Croissant Cereal

Croissant cereal is buttery, flaky pastry cut into bite-sized pieces and baked until crisp, then eaten in a bowl with milk like breakfast cereal. The laminated dough creates a shatteringly crisp texture when baked hot and fast, and the natural butter flavor means no added sugar is needed to make it taste good.

Ingredients for Croissant Cereal

All-purpose flour provides structure for the laminated dough. Butter creates the flaky layers that shatter when baked. Salt seasons the dough and strengthens the gluten. Instant yeast gives the pastry lift and open crumb. Whole milk hydrates the dough and activates the yeast. Sugar feeds the yeast and adds slight sweetness. Egg yolk creates a golden, crisp exterior.

Why This Croissant Cereal Works

Laminated dough, butter folded into yeast dough in layers, produces thin sheets of pastry separated by butter. When you bake these at high heat, the butter steams between the layers, pushing them apart and creating hundreds of crispy flakes. The yeast fermentation adds rise and an open crumb structure that shatters when you bite it.

Cutting the baked laminated dough into small pieces and baking them a second time at high heat crisps them all the way through. The pieces stay crunchy in milk much longer than a standard laminated pastry would, because the small size means all surfaces dry out completely. The egg wash creates a protective golden shell that resists soaking.

Mistakes To Avoid

Warm butter breaks through the dough during lamination instead of staying in distinct layers. If the butter is soft, it mixes into the dough and you lose the flaky texture. Keep both butter and dough chilled enough to feel firm but soft enough to bend without cracking.

Yeast that is too cold or added to liquid that is too hot dies, and the dough will not rise. Warm the milk to 110°F (43°C), about the temperature of a warm bath. If you are not sure the yeast is alive, mix a pinch of it with warm water and a pinch of sugar. It should foam in 5 to 10 minutes.

Skipping the second bake leaves the cereal soft inside and prone to soaking immediately. The first bake cooks the outside but leaves the interior tender. Baking the cut pieces a second time at 400°F (200°C) for 5 to 8 minutes dries them all the way through and creates the crispy texture that resists milk.

Cutting the pastry when it is cold shatters it into powder instead of clean pieces. Laminated pastry is fragile when cold but cuts cleanly when warm. Cut it within a few minutes of pulling it from the oven, while it is still hot enough to handle carefully.

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Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 grams)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (170 grams), divided
• 1 egg yolk

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Heat the milk to 110°F (43°C) using a thermometer. Stir in the sugar and yeast, and let sit for 2 minutes.
2. In a stand mixer, combine the flour and salt. Pour in the milk mixture and mix on low speed with the dough hook for 2 minutes until shaggy, then on medium for 6 to 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Knead by hand for 1 minute until it passes the poke test (it springs back slowly), then shape it into a rough rectangle.
4. Roll the dough into a 10 by 14 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into thin pats and dot them over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Fold the dough in thirds like a letter, seal the edges, turn 90 degrees, and repeat the dotting and folding two more times with the remaining butter, 4 tablespoons at a time.
5. After the final fold, wrap the dough tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
6. Roll the chilled dough into a 10 by 14 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined 9×13 pan, cover loosely with plastic, and let proof at room temperature until puffy and soft to the touch, 1 to 2 hours.
7. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Whisk the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush it over the dough.
8. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until deep golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center meets no resistance.
9. Let cool for 3 to 5 minutes until warm but cool enough to handle. Use a serrated knife to cut the pastry into roughly 1 inch pieces, cutting through gently in a sawing motion to keep them from shattering.
10. Spread the pieces on the same pan and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 5 to 8 minutes until they are pale gold and crisp throughout. Cool completely on the pan before storing.