French cuisine

Medium

Croissants

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These croissants are a labor of love, transforming simple ingredients into buttery, flaky perfection. The recipe combines soft, proofed dough and a delicate butter layer through precise laminating techniques, resulting in irresistible layers of texture and flavor.

The dough is enriched with milk and butter for a tender crumb, while the butter layer, carefully incorporated with a series of folds and turns, creates the signature flaky structure. After shaping, the croissants rise until pillowy and are baked to a golden brown, delivering a heavenly aroma and a light, crispy exterior.

Recipe

PRE TIME: 2 hr 40 min

COOKING TIME: 30 min

TOTAL TIME: 3 hr 10 min

6 SERVING

Ingredients:

ㅤ ㅤDough
3 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Sugar
1½ tsp. Salt
1/3 cup Warm Water
2/3 cup Room Temperature Whole Milk
2¼ tsp. Dry Yeast
2 tbsp. Room Temperature Butter ㅤ
ㅤ Butter Layer
8 oz. Butter
1½ tbsp. All-Purpose Flour
1 Large Egg Wash

Directions:

【Dough】Step 1

Combine the sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or a large bowl, if you are making by hand). Mix ingredients together.

Step 2

Put milk and water in a measuring cup. Dissolve yeast using a whisk or fork.

Step 3

Pour liquid into flour mix, then stir together using the dough hook or a wooden spoon if you are mixing by hand. Knead 3-5 minutes until dough is lumpy but no longer shaggy.

Step 4

Add butter and knead 3-5 more minutes until butter is completely worked into dough. (Dough will be moist but not sticky.)

Step 5

Remove the dough from the mixer and transfer to a clean, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Rest and proof dough for 30 minutes until increased in volume and to give the gluten time to relax.

【Butter Layer】Step 1

Using the paddle attachment on the mixer, beat the butter and flour until smooth and creamy, but do not aerate or cream as for cookie dough.

Step 2

Scrape the butter onto a long piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and shape into a flat square, 8” x 8”, just a little bit less than ½” thick. Chill.

【Laminating the dough】Step 1

Place the croissant dough on a generously floured work surface and sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour.

Step 2

Roll the dough into a square, approximately 12”x12”. Brush the excess flour from the dough. Center the chilled butter in the dough, with the corners of the butter square centered along the sides of the dough. It should look like a diamond in a square.

Step 3

Fold the four corners of the dough over the butter, pinching well along the seams, and sealing all four corners at the center of the butter packet.

Step 4

Then roll out the dough into a 20” x 8” rectangle. Brush off the excess flour and, seam side up, fold ⅓ of the dough lengthways into the center.

Step 5

Then fold the final third of the dough over the middle portion to make three layers of dough. This is called a letter fold. Cover and return to the fridge for 30 minutes. This is one “turn.” Remove dough from the fridge and repeat the process, for a total of two turns. Rest for another 30 minutes.

Step 6

For the third and final turn, make a book fold. Lengthways, fold one-quarter of the dough toward the center. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough. The two edges of the dough should meet in the center. Then “close the book” by folding the dough in half. You should have four parts of the dough stacked. Roll it out slightly to flatten the dough to 1” thick if the butter isn’t too soft. Rest the dough in the fridge 30 minutes to overnight.

【Shaping the croissants】Step 7

Roll dough to ⅙” thick, 10” wide, approx. 24” long. Use a sharp knife or pastry wheel to make desired cuts.

Step 8

Place croissants onto a sheet tray lined with parchment.

Step 9

Cover with a clean container or place in the proof box, or lay a piece of plastic on top, making sure they are loosely covered.

Step 10

Allow to proof until puffy, pillowy to the touch, and risen to 1 ½ time the original size, which will take from 2-3 hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is. If you’re in a cool climate, you can proof the croissants on top of the warming oven to speed up the process.

Step 11

While the dough is rising, heat oven to 200°C / 400°F.

Step 12

Egg wash the croissants and bake on a double sheet tray (to prevent the bottoms from burning) on the middle rack of the oven for 8 minutes, then rotate the tray and lower the oven to 180°C / 350°F.

Step 13

Bake for another 15-20 minutes until uniformly golden brown.