose flour
- 25 grams sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 28 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature equals 2 tablespoons
- 90 grams whole milk
- 58 grams water
Butter Block
- 113 grams unsalted butter, cold equals 1 stick – high fat, European-style
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 15 grams water
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
Dough
- To make the croissant dough, start by combining flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a medium bowl. Next, cut in the butter using a bowl scraper or your fingers. Add milk and water, and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until cohesive, but not completely smooth. Place the dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.
Butter Block
- To make the butter block, place butter on an unfloured surface and pound it with a rolling pin until it has the consistency of modeling clay. Mold the butter into a 5" square of even thickness.
Lock-In
- Gently degas the croissant dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it into a 6” square. Place the butter block offset like a diamond in the center of the dough square. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter toward the center to resemble an envelope, then pinch the dough to seal and fully enclose the butter.
Turns
- To create the layers in the croissants, roll the dough into a 6" x 16" rectangle with the seam up. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down, as you would fold a letter. You have completed the first of three turns. Refrigerate the dough for at least 20 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, roll it out to a 6" x 16" rectangle, and fold it in thirds. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 45 minutes. Repeat this process one more time, then allow the dough to rest for at least 5 hours or overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out and forming the croissants.
Cutting and Shaping
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle that is approximately 1/4" thick, and trim it to measure 8" x 16". Mark the dough at 4" intervals along the long edge, then cut the dough into 8" x 4" strips. Cut each strip in half diagonally to form triangles, then cut a 1" notch in the base of each triangle. Gently stretch the dough by pulling from the bottom of the triangle to the tip, as this will result in more rolls and a more layered croissant. Starting with the base of one triangle, fold 1/4" of the dough over onto itself, then continue rolling the triangle up to the point. Repeat this process with the remaining triangles. Arrange the croissants on a baking sheet, leaving plenty of room for them to expand, and cover them gently with plastic wrap.
Proofing
- Allow the croissants to rise until they have almost doubled in bulk. Rising times vary depending on temperature and humidity, so observe them for puffiness. They should feel spongy and marshmallow-like. In some cases, it may take closer to four hours to bulk up.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Whisk together an egg, water, and salt, and brush the croissants gently with the egg wash just before baking. Bake the croissants for about 20 minutes, or until deep golden brown.
🥐 Sourdough Croissants —
Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 150 g sourdough starter → about ⅔ cup
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast (optional, but I recommend it for more predictable timing)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons whole milk
- 1 tablespoon water, plus a little more if needed
Butter Block
- 1 stick (½ cup / 8 tablespoons) cold unsalted European-style butter
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
The dough should be soft and slightly tacky, but not wet or sticky.
Fermentation
Because you're using sourdough starter, I'd do:
- Mix/knead dough: 5–8 minutes, until reasonably smooth.
- Bulk ferment: about 4–6 hours at room temperature, depending on how active your starter is. You don't necessarily want it to double; roughly 50–75% increase is plenty.
- Refrigerate: 8–12 hours.
- Laminate with butter block the next day.
- After shaping, let the croissants proof 3–5 hours at a comfortably warm room temperature. They should look noticeably puffy and jiggly before baking.
- Brush with egg wash.
- Bake at 375°F until deeply golden, approximately 18–25 minutes, depending on size.