Croissants: a step-by-step guide

Ingredients

• 500 g flour (T45 or strong bread flour)
• 50 g sugar
• 10 g salt
• 15 g fresh baker’s yeast
• 150 ml milk
• 150 ml water
• 250 g dry butter (see tips and advice)
• 1 egg for glazing

Materials

• Stand mixer

Preparation

• In the bowl of the mixer, add the flour, salt, and sugar, and form a well. Add the crumbled yeast (be careful, it must not touch the salt!). Add the water and milk, and knead at medium speed for a few minutes.
• Then let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours (or refrigerate overnight).
  
• Place your butter slab on a sheet of parchment paper. Put another sheet on top, then tap it with your rolling pin to flatten it.
• Then, fold the sheets of parchment paper to form a square around the butter. Roll it out to create a nice square of butter, ensuring it is of even thickness everywhere.
  
• Roll out the previously prepared dough on a floured work surface. Form a rectangle that can accommodate the butter square twice.
• Place the butter square on one side, and fold the dough over it. Don't hesitate to "tighten" the dough at the edges so that it matches the size of the butter.
  
• Turn it 90° and gently tap your dough with the rolling pin so that the butter adheres well. This helps to spread the butter in the dough without breaking it. Roll the dough out to about 20 inches/50 cm, keeping a rectangular shape.
• Dust off the excess flour on the dough.
  Take the bottom of the rectangle and fold it up over about one-third of the dough. Then fold the top of the dough over it. Make sure everything is aligned to create three uniform layers.
  
• Tap the dough again, then wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes (no more, no less).
• Place the dough back on the work surface, with the 3 layers facing you. Press the edges with your rolling pin to "seal" them. Tap and then roll out the dough in the same way as in the previous step.
  
• Fold it again into thirds, being careful to dust off the flour on the dough so that it doesn't get caught in the folds. Refrigerate again for 20 minutes.
• You can repeat this process a third time to create nice layers. If you’re short on time, you can fold it just twice.
  
• Then roll out the dough into a rectangle of about 10 x 15 inches/25 x 40 cm. Cut it in half lengthwise.
• Using a ruler and a good knife, cut out triangles with a base of 2.7 inches/7 cm.
  
• Take a triangle and cut the center of the base by 0.4 inch/1 cm. This will allow you to widen the base when rolling your croissant.
• Roll the croissant, widening the base and not tightening too much. Be careful to tuck the tip under the croissant when placing it on a baking tray.
  
• Space your croissants well so they have room to rise. Brush each croissant with beaten egg, then let them sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 350°F/180°C, checking that the croissants are cooked through.
  
• And there you have it, your croissants are ready!

Observations

Butter: For laminated dough, it is generally best to use a type of butter known as “dry butter,” which melts at a higher temperature than regular butter. You can find it sold as “lamination butter” or as AOP-protected butter from areas such as Poitou-Charentes.

Resting times: These are essential for controlling the temperature of the butter. If the resting time is too short, the butter may become too soft and smear (instead of forming a layer, it will break into lots of pieces). If the resting time is too long, the butter will become too hard and will be difficult to roll out. The result will be the same: the butter will no longer be evenly distributed, and the layers will not develop properly.

Freezing: You can freeze your croissants just after shaping them. In the evening, place them on a baking tray and leave them to thaw and rise overnight. Then bake them in the morning and enjoy fresh, warm croissants.

Cookware

Attributes

Questions

Photos of members who cooked this recipe