Croissants
By Claire Saffitz
Updated Dec. 17, 2024
Total Time 24 hours, largely
unattended
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food
Rating (2,612) Stylist: Laurie Ellen Pellicano.
This recipe is a detailed roadmap to making bakery-quality light, flaky
croissants in your own kitchen. With a pastry as technical as croissants,
some aspects of the process — gauging the butter temperature, learning
how much pressure to apply to the dough while rolling — become easier
with experience. If you stick to this script, buttery homemade croissants are
squarely within your reach. (Make sure your first attempt at croissants is a
successful one, with these tips, and Claire Saffitz’s step-by-step video on
YouTube.) Discover more ideas for December in our best holiday recipes
collection.
INGREDIENTS PREPARATION
Yield: 8 croissants Step 1
Twenty-four hours before serving, start the
FOR THE DÉTREMPE
détrempe: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted
(DOUGH) with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar,
salt and yeast, and stir to combine. Create a
4⅔ cups/605 grams all-
well in the center, and pour in the water and
purpose or bread flour,
milk. Mix on low speed until a tight, smooth
plus more for dusting
dough comes together around the hook, about 5
⅓ cup/66 grams
minutes. Remove the hook and cover the bowl
granulated sugar
with a damp towel. Set aside for 10 minutes.
1 tablespoon plus ½
teaspoon/12 grams
kosher salt Step 2
2¼ teaspoons/7 grams
active dry yeast
¾ cup plus 2
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tablespoons/214 grams Reattach the dough hook and turn the mixer on
water, at room medium-low speed. Add the butter pieces all at
temperature once and continue to mix, scraping down the
½ cup/120 grams whole bowl and hook once or twice, until the dough
milk, at room has formed a very smooth, stretchy ball that is
temperature not the least bit sticky, 8 to 10 minutes.
¼ cup/57 grams
unsalted butter, cut into Step 3
½-inch pieces, chilled Form the dough into a ball and place seam-side
down on a lightly floured work surface. Using a
FOR THE BUTTER BLOCK
AND ASSEMBLY sharp knife, cut two deep perpendicular slashes
in the dough, forming a “+.” (This will help the
1½ cups/340 grams
dough expand into a square shape as it rises,
unsalted European or
making it easier to roll out later.) Place the
European-style butter (3
dough slashed-side up inside the same mixing
sticks), chilled
bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at
All-purpose flour, for room temperature until about 1½ times its
rolling original size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer the
1 large egg yolk bowl to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4
1 tablespoon heavy hours and up to 12.
cream
Step 4
As the dough chills, make the butter block:
Place the sticks of butter side-by-side in the
center of a large sheet of parchment paper, then
loosely fold all four sides of the parchment over
the butter to form a packet. Turn the packet
over and use a rolling pin to lightly beat the cold
butter into a flat scant ½-inch-thick layer, fusing
the sticks and making it pliable. (Don’t worry
about the shape at this point.) The parchment
may tear. Turn over the packet and unwrap,
replacing the parchment with a new sheet if
needed. Fold the parchment paper over the
butter again, this time making neat, clean folds
at right angles (like you’re wrapping a present),
forming an 8-inch square. Turn the packet over
again and roll the pin across the packet, further
flattening the butter into a thin layer that fills
the entire packet while forcing out any air
pockets. The goal is a level and straight-edged
square of butter. Transfer the butter block to the
refrigerator.
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refrigerator.
Step 5
Eighteen hours before serving, remove the
dough from the refrigerator, uncover and
transfer to a clean work surface. (It will have
doubled in size.) Deflate the dough with the heel
of your hand. Using the four points that formed
where you slashed the dough, stretch the dough
outward and flatten into a rough square
measuring no more than 8 inches on one side.
Step 6
Place 2 pieces of plastic wrap on the work
surface perpendicular to each other, and place
the dough on top. Wrap the dough rectangle,
maintaining the squared-off edges, then roll
your pin over top as you did for the butter,
forcing the dough to fill in the plastic and form
an 8-inch square with straight sides and right
angles. Freeze for 20 minutes.
Step 7
Remove the butter from the refrigerator and the
dough from the freezer. Set aside the butter.
Unwrap the dough (save the plastic, as you’ll
use it again) and place on a lightly floured
surface. Roll the dough, dusting with flour if
necessary, until 16 inches long, maintaining a
width of 8 inches (barely wider than the butter
block). With a pastry brush, brush off any flour
from the surface of the dough and make sure
none sticks to the surface.
Step 8
You’re going to enclose the butter block in the
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You’re going to enclose the butter block in the
dough and roll them out together. To ensure
they do so evenly, they should have the same
firmness, with the dough being slightly colder
than the butter. The butter should be chilled but
able to bend without breaking. If it feels stiff or
brittle, let sit at room temperature for a few
minutes. Unwrap the butter just so the top is
exposed, then use the parchment paper to
carefully invert the block in the center of the
dough rectangle, ensuring all sides are parallel.
Press the butter gently into the dough and peel
off the parchment paper. You should have a
block of butter with overhanging dough on two
opposite sides and a thin border of dough along
the other two.
Step 9
Grasp the overhanging dough on one side and
bring it over the butter toward the center, then
repeat with the other side of the dough,
enclosing the butter. You don’t need the dough
to overlap, but you want the two sides to meet,
so stretch it if necessary, and pinch the dough
together along all seams so no butter peeks out
anywhere. Lift the whole block and dust a bit of
flour underneath, then rotate the dough 90
degrees, so the center seam is oriented
vertically.
Step 10
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Orient the rolling pin perpendicular to the seam
and lightly beat the dough all along the surface
to lengthen and flatten. Roll out the dough
lengthwise along the seam into a 24-inch-long,
¼-inch-thick narrow slab, lightly dusting
underneath and over top with more flour as
needed to prevent sticking. Rather than
applying pressure downward, try to push the
dough toward and away from you with the pin,
which will help maintain even layers of dough
and butter. Remember to periodically lift the
dough and make sure it’s not sticking to the
surface, and try your best to maintain straight,
parallel sides. (It’s OK if the shorter sides round
a bit — you’re going to trim them.)
Step 11
Use a wheel cutter or long, sharp knife to trim
the shorter ends, removing excess dough where
the butter doesn’t fully extend and squaring off
the corners for a very straight-edged, even
rectangle of dough. Maintaining the rectangular
shape, especially at this stage, will lead to the
most consistent and even lamination. If at any
point in the process you see air bubbles in the
dough while rolling, pierce them with a cake
tester or the tip of a paring knife to deflate and
proceed.
Step 12
Dust any flour off the dough’s surface. Grasp
the short side of the rectangle farther from you
and fold it toward the midline of the dough slab,
aligning the sides. Press gently so the dough
adheres to itself. Repeat with the other side of
the dough, leaving an ⅛-inch gap where the
ends meet in the middle. Now, fold the entire
slab in half crosswise along the gap in the
center. You should now have a rectangular
packet of dough, called a “book,” that’s four
layers thick. This is a “double turn,” and it has
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layers thick. This is a “double turn,” and it has
now quadrupled the number of layers of butter
inside the dough.
Step 13
Wrap the book tightly in the reserved plastic. If
it is thicker than about 1½ inches, or if it’s lost
some of its rectangularity, roll over the plastic-
wrapped dough to flatten it and reshape it.
Freeze the book for 15 minutes, then refrigerate
for 1 hour.
Step 14
Let the dough sit at room temperature for about
5 minutes. Unwrap and place on a lightly
floured surface. Beat the dough and roll out as
before (Step 10) into another long, narrow ⅜-
inch-thick slab. It should be nice and relaxed,
and extend easily. Dust off any excess flour.
Step 15
Fold the dough in thirds like a letter, bringing
the top third of the slab down and over the
center third, then the bottom third up and over.
This is a “simple turn,” tripling the layers. Press
gently so the layers adhere. Wrap tightly in
plastic again and freeze for 15 minutes, then
refrigerate for 1 hour.
Step 16
Let the dough sit at room temperature for about
5 minutes, then unwrap and place on a lightly
floured surface. Beat the dough and roll out as
before, but into a 14-by-17-inch slab (15-by-16-
inch for pain au chocolat or ham and cheese
croissants). The dough will start to spring back,
but try to get it as close to those dimensions as
possible. Brush off any excess flour, wrap
tightly in plastic, and slide onto a baking sheet
or cutting board. Freeze for 20 minutes, then
chill overnight (8 to 12 hours). If making pain au
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chill overnight (8 to 12 hours). If making pain au
chocolat or ham and cheese croissants, see
recipes.
Step 17
Four and a half hours before serving, arrange
racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Bring a skillet of water to a simmer over
medium-high heat. Transfer the skillet to the
floor of the oven and close the door. (The steam
released inside the oven will create an ideal
proofing environment.)
Step 18
As the steam releases in the oven, line two
rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper
and set aside. Let the dough sit at room
temperature for about 5 minutes. Unwrap (save
the plastic for proofing), place on a very lightly
floured surface, and, if necessary, roll out to 17-
by-14 inches. Very thoroughly dust off any
excess flour with a pastry brush. Use a wheel
cutter or long knife and ruler to cut the shorter
sides, trimming any irregular edges where not
all the layers of dough fully extend and creating
a rectangle that’s exactly 16 inches long, then
cut into four 4-by-14-inch rectangles.
Step 19
Separate the rectangles, then use the ruler and
wheel cutter to slice a straight line from
opposite corners of one rectangle to form two
long, equal triangles. Repeat with the remaining
rectangles to make 8 triangles. Trim the short
side of each triangle at a slight angle, making
them into triangles with longer sides of equal
length.
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Step 20
Working one triangle at a time, grasp the two
corners of the shorter end, the base of the
crescent, and tug gently outward to extend the
points and widen the base to about 3 inches.
Then, gently tug outward from about halfway
down the triangle all the way to the point, to
both lengthen the triangle and thin the dough as
it narrows. Starting at the base (the short end),
snugly roll up the dough, keeping the point
centered and applying light pressure. Try not to
roll tightly or stretch the dough around itself.
Place the crescent on one of the parchment-
lined baking sheets, resting it on the point of the
triangle. If the dough gets too soft while you’re
working, cover the triangles and freeze for a
few minutes before resuming rolling. Space
them evenly on the baking sheets, four per
sheet. Very loosely cover the baking sheets with
plastic wrap, so the croissants have some room
to expand.
Step 21
Three and a half hours before serving, open the
oven and stick your hand inside: It should be
humid but not hot, as the water in the skillet will
have cooled. You want the croissants to proof at
70 to 75 degrees. (Any hotter and the butter will
start to melt, leading to a denser croissant.)
Place the baking sheets inside the oven and let
the croissants proof until they’re about doubled
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the croissants proof until they’re about doubled
in size, extremely puffy, and jiggle delicately
when the baking sheet is gently shaken, 2 to 2½
hours. Resist the urge to touch or poke the
croissants as they proof: They’re very delicate.
Try not to rush this process, either, as an
underproofed croissant will not be as light and
ethereal.
Step 22
Remove the baking sheets from the oven and
carefully uncover them, then transfer to the
refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes while you
heat the oven. Remove the skillet from the oven
and heat to 375 degrees.
Step 23
In a small bowl, stir the yolk and heavy cream
until streak-free. Using a pastry brush, gently
brush the smooth surfaces of each crescent with
the yolk and cream mixture, doing your best to
avoid the cut sides with exposed layers of
dough.
Step 24
Transfer the sheets to the oven and bake for 20
minutes. Rotate the baking sheets and switch
racks, and continue to bake until the croissants
are deeply browned, another 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely
on the baking sheets.
TIP
Croissants are best within an hour or two of
baking. After that, revive the croissants by
warming in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes.
Keep wrapped airtight at room temperature.
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