Croissants

Croissants are laminated pastries made by folding butter into dough repeatedly, creating dozens of flaky, crispy layers that shatter when you bite them. The technique takes time but is straightforward if you follow the folds and chill between steps. Cold butter and cold dough are what make them work.

Ingredients for Croissants

Whole milk and water hydrate the dough and dissolve the instant yeast, which leavens it. Bread flour develops structure, while a small amount of sugar feeds the yeast and adds subtle sweetness. Salt controls fermentation and strengthens gluten. A small piece of butter mixed into the base dough adds richness, but most of the butter is folded in as separate sheets to create the layers. All-purpose flour dusted on the work surface prevents sticking during rolling and folding.

Why This Croissants Works

Croissants depend on lamination: folding cold butter into dough so many times that it creates thin, separate sheets of butter and dough. As the croissants bake, the water in the butter turns to steam, pushing the layers apart. The dough around each layer toasts and crisps. If the butter and dough stay cold during folding, the butter stays in distinct sheets instead of mixing into the dough.

The dough rises slightly before baking from the yeast, but most of the rise happens in the oven as steam expands between the layers. This is why shaping and the final proof matter, but lamination matters more. A croissant that has been properly folded and chilled will rise and shatter even if it does not rise much before baking.

The folds happen in stages: a simple fold (letter fold) every other turn, a book fold (accordion fold) on the turns between. This pattern distributes the butter evenly without overworking the dough. Resting between folds gives the gluten time to relax so the dough does not shrink back as you roll.

Mistakes To Avoid

Mixing the butter into the dough from the start ruins lamination. The butter must be separate, folded in as a cold slab, so it stays in distinct sheets. If the butter blends into the dough instead, the croissants will be dense and cake-like, not flaky.

Letting the dough or butter get warm causes the butter to smear into the dough instead of staying layered. The croissants will bake into a greasy, dense pastry. If the dough feels warm or soft while you are folding, stop and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.

Skipping or rushing the rests between folds makes the dough shrink back as you roll the next fold. The croissants will end up small and tough. Each rest relaxes the gluten so the dough stretches instead of resisting.

Proofing the shaped croissants too long or too warm makes them rise so much that they collapse in the oven and bake flat. They will look deflated and taste dense. Proof at room temperature until they jiggle slightly, not until they double in size.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk (240 ml)
• 1/4 cup water (60 ml)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (one 7-gram packet)
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour (330 grams)
• 2 tablespoons sugar (25 grams)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (30 grams)
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cold (340 grams), plus more for the pan
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Warm the milk and water together to 75°F to 80°F (24°C to 27°C). Add the yeast and let it sit for 1 minute, then stir. It should foam slightly on top. If it does not foam, the yeast is dead and the batch will not rise.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the bread flour, sugar, and salt on low speed for 30 seconds. Pour in the yeast mixture and the 2 tablespoons of softened butter. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes until the dough comes together, then on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes until it is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Do not knead it longer. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a rough square about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until it is cold and firm.
4. Place the 1 1/2 cups of cold butter between two sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, pound and roll the butter into a square about 1/4 inch thick and roughly 6 inches by 6 inches. Keep it cold. If the butter softens, refrigerate it for 10 minutes.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll the cold dough into a square about 10 inches by 10 inches. Place the cold butter square in the center of the dough, rotated 45 degrees so its corners point to the middle of the dough’s sides. Fold the four corners of the dough over the butter, overlapping them in the center and sealing them. You now have a dough package with butter inside.
6. Roll the dough package into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick and 18 inches by 6 inches, working from the center outward and keeping the edges even. Fold it into thirds like a letter: fold the top third down, then fold the bottom third up and over it. This is the first turn. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
7. Place the dough with a short side facing you. Roll it again into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick and 18 inches by 6 inches. This time, fold it in an accordion: fold the top 1/3 down, fold the bottom 1/3 up and over it, then fold in half. This is the second turn, a book fold. Wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. Repeat the letter fold (turn 3) and the book fold (turn 4), refrigerating for 30 minutes between each. After the fourth turn, wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
9. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick, 24 inches long, and 8 inches wide. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the rectangle into 12 triangles: cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 6 triangles by cutting diagonal lines from the top corners to the opposite bottom corners.
10. Starting at the wide end of each triangle, roll it toward the point, then curve the two ends toward each other to form a crescent. Place the croissants on a parchment-lined sheet pan, leaving 2 inches between them. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let them proof at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, until they jiggle slightly when you move the pan and have increased by about half their size.
11. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Brush each croissant lightly with beaten egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are deep golden brown on all sides and sound hollow when you tap the bottom. The internal temperature should reach 190°F to 200°F (88°C to 93°C).
12. Remove the croissants from the oven and let them cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before eating. They will continue to crisp as they cool.