Croissant

Name: Croissant
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 22
Ingredients: Type 00 flour 3 ¼ cups; Manitoba flour 0.8 cup; Water at room temperature 1.1 cups; Fresh liquid cream at room temperature 3 ½ tbsp; Fresh brewer's yeast 2 tsp; Sugar 0.3 cup; Fine salt 2.1 tsp; Butter (soft but still plastic, of high quality) 1 &frac13; cup; Egg yolks 2; Whole milk to taste

it es fr de br

252

Calories per serving

Vegetarian

Energy Kcal 252
Carbohydrates g 29.6
of which sugars g 3.8
Protein g 4.9
Fats g 12.7
of which saturated fat g 7.16
Fiber g 0.9
Cholesterol mg 60
Sodium mg 217

Difficulty: Difficult
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 25 min
Makes: 22 pieces
Cost: Average
Note + rising times

PRESENTATION

Recipe by
Paolo Griffa

Nothing wakes you up quite like the smell of a fresh croissant baking—really, it's magic—with that buttery aroma wafting through the kitchen. French tradition, I gotta say, really turns breakfast into something special. You bite into a flaky and golden pastry, and it crackles softly.

Homemade croissants? It's not just about food—it's like stepping into a movie scene, the kind where someone in Paris starts their day with a basket of warm, tender croissants from the corner bakery. In France, especially Paris, croissant-making is an art, for real. Every layer of flaky pastry comes from careful folding and waiting. So you know, taking your time actually matters.

And look, the dough gets rolled and folded again and again—letting those crispy layers form. It's seriously good. If you're into baking, you'll love this. Watching the dough rise? Super satisfying. Then, brushing it with egg before the oven. The result? Always worth it: soft inside with a moist crumb and a crisp shell.

This easy croissant recipe lets you experiment with classic fillings, too—like rich chocolate spread, sweet jam, or even vanilla pastry cream. Just like you'd find in a true French pastry shop. Some folks keep them plain; others go all out. Croissants are part of a tradition called 'viennoiserie,' where pastries like pain au chocolat and brioche join in, but the croissant stays king.

And here's the thing: if you've wondered how to make croissants like they do in Paris, this method brings that magic right home—folding, waiting, and enjoying each bite. The best part? Baking croissants at home means you share that buttery Parisian moment with anyone around your table, any morning. Imagine waking up, brewing your favorite coffee, and enjoying a warm, homemade croissant—a little slice of Paris in your kitchen. Pretty simple, right?

INGREDIENTS

252

Calories per serving

Ingredients for 22-24 croissants: Type 00 flour 3 ¼ cups (400 g); Manitoba flour 0.8 cup (100 g); Water 1.1 cups (250 g) - at room temperature; Fresh liquid cream 3 ½ tbsp (50 g) - at room temperature; Fresh brewer's yeast 2 tsp (10 g); Sugar 0.3 cup (60 g); Fine salt 2.1 tsp (12 g); Butter 1 ⅓ cup (300 g) - (soft but still plastic, of high quality)

for brushing: Egg yolks 2; Whole milk to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Croissant

To prepare the croissants, start by placing all-purpose flour, Manitoba flour 1, crumbled fresh yeast 2, and water 3 into a stand mixer with a dough hook. Start the mixer at low speed and as soon as the ingredients are combined, increase to medium speed. At this stage, the dough should be elastic and soft: it will take about 5 minutes.

Then stop the mixer, pour in the cream 4, salt, and sugar 5. Start the mixer again at initially low and then medium speed, working everything for about 8 minutes, until the edges of the mixing bowl are clean and the dough has come together. At the end, the dough will be soft, elastic, and silky 6.

Remove it with a dough scraper 7, shape it into a ball, then transfer it to a large bowl 8 and cover with plastic wrap 9. You should let it rise in a draft-free room (or in a switched-off oven with the light on) for about 2 hours. Alternatively, you can put it in the fridge overnight: this will make the dough even more workable. Before placing it in the fridge, leave it covered at room temperature for about an hour.

Once the indicated time has passed, take the dough, sprinkle a little flour on the surface 10, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, and dust the part that was in contact with the bottom of the bowl 11. Proceed by rolling out the dough with a rolling pin, gently without applying too much pressure 12

until you create a rectangle of 18x10 inches 13. Take the butter block, which should be pliable (you can take it out of the fridge about ten minutes before using it in the recipe). Lightly dust the work surface with flour, also sprinkle the butter lightly 14, and roll it out with the rolling pin, turning it occasionally, to give it a squared shape of 10x10 inches 15 with a thickness of about 1/5 inch.

Remove the excess flour and place the square of butter in the center of the rolled-out dough 16. Fold one of the two edges of the dough towards the center 17, then do the same for the other edge without overlapping too much 18.

Take a tray, line it with plastic wrap, then place the dough on it 19 and cover it with plastic wrap. Place it in the fridge for 15 minutes, enough time for the dough to be rolled out again with the rolling pin. After these minutes, remove the plastic wrap, lightly dust the work surface and the dough, flip it over onto the work surface, lightly dust the other side of the dough, and roll it out with the rolling pin in the direction of the openings, lengthwise 20. Now you need to perform three folds in this way: bring one edge of the dough to a third of the rectangle 21

and then cover with the other edge 22. The first fold is done: you can wrap your dough again in plastic wrap 23 and place it back in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then proceed in the same way by rolling out the dough always in the direction of the openings 24

and folding the edges as previously indicated 25; once you've completed the second 3-fold, you can place the dough back in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap for 30 minutes 26. After this time, you can proceed with the third and final fold with the same previous steps of rolling out 27

and folding the dough 28. This time, however, you should leave the dough in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap for at least 2 hours. After this time, take the dough: lightly flour the work surface, lightly flour the dough, and proceed to roll it out always in the direction of the openings to a thickness of about 1/8 inch. You should obtain a rectangle of 16x24 inches 29; while working to roll it out, lightly flour and flip it occasionally. Take a ruler, divide the rectangle in half 30, widthwise,

to obtain two rectangles of 8x24 inches 31. At this point, using a pastry cutting wheel, make incisions every 4 inches on one side of each rectangle 32. Then on the other side of the rectangle, mark a point every 2 inches 33, without cutting; this will be the tip of your croissants.

At this point, cut the dough to form your triangles 34. With these amounts, you'll obtain about 22-24 triangles. Start forming your croissants: take a triangle of dough, holding the base with one hand, stretch it slightly by pulling the tip gently 35 and make a cut in the center of the base about 1 inch long 36.

Then roll the croissant onto itself, gently stretching towards the tip 37 and then closing it into a crescent shape 38. You should achieve 3 complete turns, or 4 spirals. Gradually place the croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them out 39. Let the croissants rise in an off oven with the light on or in a draft-free room for an hour and a half.

After this time, in a small bowl beat the egg yolks with the milk: brush your croissants with a very soft brush 40, this way after baking they will be golden and shiny. Bake in a preheated, convection oven at 392°F for about 25 minutes. Check them frequently during baking, without ever opening the oven door. Once baked 41, remove your croissants from the oven and enjoy them hot 42!

Storage

Since this recipe uses yeast, the croissants remain sufficiently fresh for up to 1 day in a paper bag or under a glass dome; before serving, you can warm them slightly in the oven. You can freeze the formed croissants raw before the final rise: you can then take them out of the freezer, let them thaw overnight in an off oven, and then brush them as indicated in the recipe. Then bake them as instructed. Alternatively, you can also freeze them after baking.

Advice

Fill your croissants with custard, chocolate or pistachio custard, or other flavors you prefer, even with jams or marmalades. Only for the latter two fillings is it possible to fill the croissants before baking; for creams, it is always preferable afterward.

For this recipe, it is essential to use good quality, unsalted butter with a delicate flavor. The butter used in the recipe should be pliable.

Let the dough rest in the refrigerator overnight, this way it will be more elastic and easier to work with.

As an alternative to the ventilated mode, you can use the static oven at the same temperature: the baking times will be slightly longer. We invite you to always check without opening the oven.

Instead of cream, you can use the same amount of milk or water. Using water will result in a less silky dough and the color of your croissants will be less amber.

As an alternative to the all-purpose flour + Manitoba mix, which is used to obtain a more elastic dough, you can buy puff pastry flour available in well-stocked supermarkets, online, or in stores that sell pastry products.

If you're looking for a way to replace butter, make these vegan croissants!

Curiosity

Legend has it that the croissant was invented in Vienna, on the occasion of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1683. The Turkish army, to destroy the city's walls, had devised to place dynamite in underground tunnels at night. It was the bakers, already at work during the night hours, who noticed the movements and raised the alarm. After defeating the Turkish army, the same bakers were commissioned to create a pastry that would recall the event and celebrate the victory: the shape of the croissants would resemble the crescent symbol of the Ottoman Empire.

History, however, tells us that the kipferl, the croissant, was born many centuries earlier. While for the name "croissant" one must wait for the marriage at Versailles between Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of Austria. The court pastry chefs modified the recipe by adding more butter and renamed it croissant, which would derive from crescent, indeed recalling the crescent moon.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.