Homemade Butter Croissant | How To Make Croissants

Homemade butter croissants are classic and rich, crispy and flaky that will make your morning breakfast or mid-day snack extra delicious.

I finally crossed croissants off my to-do list after a very long time. I am feeling great today because I did it. The recipe below is one of the quick versions of making croissants using the laminating technique. Overnight resting is not required for preparing these croissants.

What is a croissant?

Croissant is a buttery, flaky, viennoiserie pastry of Austrian origin, associated with France. So in short its a French pastry shaped into a crescent 🙂 It is yeast-leavened dough prepared using the laminating technique where the dough is layered with butter, rolled, and folded several times repeatedly. The result is a flaky layered treat similar to puff pastry.

How to serve croissants?

These butter croissants are that good you can eat them all alone. But if desired, you can add toppings like almonds, cinnamon sugar, or fillings such as pumpkin puree, strawberry jam, Nutella, peanut butter. You can also cut them horizontally and use veggies, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, ham, cheese, etc., to make sandwiches.

Are croissant and puff pastry the same?

The texture of both croissant and puff pastry is the same, but there are few differences. Croissant is a yeast-leavened dough, and its recipe calls for the addition of sugar while preparing the dough. While making puff pastry, no sugar is added, and it does not contain yeast.

Are croissants and danish pastry the same?

Croissant and danish pastry are similar. While making danish pastry, we add eggs, but the croissant is an eggless recipe.

My First Attempt  On Croissants

This is my first time trying croissants at home. I tried confidently following the recipe and steps provides by my all-time favorite Chef John. Whenever I follow his recipe, I learn something new. He presents fancy recipes in a simple manner, and most of the time, I have seen successful results. The last recipe that I tried from his blog was KOUIGN AMANN, and it was a blockbuster hit.

I have baked a lot of breads in the past few years. However, the first thing I learned while making croissant pastry was that you need to dedicate a good half-day of time while preparing croissants, unlike other bread.

The temperature of the butter (Butter de tourrage) and dough (détrempe) is very important. Both need to be cold but pliable during the lamination process. If either of them is warm, you will not get good flaky layered croissants but will end up with buttery dinner rolls like brioche.

Butter should not be too soft that it blends with the dough, and it should not be too cold that you cannot spread it to form layers. Just cold but still flexible butter is what we are looking for. So anytime you feel the butter may pop out or squeeze out while rolling the dough, put the dough in the fridge and chill before you continue to work.

Then why should you try making croissants at home?

To appreciate the art of making good croissants, I think you should try making these from scratch at home. These croissants may not look perfect like the other ones on the internet, but that crispy, flaky layers in every single bite is so satisfying that you feel it is worth the effort. You will not get the same feel in any bakery-bought products.

And like Chef John Says, it is a little easier than flying to Paris to eat these treats. Therefore, I encourage you all to try baking these at home 🙂

I have followed the same recipe as Chef John. I did not have to change anything as it was one of the most straightforward recipes for croissants I found on the internet.

Only Pro Tip from my end: If you are making croissants for the first time, choose a cold day. In this way, you can avoid creating a buttery mess on your kitchen counters. Cold dough and butter also ensure a lesser chance of butter getting absorbed by the dough.

You can even use salted butter instead of unsalted butter, and yes, it works beautifully. If you are using salted butter in the recipe, reduce the salt below to 1 tsp.

Ingredients  for HOMEMADE BUTTER CROISSANT

1 cup warm Water
¼ cup Sugar
2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast (1 packet)
3 ½ cups All-purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoon Salt
6 tablespoon Butter, room temperature
2 sticks (1 cup) Butter (almost softened)
1 Egg with 1tbsp water for egg wash (or use 2 tablespoon Milk or heavy cream as a substitute for egg wash)

How to make homemade butter croissants?

Make the croissant dough

In a bowl, add warm water, sugar and mix till sugar dissolves. Sprinkle yeast and leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes. Let the yeast activate.

Now add the butter, salt, and flour in increments and knead nicely for 8 to 10 minutes until dough pulls away sides of the bowl and a semi-smooth dough ball is formed.

Cover and keep it in a warm place. Let it rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and deflate it. Form a rectangle. Now fold into thirds by lifting one end over the middle and followed by another end onto the middle. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Keep it in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until chilled through. Check video on making of croissant dough

Make butter slab

Cut parchment paper long enough to fold over a slab of butter whose dimensions are approximately 8 inches by 8 inches.

Cut two sticks of butter into half lengthwise and arrange it on parchment paper about 1 inch apart on one half of the parchment paper. Fold over the other side of the parchment paper. Slowly press the butter down using a rolling pin. Roll out into a square of 8 by 8 inches. Refrigerate until cold but pliable (flexible). I kept it in the fridge along with the dough. Check the video for more details.

How to roll croissant dough or How do you laminate dough?

Roll out the dough into a rectangle slightly wider than your butter slab and twice as long. Place the butter slab on one half of the dough, leaving about 1 inch along the edges, and fold the other half over. Dust the work surface with flour as needed. Check the video on how to laminate croissant dough.

Press down using a rolling pin and roll to form a rectangle of approximately 8 by 16 inches. Dust the dough and working surface with flour as needed during the rolling process.

Starting from the short side, fold into thirds over the middle to form a rectangle. Place this back on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes of resting, transfer the dough back to the working surface. Using the same rolling technique, roll to form a rectangle as before. Fold into thirds again, starting with the short side into thirds and forming a rectangle again. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Roll the dough into a rectangle and, this time, fold it in half. Then roll and press to form a rectangle about a half-inch thick. Cut the pastry dough into half, lengthwise, using a pastry cutter or knife. While working on one half, place the other half in the refrigerator.

How to shape croissants?

Roll one-half of the layered dough piece into a rectangle of approximately ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough diagonally crosswise to form around 6 to 8 triangles. Starting with the wide end of the triangle, roll it toward the tip to form a croissant with the seam side down. Check the video on how to shape croissants.

Place these croissants on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. In a bowl, add egg and water, and whisk to make an egg wash ( alternatively, you can use milk or cream or even butter). Apply egg wash on each croissant and let it rise for 45 to 60 minutes.

Baking croissants

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the croissants again with egg wash. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Why is my croissant not flaky or does not have many layers?

During the lamination process, the butter must have mixed with the dough because it was too soft. Alternatively, the butter did not roll out evenly between the dough as it was too cold and ruined the lamination.

How to store croissants?

Croissants can be stored in air-tight containers for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

How to freeze homemade butter croissants?

To freeze baked croissants:

Once freshly baked croissants come to room temperature, put them in a freezer bag or air-tight container. Croissants can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw for 1 hour and reheat when desired.

To freeze unbaked croissants:

Once you shape the croissants, let them sit on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze it for few hours. Transfer the frozen croissants to Ziplock bags, and they will last for two months.

To bake, place the croissants on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap and leave it to proof for 4 to 5 hours before baking.

Step by Step Video recipe for Homemade Butter Croissants

Detailed recipe for Homemade Butter Croissants

This recipe is inspired by Chef John - best of all.

Recipe card

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