Croissant

Classic French Croissant (Croissant au Beurre)

A laminated yeast dough wrapped around a block of high-fat European butter, folded three times to build dozens of flaky layers, then shaped and baked until shatteringly crisp outside and pillowy within. Plan on two days; most of the time is resting in the refrigerator.

Prep

60 min

Cook

20 min

Total

80 min

Serves

10-12 croissants

Difficulty

Hard

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (17½ oz / ~4 cups) bread flour or strong all-purpose flour (12-13% protein), French T55 works well; high protein is essential for gluten development
• •10 g (1 tbsp) fine sea salt
• •50 g (¼ cup) caster sugar
• •10 g (1 scant tbsp) instant yeast, or 20 g fresh yeast
• •300 ml (1¼ cups) cold whole milk, around 4°C/40°F to keep the dough cool
• •280 g (10 oz) unsalted butter, 82-84% fat, European-style (e.g. Isigny, Plugrá) is traditional; standard US butter (80%) works but layers are less defined. Must be cold but pliable
• •1 whole large egg, plus 1 tsp milk, for the egg wash

Steps

1. 1 Make the dough (détrempe): whisk flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Pour in the cold milk and mix with a wooden spoon or dough hook for 4-5 minutes until smooth — do not develop full gluten yet; the dough should be soft and only slightly elastic. Shape into a 20 × 15 cm (8 × 6 in) rectangle, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
2. 2 Prepare the butter block (beurrage): place the 280 g butter between two sheets of parchment and pound with a rolling pin into a 20 × 15 cm (8 × 6 in) square, about 1 cm (⅓ in) thick. Refrigerate until firm but not rock-hard — it should bend without snapping (around 12-14°C / 54-57°F).
3. 3 Lock in the butter: roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface into a 30 × 20 cm (12 × 8 in) rectangle. Place the butter square in the center, offset slightly toward one end, then fold the dough over it like a letter: top third down, bottom third up. Press edges together to seal. This is the first turn.
4. 4 First turn and rest: rotate the dough 90° and roll out again into a 30 × 20 cm (12 × 8 in) rectangle, keeping the corners as square as possible. Fold in thirds again. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 45-60 minutes.
5. 5 Second turn: repeat — rotate 90°, roll to 30 × 20 cm, fold in thirds, wrap, and chill 45-60 minutes.
6. 6 Third turn: one final single fold the same way, wrap, and chill at least 1 hour, or overnight. You have now completed 3 single turns (27 layers).
7. 7 Shape: on a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a long rectangle about 45 × 20 cm (18 × 8 in) and 3-4 mm (⅛ in) thick. Trim the edges with a sharp knife or pizza cutter for clean, even layers. Cut into triangles roughly 10 cm (4 in) at the base and 20 cm (8 in) tall.
8. 8 Roll the croissants: with a small slit cut into the base of each triangle, gently stretch the base and roll from base to tip, keeping the point underneath. Curve the ends slightly inward into a crescent shape. For a traditional all-butter 'croissant au beurre', shape the rolls straight (not curved) and place seam-down on the tray.
9. 9 Proof: place shaped croissants on parchment-lined trays, leaving 5 cm (2 in) between them. Cover loosely with lightly greased plastic and proof at 24-26°C (75-79°F) for 2 to 2½ hours, until visibly puffy, almost doubled, and a gentle poke with a floured finger leaves a slow-rising indentation. Do not let them over-proof or the butter layers will collapse in the oven.
10. 10 Bake: preheat oven to 220°C (425°F) with a rack in the upper third. Whisk the egg with 1 tsp milk and brush a thin, even coat over each croissant (avoid the sides where dough meets tray, so layers can rise). Bake 15-18 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through, until deep golden brown with a hollow, crisp shell. Internal temperature of the crumb should read 90-96°C (195-205°F) on an instant-read thermometer.
11. 11 Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before eating — the interior steam finishes setting the crumb. Eat the day they are baked, as is the French custom, ideally with strong black coffee.