Croissant — Classic French Butter Croissants
The benchmark of viennoiserie: a yeasted dough laminated with sheets of cold butter, folded and rolled to create dozens of paper-thin layers that puff into a shatteringly crisp, honeycombed, deeply buttery crescent. It takes patience and cool hands across two days — but a homemade croissant is a genuine achievement.
Make a lean yeasted dough (détrempe) and chill it overnight. Pound cold butter into a flat square (the beurrage), enclose it in the dough, and give three 'letter' folds (tours), chilling between each, to build the layers. Roll the laminated dough thin, cut triangles, and roll them up into crescents. Proof slowly until jiggly and risen, brush with egg wash, and bake hot until deep golden and crisp. Cool before eating.
- Keep everything cold — butter and dough must stay the same cool, pliable temperature so the layers don't merge.
- Rest and chill between folds; rushing melts the butter and ruins the lamination.
- Proof fully (the croissants should jiggle) before baking, or they'll be dense, not airy.
Equipment
- Rolling pin
- Bench scraper
- Baking trays
- Plenty of fridge space
Ingredientes
Dough (détrempe)
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 10 g salt
- 55 g sugar
- 10 g instant yeast
- 280 ml cold milk and water mixed
Lamination & finish
- 280 g cold unsalted butter, good quality, ~82% fat
- 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
Preparação
- PASSO01
Mix the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and cold liquid into a dough; knead briefly until smooth. Shape into a rectangle, wrap and chill overnight (this is the détrempe).
- PASSO02
Pound the cold butter between parchment into a flat, even square (the beurrage). Keep it cold but pliable — the same firmness as the dough.
- PASSO03
Roll the dough to a rectangle, set the butter block in the centre, and fold the dough over to enclose it. Roll out and give a 'letter' fold (fold in thirds). Chill 30–45 minutes. Repeat for three folds total, chilling between each.
- PASSO04
Roll the laminated dough out thin (about 4 mm) into a long rectangle. Cut into tall triangles, then roll each up from the base to the tip into a crescent, on a lined tray.
- PASSO05
Egg-wash lightly, then proof at warm room temperature (not hot, or the butter melts) until visibly puffed and jiggly, 2–3 hours.
- PASSO06
Egg-wash again and bake at 200°C/400°F until deep golden brown, crisp and honeycombed inside, 18–22 minutes. Cool on a rack before eating.
Make ahead
Croissants are inherently a two-day project: make the dough day one, laminate and shape, then proof and bake. You can freeze shaped croissants and proof-and-bake them fresh another day for bakery-style results on demand.
Storage
Best the day they're baked, ideally still slightly warm. Keep 1 day in a paper bag and refresh in a hot oven for a few minutes. Baked croissants freeze well; reheat from frozen. Shaped, unbaked croissants can also be frozen before proofing.
Variations
Pain au chocolat
Cut rectangles instead of triangles and roll around two batons of dark chocolate.
Almond croissant
Split day-old croissants, fill and top with frangipane and flaked almonds, and re-bake.
Quicker 'cheat' lamination
Grate frozen butter into the dough for a faster, rougher (less airy) shortcut on a busy day.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
Perguntas frequentes
Why do my croissants leak butter and have no layers?
Almost always temperature. If the butter gets too warm it melts into the dough instead of staying as distinct sheets, so the layers merge and butter leaks out when baking. Keep the dough and butter cold and at the same firmness, and chill well between folds.
What butter should I use?
A good-quality butter with a high fat content (around 82%+, like European-style or a dedicated 'beurre de tourage') is ideal — it stays pliable when cold and laminates without cracking. Low-fat or very soft butters make lamination much harder.
How do I know when croissants are proofed enough?
They should look visibly larger and puffy, and jiggle or wobble when you gently shake the tray. Underproofed croissants bake up dense and tight; properly proofed ones are airy and open. Proof at warm room temperature — too hot and the butter melts out.
Can I make croissants in one day?
It's hard to do well — the dough and butter need chilling time between folds, and a slow proof develops flavour and structure. You can compress it, but spreading the work over two days (dough overnight, laminate and bake next day) gives far better, more reliable results.
Why chill between each fold?
Each roll-and-fold warms the butter and relaxes the gluten. Chilling firms the butter back up so it stays in clean layers on the next roll, and rests the dough so it doesn't fight you or tear. Skipping the chills is the fastest way to lose your lamination.
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