Homemade Croissants
AuthorPriyanka SivaramakrishnanDifficultyIntermediateSoft, flaky steaming croissants made right at home. Up for the challenge? Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction
In the bowl of the stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are using a hand-held mixer or your hands,) add the butter, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Using the hook attachment, gently combine the ingredients on a low-medium speed. Slowly pour in the milk. Increase the speed to medium once all the milk is added. Let this run for about 5 minutes. No matter which instrument you are using, once the dough starts coming away from the sides of the bowl and is soft and bouncy, it's ready to be rested for a bit.
Remove the dough from the bowl and use your hands to shape it into a ball. Place it on a lightly floured silicone sheet or parchment paper. Flatten the dough a little (you can even shape it into a rough rectangle) and cover it with a cling film. Place this on a baking tray and in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Clear up some space from the counter and remove the dough from the refrigerator. For this bit, it's easier to work with the dough on the silicone sheet because the size that you are rolling it to, is about the same size of the standard silicone sheet. Flatten the dough a bit using you hand and then start rolling the dough into 14 * 10 inch rectangle, making sure you maintain the shape. It is natural for the edges to want to bend, what I do is to adjust the shape once for every four pumps of my rolling pin.
Place this rolled out dough (silicone sheet/parchment paper) and all onto the baking tray, cover with cling wrap and place it back into the fridge for the long rest of 4 hours or more. This is my first overnight rest.
About 45 minutes before you start working on the dough again, we start the butter layer. This gives the butter just the perfect amount time to harden it, but not too much to make it too hard to work with. Place the butter in a bowl and add the two tablespoons of flour. Cream them together. Once well combined, transfer the butter onto a silicone sheet/parchment paper and using a small spatula, shape the butter into a 7 * 10 rectangle. Make sure you are constantly checking measurements. You don't want to lose ingredients just because the sizes don't fit. Place the butter in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Bring the dough out of the fridge while you prep your rolling area. If you have a cold counter, I'd recommend working on it. This helps keep the dough cold while you are rolling it. I usually use my kitchen counter. Remove the dough from the silicone sheet and place it on the counter, with the shorter end near you. Slowly peel the butter from the silicone sheet and place it right in the middle of the dough (making sure there is equal space on the top and bottom.) Encase the butter with the two flaps of dough and seal the edges with your fingers. There should be no butter peeking out. If the butter layer is a little bigger, trim it using a knife or pizza cutter.
The 1st Turn: Lightly flour the counter and with the shorter side close to you, roll out the dough into a 10 * 20 inch rectangle. Again make sure that you maintain the shape of dough to a rectangle. At any time if you see any butter peeking out, just sprinkle some flour on it and continue rolling. Once you have the correct size, fold the dough onto itself into three parts, like how you would do a letter. You can see the video of it earlier in the article.
The 2nd Turn: If you feel that dough is too warm, keep it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes before starting again. Usually, this won't be necessary. Turn the dough to have the shorter side close to you and once again roll it into a 10 * 20 inch rectangle. Fold the dough again into three parts like a letter. Place this on a silicone sheet, cover it with cling wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
The 3rd Turn: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on the counter. Turn the dough to have the shorter side close to you and once again roll it into a 10 * 20 inch rectangle. Fold the dough again into three parts like a letter. Place this on a silicone sheet, cover it with cling wrap and place it int the refrigerator for 4 hours or more. This is my second overnight rest.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on the counter. Turn the dough to have the shorter side close to you and once again roll it into a 8 * 20 inch rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or knife, carefully measure and cut down the dough vertically. This will leave you with two 4 * 20 inch rectangles. With each rectangle, make three equal cuts horizontally, giving you 4 pieces of 4 * 5 inch rectangles, a total of 8 pieces.
While working with each rectangle, cover up and leave the rest in the refrigerator. Cut the rectangle diagonally creating two triangles. Using your hands or the gentle touch of the rolling pin, stretch the dough into a 8 inches long triangle. Make a small slit at the wide base of the triangle and roll it up, ending at the pointy tip. Hold the edges and slowly move it into a crescent shape.
Repeat with the other pieces of dough. For a variety, you can even load them with chocolate barks. If you'd like to try that, instead of cutting the 4 * 5 inch rectangle diagonally into triangles, divide it vertically in the middle. Stretch this to about 8 inches long. Keep a small piece of chocolate horizontally on the shorter side and roll up the dough.
Place the shaped croissants on couple of lined baking trays. Loosely cover them with cling wrap and let them to rest on the kitchen counter for anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour. Ideally, this is where they bloat up in size. After it's rest on the counter, put them back into the refrigerator for an hour. This is to make sure that the butter is cold and is not the first to melt when the croissants go into the oven.
After the hour in the refrigerator, place the trays on the counter. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Gently wash the croissants with the mix.
Place the trays in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes. If you are anything like me, pull yourself a stool to sit next to the stove and watch them bubble and flake. Rotate the trays halfway to get an even browning.
Remove trays from the oven and place the croissants on a wire rack to cool down.
Break one open and enjoy that steamy, flaky, fresh, homemade croissants and give yourself a big pat on the back!
Ingredients
Directions
In the bowl of the stand mixer (or a large bowl if you are using a hand-held mixer or your hands,) add the butter, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Using the hook attachment, gently combine the ingredients on a low-medium speed. Slowly pour in the milk. Increase the speed to medium once all the milk is added. Let this run for about 5 minutes. No matter which instrument you are using, once the dough starts coming away from the sides of the bowl and is soft and bouncy, it's ready to be rested for a bit.
Remove the dough from the bowl and use your hands to shape it into a ball. Place it on a lightly floured silicone sheet or parchment paper. Flatten the dough a little (you can even shape it into a rough rectangle) and cover it with a cling film. Place this on a baking tray and in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Clear up some space from the counter and remove the dough from the refrigerator. For this bit, it's easier to work with the dough on the silicone sheet because the size that you are rolling it to, is about the same size of the standard silicone sheet. Flatten the dough a bit using you hand and then start rolling the dough into 14 * 10 inch rectangle, making sure you maintain the shape. It is natural for the edges to want to bend, what I do is to adjust the shape once for every four pumps of my rolling pin.
Place this rolled out dough (silicone sheet/parchment paper) and all onto the baking tray, cover with cling wrap and place it back into the fridge for the long rest of 4 hours or more. This is my first overnight rest.
About 45 minutes before you start working on the dough again, we start the butter layer. This gives the butter just the perfect amount time to harden it, but not too much to make it too hard to work with. Place the butter in a bowl and add the two tablespoons of flour. Cream them together. Once well combined, transfer the butter onto a silicone sheet/parchment paper and using a small spatula, shape the butter into a 7 * 10 rectangle. Make sure you are constantly checking measurements. You don't want to lose ingredients just because the sizes don't fit. Place the butter in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Bring the dough out of the fridge while you prep your rolling area. If you have a cold counter, I'd recommend working on it. This helps keep the dough cold while you are rolling it. I usually use my kitchen counter. Remove the dough from the silicone sheet and place it on the counter, with the shorter end near you. Slowly peel the butter from the silicone sheet and place it right in the middle of the dough (making sure there is equal space on the top and bottom.) Encase the butter with the two flaps of dough and seal the edges with your fingers. There should be no butter peeking out. If the butter layer is a little bigger, trim it using a knife or pizza cutter.
The 1st Turn: Lightly flour the counter and with the shorter side close to you, roll out the dough into a 10 * 20 inch rectangle. Again make sure that you maintain the shape of dough to a rectangle. At any time if you see any butter peeking out, just sprinkle some flour on it and continue rolling. Once you have the correct size, fold the dough onto itself into three parts, like how you would do a letter. You can see the video of it earlier in the article.
The 2nd Turn: If you feel that dough is too warm, keep it in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes before starting again. Usually, this won't be necessary. Turn the dough to have the shorter side close to you and once again roll it into a 10 * 20 inch rectangle. Fold the dough again into three parts like a letter. Place this on a silicone sheet, cover it with cling wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
The 3rd Turn: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on the counter. Turn the dough to have the shorter side close to you and once again roll it into a 10 * 20 inch rectangle. Fold the dough again into three parts like a letter. Place this on a silicone sheet, cover it with cling wrap and place it int the refrigerator for 4 hours or more. This is my second overnight rest.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on the counter. Turn the dough to have the shorter side close to you and once again roll it into a 8 * 20 inch rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or knife, carefully measure and cut down the dough vertically. This will leave you with two 4 * 20 inch rectangles. With each rectangle, make three equal cuts horizontally, giving you 4 pieces of 4 * 5 inch rectangles, a total of 8 pieces.
While working with each rectangle, cover up and leave the rest in the refrigerator. Cut the rectangle diagonally creating two triangles. Using your hands or the gentle touch of the rolling pin, stretch the dough into a 8 inches long triangle. Make a small slit at the wide base of the triangle and roll it up, ending at the pointy tip. Hold the edges and slowly move it into a crescent shape.
Repeat with the other pieces of dough. For a variety, you can even load them with chocolate barks. If you'd like to try that, instead of cutting the 4 * 5 inch rectangle diagonally into triangles, divide it vertically in the middle. Stretch this to about 8 inches long. Keep a small piece of chocolate horizontally on the shorter side and roll up the dough.
Place the shaped croissants on couple of lined baking trays. Loosely cover them with cling wrap and let them to rest on the kitchen counter for anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour. Ideally, this is where they bloat up in size. After it's rest on the counter, put them back into the refrigerator for an hour. This is to make sure that the butter is cold and is not the first to melt when the croissants go into the oven.
After the hour in the refrigerator, place the trays on the counter. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together. Gently wash the croissants with the mix.
Place the trays in the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes. If you are anything like me, pull yourself a stool to sit next to the stove and watch them bubble and flake. Rotate the trays halfway to get an even browning.
Remove trays from the oven and place the croissants on a wire rack to cool down.
Break one open and enjoy that steamy, flaky, fresh, homemade croissants and give yourself a big pat on the back!
Notes