Croissants Recipe - How to Make Croissants and Croissant Danish

The hubby had an annual meeting for one of his groups and it was a potluck. He signed up to bring the rolls so you know who was really in charge of the rolls. Uh-huh! Yours truly. That’s OK – we all know how much I love my time in the kitchen. I found my favorite croissants recipe and went to work in my kitchen.

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I hadn’t made them in a while and I really do enjoy a light, flaky croissant with some homemade jam. It’s a perfect breakfast. Or lunch. Or midnight snack. Did I mention that I love croissants? They are not immediate gratification baking by any stretch of the imagination – they are a two day process but I still think they are well worth the waiting. They are not difficult, the dough just needs time overnight in the refrigerator to develop a delicious flavor and the appropriate rise. The recipe is from my favorite bread baking cookbook – Secrets of a Jewish Baker. I really do recommend the book. It’s wonderful for all kinds of bread baking.

How to Make Croissants

Makes 36

3 cups warm water
3 packages active dry yeast (2 heaping TBS)
3 TBS sugar
4 1/2 TBS powdered milk
7 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 TBS salt
4 sticks less 2 TBS butter (I used unsalted to which I added 1 tsp salt) at room temperature
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water with a pinch of salt for an egg wash

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached add the yeast to the warm water. Add the sugar, powdered milk, flour and salt.

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I was making two batches so you are seeing two different mixers.

Mix until it starts to come together and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Add the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky – don’t worry. More flour will be added later as you roll in the butter.

Cover the bottom of a large, heavy duty baking sheet with parchment paper. Flour the parchment. Take the dough out of the bowl and spread it evenly over the parchment in a rectangular shape. Cover with plastic or foil and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Take the butter and toss it into the bowl of a stand mixer to break it up and make it spreadable. Alternatively, put it into a bowl and break it up with a large spoon. Place it between two pieces of wax paper and roll it out to about a 13″ x 12″ rectangle. Place the butter in the refrigerator until the dough has finished it’s time. The dough and the butter should be about the same consistency when you go the next stage which is called “rolling in.”

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Take the dough out of the refrigerator and put in on a well floured surface. Flour is your friend with croissants. Roll the dough out to about 20 x 14″. Place the butter as shown in the top/left photo. Bring the right side over to center and then fold the left side over the top. Turn the dough longways and roll it out and repeat the steps minus the butter. Place the dough back on the baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Take the dough out of the ‘fridge and repeat the rolling and folding process. Do this twice more with a 45 minute stay in the refrigerator between each rolling/folding turn. After the last one cover the dough and let it stay in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to about 24 x 15″. Trim the dough to a rectangle. I have found that a pizza wheel is the best tool for cutting the dough. Cut the dough into thirds at 5″ intervals.Then cut the strips into 12 triangles. Save all trimmings for a later project. (Croissant Danish!)

If you cannot see the video you can watch it on YouTube HERE

Preheat the oven to 450°

Roll the croissants: Croissants need to be rolled tightly so they don’t come apart when they are baked. Trust me. I have learned this the hard way. You take one of the triangles, pull the bottom edges out and then roll, roll, roll until there is no more to roll. Then you squish the two ends together.
(Watch the video – it shows how it is done.)

Place the rolled croissants on a baking sheet covered with either parchment or a silicone mat. Let them rise for 45 minutes until they have puffed up.

Brush the croissants with the egg wash and put them into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Switch the trays around in the oven and bake for another 10 – 12 minutes until they are golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack.
Croissants freeze beautifully. They will thaw in 10 minutes.

how to make croissants, croissants, croissants recipe

I love to bring one out for each of us with a little bit of homemade strawberry jam. They are so deliciously flaky and with a rich buttery taste they make a yummy breakfast.

I haven’t made them for a quite a while and I am so happy to have some in my freezer right now. I’ve truly been enjoying them.

Now, as to the scraps I mentioned above – I turned them into croissant danish! I just mooshed them all together and rolled them out to about 1/4″ thick. (The camera battery had died by now so I’m very sorry I don’t have photos of the process.) I then cut the dough into strips about 1/2″ thick. I twisted the strips and then wrapped them in a circle.

I brushed them with the egg wash and sprinkled a bit of sugar in the raw over top. I made a small indentation in the center and added a dollop of jelly – I had blackberry on hand. I baked them along with the chocolate stuffed croissants.