Chef John’s Croissants
Describing the process of making homemade croissants as easy might be a stretch, considering the multiple steps involved and the considerable time commitment of at least half a day. However, it's not overly difficult either; certainly more manageable than hopping on a plane to Paris, which is the alternative route to savoring these incredible pastries. This croissant recipe, accompanied by a helpful video, was adapted from one by Bruno Albouze, featured in The Real Deal (of which he is a part).
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup warm water (100 degrees F or 38 degrees C)
- 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 3 ½ cups unbleached bread flour
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
Croissants
- 2 sticks unsalted European-style butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Place warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle with yeast. Let yeast dissolve for 10 minutes. Add sugar and bread flour. Sprinkle with salt; add 6 tablespoons butter. Attach the bowl to the stand mixer. Mix dough with the dough hook just until butter is completely kneaded in, and the dough forms a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl, 3 or 4 minutes.
- Transfer dough to a work surface and form into a semi-smooth ball. Place dough back in the mixer bowl; cover. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 2 hours.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Push and press dough to deflate it and form it into a rectangle. Fold into thirds by lifting one end over the middle third and folding the other side onto the middle. Wrap in plastic wrap. Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Refrigerate until chilled through, about 1 hour.
- Cut 2 sticks butter in half lengthwise and place slightly apart from each other on a length of parchment paper long enough to fold over the butter. Fold the parchment paper over the butter. Press butter down. Roll out with a rolling pin to a square about 8×8 inches. Refrigerate until a little chilled and just barely flexible, 10 or 15 minutes.
- Roll dough out into a rectangle slightly wider than the butter slab and just over twice as long. Place butter on one half of the dough leaving about a 1-inch margin from the edge of the dough. Fold the other half of the dough over the butter. Dust work surface and dough with flour as needed.
- Press rolling pin down on dough to create ridges. Then roll out the ridges. Repeat this process. Keep pressing and rolling until dough is about the same size rectangle as you had before you folded it in half, dusting with just a bit of flour as necessary.
- Starting from the short side, fold one-third of dough over middle third. Then fold the other end over to form a small rectangle. Flatten out just slightly with rolling pin. Transfer to the silicone-lined baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer dough back to work surface and repeat pressing and rolling technique until dough is the size of the previous larger rectangle. Fold into thirds again, starting from the short side. Press and roll slightly. Transfer back to lined baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate about 15 minutes.
- Roll back out to a large rectangle. This time, fold dough in half. Then press and roll out into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle, using as little flour as needed to keep dough from sticking.
- Cut dough in half lengthwise using a pastry wheel or pizza cutter. Dust one piece with flour and roll out to a rectangle about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Starting from one corner, cut the dough diagonally crosswise into 8 triangles using a pastry wheel. Starting with the bottom end of each triangle, roll each up toward the tip to form the croissant with the seam at the bottom. If necessary, use a bit of water to seal the tip to the rolled croissant.
- Repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Place shaped croissants on baking sheets lined with silicone mats. Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water to make the egg wash. Brush croissants with egg wash. Place in a warm area to allow them to rise, about 45 to 60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush croissants gently but thoroughly again with egg wash.
- Bake in the preheated oven until beautifully browned, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Cool to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- The technique is pretty straightforward but be sure to pay attention to the temperature of your butter. If your slab is too soft, it will just blend into the dough, and you won’t get the gorgeous layering. And if it’s too cold and 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.
- This is actually the quick version in that we’re not leaving the dough to rest overnight before laminating with the butter.
- If you’re substituting table salt for the coarse Kosher salt, use just 1 3/4 teaspoons.
Nutrition
Calories: 532kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 9gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 107mgSodium: 796mgPotassium: 96mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gCalcium: 23mgIron: 3mg
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