Homemade Croissants

Name: Homemade Croissants
Total time: 278 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: butter; lukewarm milk; 1 room temperature egg; yeast; flour; sugar; salt; 2 tbsp room temperature butter; beaten egg

4h 38m

Serves 12

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Homemade Croissants

facebook.com

4h 38m

Serves 12

Directions

1Get the butter out of the fridge well in advance so it is soft and spreadable.
2Cut the butter into chunks and microwave for anywhere between 30 to 50 seconds.
3Take an electric whisk and whip the butter for 1 minute until it is beautiful whipped softened butter.
4Combine lukewarm milk, one room temperature egg, and yeast.
5Give these a good mix and allow this mixture to sit for about 5 minutes.
6Add flour, sugar, and salt to a mixing bowl.
7Add the milk, egg, yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on low for about 2 minutes to let the dough begin to come together.
8Increase the speed to medium and continue to knead for another 3 minutes.
9Add 2 tablespoons of room temperature butter directly into the dough.
10Continue mixing for another 5 minutes for the butter to be fully incorporated.
11Using lightly oiled hands, shape the dough into a ball and transfer it into a greased bowl.
12Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
13Divide the dough into 12 equal portions, weighing each portion between 58 to 63 grams.
14Roll each portion of dough into a rough ball, cover, and let these rest for 10 minutes.
15Roll out a dough ball to about a 7-inch circle.
16Place the rolled-out dough on a tray or cutting board lined with parchment paper.
17Spread a thin layer of butter evenly over the dough circle.
18Roll out another 7-inch circle and place it on top of the first one.
19Spread another thin layer of butter and repeat this process, stacking each circle of dough to create a big stack of buttered circles.
20Do not put any butter on the final disc of the stack.
21Very gently press the stack of discs using your hand.
22Cover the stack with plastic wrap and pop this in the freezer for 30 minutes.
23Take the dough out of the freezer and lightly flour your work surface.
24Roll out the stack of dough into a large circle, about 14 to 15 inches in diameter.
25Keep moving the dough so it doesn't stick to your work surface.
26Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into triangles, then divide each of those quarters into thirds, resulting in 12 equal triangle shapes.
27Starting at the wide base of the triangle, gently roll each croissant up until you get to the pointy end.
28Optionally, gently bend the croissant to create a traditional croissant shape.
29Arrange the croissants onto the baking trays, leaving a good amount of space in between each one (about six croissants per tray).
30Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise until they've doubled in size (2 to 3 hours, depending on kitchen temperature).
31Gently brush the croissants with a beaten egg, being careful not to deflate them.
32Bake the croissants in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.
33After 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for another 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown in color.
34Let these cool for at least 10 minutes, ideally allowing them to cool properly for the airy inside structure to set.

Ingredients

butter
lukewarm milk
1 room temperature egg
yeast
flour
sugar
salt
2 tbsp room temperature butter
beaten egg

Equipment

electric whiskgreased bowlparchment papertraycutting boardplastic wrapsharp knifebaking traysoven

Tips

The butter needs to be soft and spreadable, otherwise your dough will tear.
The 30 minutes rest for the dough is for the gluten to relax and not necessarily for the dough to rise.
If you're familiar with making layered flatbreads in Indian cuisine, you might see some similarities to our method here for laminated dough.
Do not put any butter on the final disc when stacking the dough circles.
Do not leave the dough in the freezer longer than 30 minutes.
Keep moving the dough so it doesn't stick to your work surface when rolling it out.
Use the color to judge when the croissants are done baking.

Homemade Croissants

4h 38m

Serves 12

facebook.com

Homemade Croissants

facebook.com

4h 38m

Serves 12

Directions

1Get the butter out of the fridge well in advance so it is soft and spreadable.
2Cut the butter into chunks and microwave for anywhere between 30 to 50 seconds.
3Take an electric whisk and whip the butter for 1 minute until it is beautiful whipped softened butter.
4Combine lukewarm milk, one room temperature egg, and yeast.
5Give these a good mix and allow this mixture to sit for about 5 minutes.
6Add flour, sugar, and salt to a mixing bowl.
7Add the milk, egg, yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on low for about 2 minutes to let the dough begin to come together.
8Increase the speed to medium and continue to knead for another 3 minutes.
9Add 2 tablespoons of room temperature butter directly into the dough.
10Continue mixing for another 5 minutes for the butter to be fully incorporated.
11Using lightly oiled hands, shape the dough into a ball and transfer it into a greased bowl.
12Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
13Divide the dough into 12 equal portions, weighing each portion between 58 to 63 grams.
14Roll each portion of dough into a rough ball, cover, and let these rest for 10 minutes.
15Roll out a dough ball to about a 7-inch circle.
16Place the rolled-out dough on a tray or cutting board lined with parchment paper.
17Spread a thin layer of butter evenly over the dough circle.
18Roll out another 7-inch circle and place it on top of the first one.
19Spread another thin layer of butter and repeat this process, stacking each circle of dough to create a big stack of buttered circles.
20Do not put any butter on the final disc of the stack.
21Very gently press the stack of discs using your hand.
22Cover the stack with plastic wrap and pop this in the freezer for 30 minutes.
23Take the dough out of the freezer and lightly flour your work surface.
24Roll out the stack of dough into a large circle, about 14 to 15 inches in diameter.
25Keep moving the dough so it doesn't stick to your work surface.
26Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into triangles, then divide each of those quarters into thirds, resulting in 12 equal triangle shapes.
27Starting at the wide base of the triangle, gently roll each croissant up until you get to the pointy end.
28Optionally, gently bend the croissant to create a traditional croissant shape.
29Arrange the croissants onto the baking trays, leaving a good amount of space in between each one (about six croissants per tray).
30Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise until they've doubled in size (2 to 3 hours, depending on kitchen temperature).
31Gently brush the croissants with a beaten egg, being careful not to deflate them.
32Bake the croissants in a preheated oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes.
33After 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for another 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown in color.
34Let these cool for at least 10 minutes, ideally allowing them to cool properly for the airy inside structure to set.

Ingredients

butter
lukewarm milk
1 room temperature egg
yeast
flour
sugar
salt
2 tbsp room temperature butter
beaten egg

Equipment

electric whiskgreased bowlparchment papertraycutting boardplastic wrapsharp knifebaking traysoven

Tips

The butter needs to be soft and spreadable, otherwise your dough will tear.
The 30 minutes rest for the dough is for the gluten to relax and not necessarily for the dough to rise.
If you're familiar with making layered flatbreads in Indian cuisine, you might see some similarities to our method here for laminated dough.
Do not put any butter on the final disc when stacking the dough circles.
Do not leave the dough in the freezer longer than 30 minutes.
Keep moving the dough so it doesn't stick to your work surface when rolling it out.
Use the color to judge when the croissants are done baking.