Like most of my recipes, learning this one came from an overwhelming desire to eat a lot of a particular item and not wanting to buy them when I KNEW I could make them myself. And, most importantly, not have to wait for the Sunday farmer’s market to get the best baked goods.
This recipe spans time, but is not consuming. It is a lot of hurry up and waits. Normally, I start making them on Friday night so they’re ready for Sunday morning brunch. If you really want to rush them, you can do it in less than 24 hours, if you watch the clock and manage your dough just right. I’ve only done that when making chocolate croissants, because let’s get real – a craving in a craving and you have to do what you can to feed the beast. 😉
The other thing that is a must, for me, is the homemade butter. I make my butter with salt, so the recipe calls for less salt because you’ll get it in the butter recipe. If you buy butter, use unsalted butter and add a teaspoon to the recipe ingredients.
Friday Night is time to get everything setup and starting the process. Make your butter and let it rest in the fridge until your dough is ready, needs to be cold but not frozen (about 30 minutes). Mix all the ingredients for your dough in a mixer (or by hand) until smooth. Then cover and put in the refrigerator overnight. Pull your butter out and place between two pieces of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, gently roll your butter into an 8 x 8 square. It should be about ½ inch thick when you’re done. Wrap in the parchment paper and lay flat in your refrigerator.
Saturday Morning – Pull your dough from the refrigerator and roll into a large square, on a floured surface. Should be 11-12 inches square. Place the butter on the dough so it looks like a diamond in the center of a square (see picture). Fold each of the dough flaps to meet in the center and pinch the seams together tightly.
Roll the dough square lengthwise until it is 8 inches wide and 20 – 22 inches long. Gently fold it into thirds, wrapping it in plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes, until dough is cold to the touch. Pull the dough out and roll it out again to the same size as above (8”x22”), fold and refrigerate. Repeat 2 more times. You should work your dough a total of 4 times, folding and refrigerating between each time. On the last time, leave your dough in the refrigerator overnight. Note: if in a rush, leave in fridge for 30 minutes, pull out, roll and start cutting to shape, then bake.
Sunday Morning – place your cold dough on a floured surface, cut dough in half width and roll each piece to 8” x 22” again. Using a rotary cutter, cut rectangles in your dough 5.5” x 8”. This should give you four large rectangles in your dough. Using the rotary cutter again, cut diagonally from corner to corner, giving you large scalene triangles (Thank you Ms Mercado. You were right, I did use geometry in my adult life.) Repeat these steps for the other piece of dough, giving you 16 triangles of dough.
Roll your dough from the largest part of the dough until the peak is in the center. You can curve the outer two peaks to make a more circular croissant or a half moon shape, it is your preference. Gently place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover in loose plastic wrap and let proof for 60-90 minutes.
Prepare your egg wash and lightly brush over the dough. Place in a 425F preheated oven and bake for until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Serve with more homemade butter and some fresh jelly.
Normally, I don’t write out the instructions for a recipe outside of the recipe card, however, these need a little more attention because they sound more detailed than they really are and it doesn’t sound friendly to say, “Make the dough, roll the dough, roll it again, again and again, then cut and bake. Viola!” Because croissants seem intimidating on your first try, (don’t worry when they’re ugly, they still taste great) promise to try them again. Your second time will be beautiful 😉 and you’ll never have to wait for the farmer’s market again!
Croissants are like donuts that went to college and made something of themselves.
William Shakespeare
GOOD FOOD. GOOD FRIENDS. GOOD TIMES.
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Croissants
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Ingredients
For dough:
- 4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 ¼ cup Whole Milk, room temperature
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 Tbsp Active Yeast
- 1 tsp Salt
For butter:
- 1 cup Butter or FLP’s Homemade Butter Recipe
For egg wash:
- 1 Egg
- 1 Tbsp Water
Note: If using store bought butter, use unsalted. If making butter, use ½ tsp salt in dough mixture instead of 1 tsp
Instructions
Friday Night (Day One):
- If you’re making your butter, mix here and refrigerate.
- Mix all the ingredients for your dough in a mixer (or by hand) until smooth. Then cover and put in the refrigerator overnight. If in a hurry, refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours.
- Pull your butter out and place between two pieces of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, gently roll your butter into an 8 x 8 square. It should be about ½ inch thick when you’re done. Wrap in the parchment paper and lay flat in your refrigerator.
Saturday Morning (Day Two):
- Pull your dough from the refrigerator and on a floured surface, roll into a large 11 to 12-inch square. Place the sheet of butter on the dough so it looks like a diamond in the center of a square (see picture). Fold each of the dough flaps to meet in the center and pinch the seams together tightly. Making a dough square that should be around 8” wide.
- Roll the dough square lengthwise until it is 8 inches wide and around 22 inches long. Gently fold it into thirds, wrapping it in plastic wrap and place back in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes, until dough is cold again.
- Pull the dough out and roll it out again to the same size as above (8”x22”), fold and refrigerate. Repeat 2 more times. You should work your dough a total of 4 times, folding and refrigerating between each time. On the last time, leave your dough in the refrigerator overnight. Note: if in a rush, leave in fridge for 30 minutes, pull out, roll and start cutting to shape, then bake.
Sunday Morning (Day Three):
- Place your cold dough on a floured surface, cut dough in half width and roll each piece to 8” x 22” again.
- Using a rotary cutter, cut rectangles in your dough 5.5” x 8”. Then cut each small rectangle diagonally from corner to corner, giving you large triangles.
- Repeat these steps for the other piece of dough, giving you 16 triangles of dough.
- Roll your dough from the largest part of the dough until the peak is in the center. You can curve the outer two peaks to make a more circular croissant or a half moon shape, it is your preference. Gently place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover in loose plastic wrap and let rise for 60-90 minutes
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Prepare your egg wash and lightly brush over the dough. Place baking sheet in preheated oven and bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Serve warm
Notes:
- DO NOT overwork your dough. It should always be cool to the touch, if it’s not, stop working it and put in refrigerator. You want to keep your butter cold to ensure a fluffy croissant.
- If only cooking a couple croissants at a time, this dough will freeze. Once croissants are rolled and shaped, cover with plastic wrap and place baking sheet in freezer, until dough is completely frozen. About 4 hours. Move them into a Ziploc bag and pull out as needed. When ready to bake, pull out of freezer and let rest overnight at room temperature. To bake, proceed to step 11.
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