Friday, December 1, 2017

Croissants – Slightly Easier than Flying to Paris

I wouldn’t describe homemade croissants as an easy recipe, since there are multiple steps, and it does take a least half a day, but it’s really not that hard either; and certainly simpler than flying to Paris, which is the only other way to enjoy these amazing pastries.

Sure, some of you may live near an authentic French bakery, maybe even one of the few that still use pure butter, but for the sake of this post, let’s assume that you don’t. Besides, sitting next to a basket of homemade croissants raises your foodie street cred like few other things.

Despite taking a fair amount to time, this is actually the quick version, in that we’re not leaving the dough to rest overnight, before laminating with the butter. I don’t think there’s a huge difference, but I did want to mention in case you’d prefer to start the dough at night, and do the rest of the work the next day.

The technique is pretty straightforward, but be sure to pay attention to the temperature of your butter.  If you’re slab is too soft, it will just blend into the dough, and you won’t get the gorgeous layering seen herein.  And if it’s too cold in firm, it won’t spread between the layers of dough like it needs to. It should basically have the firmness of clay.

So, take your time, and when in doubt, pop the dough in the fridge for a few minutes to chill it down as you’re working. You’ll notice I didn’t serve anything on my croissants when I did the final shots, and if you make these, you’ll understand why.  I really do hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!


Makes 12 to 16 Croissants:
This recipe was adapted from one by Bruno Albouze, from The Real Deal (which he is)
For the dough:
1 cup warm water (about 100 F.)
1 packet active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 teaspoons)
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 teaspoons kosher salt (1 3/4 teaspoons if using fine salt)
3 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
6 tablespoons room temp butter for the dough

For the croissants:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted European-style butter for the slab
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water for the egg wash

38 comments:

Jota said...

Please show two derivatives: almond croissants and pain au chocolate.

Unknown said...

I love your show!

Unknown said...

I love your show Chef John

Kyle Zager Illustrations said...

#TeethDoLieButSometimesTheyDontEspeciallyWhenItComesToCrispness ?

Not as catchy, nevermind.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Yummmmmmm!

Unknown said...

Hey Chef John! Great recipe! I was wondering how you used your frozen half of the dough? Do you just defrost it on a later date to make another batch or do you use it for another purpose entirely? Thanks!

Flo said...

Hello
There is a way to make a pâte feuilleté in less than 10 minutes, if you are interested :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxrd5Gq48mc

Unknown said...

I think I missed something. What did you do with "The Slab"?

Unknown said...

Oops, never mind, I saw it...

Unknown said...

Love all your recipes. Can you tell me if I can bake with spreadable brie? Thanks. email me at pkrau9876@yahoo.ca

Richard said...

Hey Chef John,

I'm having the problem where the outermost layer of the dough is sloughing off and revealing the butter underneath, making it really tough to roll it out during the final fold without it getting really messy. Any tips?

Unknown said...

Love this, but just watched your stove top sous vide duck breast vid (again)... Need more sous vide recipes. Don't leave us hanging! I love my sous vide tool.

Unknown said...

Used this to try out making croissants for the first time and they were delicious

Vancouverite said...

My food wish: is a recipe using port loin (not tenderloin). I have a ton of pork loin in the freezer as I can get it super cheap and I would love a variety of recipes to use it. My current go to dishes right now are pounded pork (my family's name for a schnitzel-like dish), sweet and sour pork stew that is served over rice (supper nummy, easy and healthy meal, but I'm currently getting a bit tired of it given how much I am cooking it) and making pork chops or a pork roast. 

Ms. P said...

These look amazing! Could you freeze all of the dough for later use? Would you defrost in the fridge and then follow the rest of the recipe steps? Thanks!

Jenny said...

Sooo...if I want croissants for breakfast do I freeze the baked croissants and reheat in the morning? Or have you tried freezing the unbaked, (risen?) croissants and baking them in the morning?

Greetings from Germany (where it's faster to drive to Paris than make croissants :) but you know..i love baking)

Asia said...

(Biggie voice)It was all a dream until I got to the final roll stage...then it turned to a nightmare.


I split the dough in half and while I was rolling out the cut half, it would NOT roll out nicely. The butter was oozing out, if I put flour on the table, it wouldn't roll out, when I put less flour, it stuck to the table.

I can't lie, as a intermediate cook, my blood pressure was rising and my anxiety was thru the roof.

I currently have them rolled into their croissant shape doing their final rise....pray for them.

Asia said...

Croissants done, and they are amazing!

My blood pressure may have risen during that step, but it lowered once I bit down into the delicious flaky Croissant......it rose again because I ate 4 in one sitting.

Thanks chef😀

Evan said...

I tried these today! Came out delicious but a tiny bit burnt, making me wonder if 400° is really the right temp.

Cdesign_Proponentsist said...

Hey chef, wonderful recipe. You make this look very easy. I'm wondering, I would like to make a ham and cheese variation. What do you think is the best technique to integrate some ham and cheese into it?

Athena said...

Great recipe! Can't wait to try it. Is there another way in which to roll the dough for baking rather than from long triangles? Just curious.

Flyboy Willy said...

Ok, first time commenting. Love the videos and blog. Not knowing the best way to ask this but could you show us the proper way to make ebelskivers?

Unknown said...

hi chef !big fan of yours ....i was wondering if it is fine to mix the dough by hand rather than by electrical mixer ?

Dorian DemiGlace said...

Another Great recipe CJ, although you will have to wash the mixer now. Was it worth it?

Dorian DemiGlace said...

Oh BTW my food wish is Lebanese Lentil, Onion and rice dish thingy called Madjadra, you can use the Vegan hashtag for this one, or you could add chicken stock and make it taste great!

Unknown said...

I've made croissants before but it was a harrowing experience and I swear I would rather get on a plane, head to the 6th arr. in Paris, walk up Rue de Buci, enter into Carton and buy a couple of croissants.

But--I'm going to try your recipe because everything I've ever made from your recipes has turned out beautifully!

Thank you!

Hilversum said...

Amazing - I'm going to give them a try this weekend once I do the needed conversions. Can I make a suggestion? When you use US-specific sizes (like 2 sticks of butter, which Google will give several weight variations) perhaps consider also adding a weight measurement in grams for everyone else?

We can buy Pyrex cups and measuring spoons, so volume is covered - but weight in grams is really, really helpful, especially with recipes like this one. You're all about techniques, which is great - which means we can be the freak of our own technique - but that works only if the basic measures are right. ;)

Unknown said...

I have just discovered your videos and today I am making the chocolate croissant. Even though it takes loads of time, I have enjoyed doing the step by step method that you show. You may not be aware of it, but your humor is very appealing, like "Well, it's okay because it doesn't make any difference if you're not perfect." That certainly takes off the stress. Will continue to look at your site and cook more of your delicious recipes. I am also a blogger and writer of about 9 years and if you'd like to look at or follow mine, here is the link: www.boyerwrites.com
Blessings in the new year. Nancy

Unknown said...

Has anyone attempted to double this recipe or make it in bulk? I have a stand mixer and I want to make several batches of the dough.

Unknown said...


I did it and it was amazing, I mean every thing from making the dough, baking and eating!
This is one of the simplest recipes of croissant, it was a good start for me!
Thank you so much.

Melissa said...

Chef John!! Could there be a typo in this recipe? Bruno's original recipe calls for TWO PACKETS of yeast. Please comment - thank you!

Unknown said...

Chef John
Could you fry the dough like a cronut?


David said...

Chef John: thank you for this post! I tried a similar croissant with good results by preheating the oven at 450 F and then bake at 350F for approx 25 minutes.

I want to make the croissant with big height like the ones from Paris Baguette Cafe. https://goo.gl/images/cnwsLJ

What do you recommend?

Thanks!
David

Elle said...

Yay! I made croissants! Not as crispy as they "should" be, but still awesome!
Thank you, Chef John!

Unknown said...

Your attitude in cooking is just very enjoyable! Humorous, love it.

Lia at Petite Little Bee said...

I LOVE WATCHING YOU ON YOU TUBE YOU HAVE THE ABSOLUTE BEST RECIPES EVER.

Tracie Sanders said...

Love your videos chef john can this recipe use berries instead of chocolate?

David gervais said...

Love your recipes! How do you propose making this recipe do you can bake the croissants early in the morning? I let the dough rise all night but it didn’t make good croissants.