How To Make Croissants. [and lose your mind while doing it]
Please say yes, because you will be rewarded with this.
This was a… project. To say the least.
I have been dying to try homemade croissants for ages, but after mention of them when I made almond joy scones, I could hardly wait.
I have a very nostalgic reason for loving croissants: since I was young, each summer my grandma would always pick up a croissant from the Bread Box Bakery in Boyne City. It was such a treat and we ate them plain – simple, delicious and buttery. No eggs, no jam, nothing to take away from their fabulous flavor. Croissants always make me think of her.
But I also have a superficial reason for loving croissants: It’s Complicated. I wish I could live inside that movie. I’m in love with Steve Martin, I want to own Meryl Streep’s bakery and Alec Baldwin has some super weird sex appeal that creeps me out and makes me crazy about him at the same time. It is not a stretch to say I’ve probably seen the movie 100 times. I’m easily entertained.
Too bad they don’t mention that it takes like 14 hours to really make croissants. I wish I was joking… but I’m not. I was able to narrow down the recipe I made to about 10 hours, but only because I’m wildly impatient and was sick of pacing back and forth in my kitchen all day. Not to mention… there was flour EVERYWHERE.
I’m not about to tell you “oh! croissants are SO easy! you can totally do it!” because seriously… they are not. However, I think it is similar to roasting a chicken – the first time sucks the life out of you but it gets easier and more enjoyable time after time after time. At least that’s what I’m hoping. Plus, the end result is totally worth it and you know I’m not just saying that. I have never had a croissant so fresh that I burnt my tongue on it… until now.
Oh… and I made four flavors of croissants: traditional, chocolate, cinnamon sugar and pumpkin spice. Hop on for the ride. Yes, I’m insane.
Easy enough… it all starts with some yeast and flour.
I know you have all of the ingredients in your kitchen, which means you should probably start right now.
The dough feels a bit sticky after mixing at this point, but remove it from the bowl anyway and knead it with some flour. I love that feeling on my hands.
Form the dough into a soft, little pillow-like lump and then wrap it in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for about an hour. Start being impatient now.
After the hour is up, you can start beating the crap out of this butter. I had no clue this was how croissants were made, and up until now was completely naive on why croissants are packed with calories. I thought, “umm… isn’t is just all flour and like, pastry stuff?”
No. Apparently not.
All of this butter goes into the croissants. I.freaking.love.it. Don’t you even try to reduce the amount. I mean… these are CROISSANTS.
Using a rolling pin and cold, but not hard-as-a-rock butter, you press it in between two sheets of plastic wrap (or towels – the recipe called for towels, but uh… mine weren’t clean) and mash it into a square. Then use a dirty tape measure from the garage to make sure it’s a rectangle. <– dirty tape measure optional. [P.S. for someone who loathes following a recipe, making these croissants and actually measuring them our to a T was a challenge… pretty sure I have multiple personalities considering I fought with myself about four different times.]
After rolling out the refrigerated dough, you place the butter slab in the middle, like the bottom right photo above.
Then you fold it up like a letter. Top comes down, bottom comes up. This amused me. Mainly because I was starting to lose it and was only two hours in.
Using a rolling pin and having the short end of the new dough rectangle face you, press down with the pin to help roll out the dough.
You roll it out to a super skinny rectangle, fold it like a letter again, then stick it in the fridge. This is considered the first fold.
You have to do FOUR FOLDS. With 1-2 hours of refrigeration in between. Totally doable, but not when you want to do it all in natural daylight to photograph for your invisible internet friends. My recommendation would be to make the dough and do the four folds in the late afternoon/evening, refrigerate overnight then wake up and make the actual croissants.
You have to do this for someone realllllly important. Like yourself.
Sidebar: I should mention that I could totally be doing this wrong, and if you’re a pastry chef you most likely are cringing right now. But… it worked.
This is what my dough looked like after four folds and refrigeration, right before I rolled it out for the last time. See all those little butter crumbles in the dough? Yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to be like that at all. I was nervous and almost threw in the towel, but I had come so far. Moral of the story: if this happens to your dough, continue anyway.
I rolled the dough into a final skinny rectangle, then sliced triangles with a pizza cutter.
Then it’s time to cut a little slit in the straight end, and roll that baby up. It reminded me of… an elephant. My rolling skills clearly are lacking.
After rolling, brush the croissants with a little beaten egg wash, and into the oven they go.
Man… I was so nervous. I thought for sure they were not going to turn out.
Before we get to the finish line, here are the rest of the flavors.
I stuffed the traditional croissants with a chunk of chocolate, other traditional ones with a pumpkin spice cream + a good roll of pumpkin spice sugar, and the final in layers and layers of cinnamon sugar.
I almost cried when these were in my oven. They smelled so amazingly good. The minute they came out, I tore into one and was stunned by the layers and layers of flakes, as I was sure I had done something wrong in the process. Maybe these are a bit foolproof?
I could have cared less about plating. Who cares about flakey crumbs? Not I.
While photographing, I ended up eating another whole one + a few bites to taste test the others. Within minutes, I was feeling not so hot. I packed them up and drove them over to my mom, because she and my dad also love croissants. I knew this was a better choice than eating croissants for every meal the next four days.
But that didn’t work.
Because the day after, I drove over to their house solely to eat one.
Then the next day, I drove over again. I ate the last one since they plowed through them pretty quickly. The bane of my existence is stale pastries, but these were still pretty delicious on day 3. The trauma is wearing off, so hopefully it won’t take me 10 years to make another batch.
Croissants
[dough from epicurious, method from cooks.com]
makes about 20-24 croissants, depending on triangle size
1 1/2 cups warm whole milk (about 105 degrees F)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
3 3/4 – 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) cold, unsalted butter
1 egg + 1 teaspoon whole milk, beaten for brushing
1. To make dough, combined milk, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer attached with a dough hook, and let sit until foamy – about 5-10 minutes. If it doesn’t foam, start over. Once foamy, add 3 3/4 cups flour and the salt, and mix on low speed until dough comes together and is soft, about 7 minutes. Transfer dough to your workspace and knead by hand for a minute or 2, using more flour to make it silky and not sticky. Form dough into a 1 1/2 inch thick rectangle, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for one hour.
2. Once dough has chilled, set butter sticks next to each other with their sides touching. Pound it down with a rolling pin to soften it a bit, then set it between two towels or two sheets of plastic wrap. I found this to be the most challenging part. Using the rolling pin, continue to press down on it with the rolling pin and roll. I also used my hands to press it down and form it into 8 x 5 inch rectangle. Once done, wrap in plastic wrap and chill while rolling dough.
3. Remove dough from plastic wrap and sit on a lightly floured surface. Using your hands, stretch the dough (especially the corners) into the 16 x 10 inch rectangle. I was wary of this but it actually works pretty easily – just be sure to measure! Place dough with a short end near you. Set butter slab in the middle of the dough, then fold the ends up like a letter: top half down and bottom half up. Turn dough again so the short side is facing you, and use the rolling pin to press down equally on the dough to help flatten it. Roll dough into a 15 x 10 inch rectangle, rolling out to the ends but not actually over the ends. Again, fold the dough like a letter: top have down and bottom half up, and stretch so the corners are square. This should form a 10 x 5 inch rectangle (roughly). Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for one hour.
4. Repeat step 3 THREE more times, for a total of four folds, chilling the dough for one hour after each fold. After the fourth and final fold, wrap dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill for 8-12 hours, no longer. I chilled mine for 6 and it was fine.
5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. When dough is ready, roll out to a very long and skinny rectangle, about 20 x 32. (If your counter is small, you can break the dough in half and do this in 2 sections). Using a pizza slicer (or sharp knife) cut the dough into triangles. Cut a small vertical slit right into the middle of the straight end, and using both hands, roll croissant up pushing the sides out to either side. Place on a baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart, cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rice for 1-2 hours. I did not see a great change, but they rose a bit. Brush with beaten egg then, bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool before removing from baking sheet.
For chocolate croissants: in step 5, place a 1/2 – 1 ounce of chocolate in the middle of the dough before rolling up.
For cinnamon sugar croissants: you have two options. If you’d like every croissant to be cinnamon sugar, layer each fold of dough with a cinnamon sugar mixture (about 2 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon). If you just want to make a few cinnamon sugar croissants, completely coat the triangle in cinnamon sugar before rolling up. Brush with beaten egg, then coat with cinnamon sugar again. Be sure to use a non-stick baking sheet, as sugar will caramelize a bit and croissants may stick. Make sure they cool completely before trying to remove.
For pumpkin spice croissants: in step 5, drop 1-2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice cream into the middle of the dough before rolling. For cream, combine 1 part cream cheese with 1/2 part pureed pumpkin, 1/2 part sugar, and a heavy sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice. Either layer each fold or roll each triangle through a pumpkin spice sugar mixture (2 parts sugar to 1 part pumpkin pie spice), then brush with beaten egg and coat with pumpkin spice sugar. Be sure to use a non-stick baking sheet, as sugar will caramelize a bit and croissants may stick. Make sure they cool completely before trying to remove.
[Note: these additional flavors can definitely be decorated in cuter ways, I was just totally done at this point. ]
Whew. That was intense.
302 Comments on “How To Make Croissants. [and lose your mind while doing it]”
Holy cannoli! (Or I should say, croissant!) This is not merely bread, they are little buttery masterpieces! Great tutorial!
You explained the whole process so beautifully..just baked & posted croissants yesterday…but could have been really better had I visited here before baking them :) Gonna make again.
Wow…I’m very impressed. I think I sort of attempted them back in the dark ages when I was a young married but don’t remember them coming out that beautifully! Have fond memories of fresh croissants and raspberry jam every morning on a trip to Paris 30 some years ago. I’m an oldie…not sure i’ up to trying these but I might when one of the grandkiddos or their momma are here!
Wow! They look fantastic. I would love to make croissants though I’m not sure I have the patience…. but you inspire me so maybe I’ll give it a whirl!
There is nothing better than a buttery croissant… I really want one filled with chocolate now.
Oh dear me! These look fabulous!
I am 100% sure I will never make these. I can admire from afar.
10 hours. And all the steps. I knew there was a reason I never had an urge to apply to French pastry school.
Seriously though…you did an amazing job!!
Wow I’m totally impressed!!! These look beautiful especially those pumpkin spice ones. YUM!
“and the next task I am going to do is make GF croissants for Chelsey.”
I read between the lines. THat’s what you were really saying.
Omg, you are so brave! I’ve always wanted to make croissants from scratch but I am not a patient person when it comes to dough……especially when I have to need it by hand!
These look so amazingly delicious! Wow, lot’s and lot’s of butter but the end result looks picture perfect! I like your recipe suggestions, that pumpkin pie croissant is calling my name!
Awesome Work!!!!!
Totally want to make croissants for the same reason you did (Meryl Streep’s bakery). Think I may give it a go
I am SOOOOO impressed! Like you, I am obsessed with “It’s Complicated” and wish I owned the fabulous bakery Meryl Streep has in that movie, and of course her baking skills! These look positively magnificent and you should win a medal, or at least be very proud and know you have legions of fans gaping at your post in amazement! :) Don’t know if I’ll ever have the time to attempt such an endeavor, but I will certainly put it on my Bucket List! Kudos to you for such a great job!
Thanks Paula – that is too sweet.
There is a baking competition on TV in the UK at the moment and last night they had to make pastries including croissants. It looked ridiculously difficult but you make it look so easy. I am a little scared by the amount of butter but I’m sure it will make me a better person…
Those look amazing!! Side note, when I was living in Santa Barbara they were filming “It’s Complicated” so they were all over town for a while. And Alec Baldwin is just sexy. Period.
I would have freaked out.
All I can say is I am so jealous! Croissants are my favorite! I lost my friggen dough hook from my mixture and now I can’t make bread, I really need to order one. I tried making bread by hand, you know kneading it and all, uh uh! I made the heaviest bread ever. I don’t have the patience! Can you send me some croissants? In return I’ll send you bread as heavy as a brick!
My dough hook has changed my life. I definitely would order a new one!
I’ve been the same way….really wanting to make croissants for ages, but I’ve been a little intimidated (and almost nothing intimidates me in the kitchen!). Thanks for the inspiration, hopefully I’ll knock these off my kitchen bucket list soon!
This is a great post. I was thinking about Croissants yesterday… and that movie too! So funny this was your post today… I loved it. Thanks for the flour and frustration…the end result is beautiful!!!!
Oh, this is wonderful. You are the best!
Amazing step by step photos! Your croissants turned out gorgeous.
You go girl. Now I love to bake but that is a little too much for me. Can you imagine all that time you put into something so beautiful and someone (my husband) wipes it out in one sitting. A friend and I made this dough to make clothepins. Took us all day and our tow beloved husbands showed up and cleaned us out. I think I got to eat one and the friend has two. Never again. I now buy the dough from a local shop. I know its the easy way out. But I am so proud of you. Very nice and very courageous of you. LOL LOL Like Isaid you go girl. Hugs Paulette
Tell me about it… tons of work for little result! Thanks Paulette. :)
AH-MAZ-ING! Thanks for all your hard work! Not that I could ever imagine a leftover and stale crossiant… but should you ever, there is a Nigella recipe “Caramel Croissant Pudding”- right up your alley, it’s made with bourbon :)
Are you kidding me?! That sounds insanely delicious. Wow.
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever looked at something so beautiful. I’ve had croissant making on my bucket list for years now, but I also have things in that bucket called, oh…IMPATIENCE.
This will never happen for me, so I’m happy to look at yours.
And cry.
Now I’m upset that I have to eat crackers for breakfast. Stupid exam.
I found your blog just a few days ago through stumble, and of course, signed up for a subscription right away! ;-)
I am so impressed by your croissants! I tried twice in the past, once even blogged about it – please DO NOT try to find my post on them, it is pathetic. I am so traumatized about my croissants disasters, but had decided that this Fall I would try again.
you definitely inspired me…. I just hope this time it will turn out ok.
Wow. I feel like I need to congratulate you! So much patience involved. I don’t know if I could do it! I’d be the EXACT same way. But yayyyy to fluffy, tasty croissants!!!! :)
Doesn’t everyone want to do something that sucks the life right out of them?!?!
hahaha! They are beautiful though!!!
10 hours? Holy Goodness! I think I’ll stick to purchasing them ;) But yours looks awesome!
Well, I had no idea they took 14 hours! I am more of a “go to Panera and buy a croissant and eat in the corner to be fancy” kinda girl.
Making them at home opens up a while new world to my fancy-domination. Mwahahaha!
Wow, totally impressive! They are gorgeous, but for now I think I’ll stick w/ my five ingredient PB M&M bars. Want to mail me some of these? I’d be happy to take them off your hands.
This is so great, I’ve been wanting to learn how to make croissants, it’s even on my fall bucket list and the step by step instructions with pictures make it so much less intimidating!
I’m. Drooling. These. Croissants. Look. Amazing.
If I didn’t have class or a job, I would drop everything and make these. Oh wait, I’m doing that anyways :)
Thnk you, thank you, thank you, for the photo tutorital!!!!! (sp?) I’ve always been intimidated, and uh, still am… but now I feel a smidgen better!
oh.
my.
goodness.
So I sort of want to cry when I read the amount of steps. Then I looked at the pictures and wanted to cry…because I didn’t have one of those in my hand for breakfast.
God bless you – I don’t think I’d have the patience’s!
From one invisible internet friend to another…these are awesome! I loved the humorous dialogue and now am smitten with the crazy drive to try this out. I remember making them for french class once in college and it was so much fun. Good job, they are Beeeauuutiful!
Wow, awesome work Jess! These are beautiful. I’ll have a pumpkin spice croissant (or 10) to go please! :) I hear ya on It’s Complicated – I watched it with my mum a couple of weekends ago and I LOVE the scene in the bakery. Sadly Alec Baldwin doesn’t do it for me, but I was quite enjoying John Krasinski!
Wow,
That was a mouthful. This is something that I have never attempted. My grandmother taught me how to make pastry and make pies and everything else I have had to figure out myself. I consider myself an accomplished bread maker and I always make my pizza dough from scratch. Well now it is my turn to make my favourite thing in the whole world, petit pains au chocolat. Thank you for the amazing tutorial. I will let you know how I make out.
Kim
Gosh you have the patience of a…. okay I have no analogy but seriously, these looks AMAZING. I’m fairly certain I will not attempt these anytime soon but I loveee looking at your photos and hearing the process. They are beautiful!
My sister makes croissants. The first time I tried one was probably the best moment of my life. Totally different experience than store bought croissants. I have never attempted them myself, so I must applaud you. Clapclapclapclapclap WOOOOHOO!!
Love it! Thank you!
these look amazingggg- and HUGE!!. But really- pumpkin spice croissant?? yummmmmm. !!!!!
That’s dedication. I would have ditched it halfway through and gone to the store – croissants would then have magically appeared on my table!
Fantastic! They look amazing. I’m certainly not going to try it as I would probably try to suffocate myself in the dough halfway through, but your pictures make it very tempting!
Speaking of pictures, I’m probably the only person crazy enough to think that in the third your hand was completely swallowed by dough with only your pinky sticking out. I’m now convinced it was your dough hook, so no need to send out a rescue party to dig you out :)
Hahahah it’s definitely a dough hook.
Okay seriously, you just ascended to a whole new level of badass in my book!
you are my hero for sticking with this. i’ve found my next snow day recipe!
You have officially toed the line into hardcore. I have heard that making croissants is such a bi*ch and this post pretty much supports that argument. I will never attempt this, but give you a hearty salute and a tip of the hat for going through with the mission.
I’m tired for you, pass me one of those lovelies please! Congratulations on finishing the project and retaining your sanity.
Its complicated is one of my FAVs!!! I want to live inside that movie too, and own her bakeshop…its adorable! Thanks for spending 14 hours making these for us! :)
Hey!
I just wanted to say that Croissants are a something else to make. The first time I made them I thought that I was doing something special and was so excited that I was stepping outside of my comfort zone with traditional baking. But “lawd have mercy” I had no idea that they took as long as they did. I was curse myself and Martha Stewart out the entire time. But I must say, the end result was worth it. I would totally do it again, I just have to be mentally preapred for it. I want to make turnovers. Do you know if it takes the same amount of time?
I also had no idea croissants took so long! Not sure about turnovers, never have seen a recipe for them!
Great tutorial! The end results look perfect!
Seriously… Can I have the one with the chocolate? You’re freakin’ awesome!!