Croissant Recipe from Scratch (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (2024)

Croissant recipe from scratch that is so easy to follow! The steps are broken up over 3 days, so you can start on a Friday and have fresh, homemade croissants on Sunday. Small batch croissant recipe makes 4 croissants.

Croissant Recipe from Scratch (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (1)

I just finished reading ‘French Women Don’t Get Fat.’ I know, I’m 6 years behind the times. Please tell me I'm not the only one that read books WAY after they are popular!

I just finished The Hunger Games recently, also waybehind the times.

Anyway, I have no idea why I read this book. I’m not looking to shed any weight.

Maybe I was looking for an excuse to drink wine at lunch AND dinner. Maybe I’m going through a Francophile phase?And then I must thank another friendfor being such an enabler. She convinced me at brunch this weekend that there are, in fact, pills big enough to make someone like me conquer their fear of flying over the ocean to visit France.

Croissant Recipe from Scratch (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (2)

My point being that I read a book about how to manage yourweight, and all I came away with was a recipe for croissants from a real French woman.

These are not diet croissants, even though they come from a diet book. They are croissants for the woman who’s been good all week and looks forward to her weekly reward of a croissant on Sunday morning.

I’m going to take a shot in the dark here and say that if you’ve been good all week, you probably can’t be trusted around a dozen croissants. Is that just me?

I just came off another sugar detox, and I went straight to my favorite chocolate shop. I spent so much time in there that my hair smelled like chocolate-dipped sea salt caramels the rest of the day (success!). So, this recipe makes 4 good-sized croissants.

You can absolutely stretch it to 6 croissants, though they will be smaller.

Croissant Recipe from Scratch (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (3)

I made a lot ofchanges to Mireille's recipe, mainly to eliminate any wishy-washy instructions (there were lots). I need clear, concise instructions for baking; a French chef, I am not.

I also changed some things that were blantantly wrong with her recipe: do not put flour in the butter layer. I don't know where she came up with that, but my sweet cousin Stephanie who is a pastry chef said that was absolutely not the way to make croissants. When I put flour in the butter layer, I ended up with crescent rolls, not croissants. Still delicious, but not my goal.

My cousin Stephanie calmed my fears about croissants by boiling it down to this: it's a yeast dough with a butter layer that is folded four times. When you think of it that way, it suddenly becomes more approachable.

Croissant Recipe--a few modifications allowed:

Mireille divided her recipe into the course of 3 days for ease. This way, you can start Friday night and eat croissants Sunday morning.

If you want to alter the recipe and replace all overnight instructions with 4 hours and try to make these in one day, go ahead. I haven't tried that, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. But as always, if you have any questions, just leave me a comment, and I will get back to you. I will post answers to questions on the site so that everyone can see them.

Homemade croissant recipe--modifications not allowed:

-unbleached flour. Please use unbleached flour, as that is what Mireille used, and that is how I developed this recipe.
-kosher salt. I normally use sea salt for baking, but Mireille used kosher. I copied her exactly because I listen to what a French woman says about baking.

Once you've mastered this small batch of croissants, be sure to makemy other version: CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS!:

Croissant Recipe from Scratch (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (4)

Yield: 4

Homemade Croissants

Croissant Recipe from Scratch (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (5)

Skip the bakery and make your own croissants at home.

Prep Time1 day

Cook Time15 minutes

Total Time1 day 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • ½ cup + 1 tablespoon 2% milk, divided use
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour, divided use
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons high-quality butter (European style)
  • 1 large egg yolk, beaten

Instructions

    DAY ONE:

    1. Heat ½ cup of the milk to 115-degrees Fahrenheit, and stir in the yeast until dissolved. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the flour. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
    2. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, remaining 1 cup + 1 tablespoon of the flour, and salt. Add the foamy yeast to the mixture, and knead until smooth with a wooden spoon, about 3-4 minutes. The dough will be sticky, but it will stick to itself and not the edges of the bowl. Refrigerate overnight.

    DAY TWO:

    1. Let the butter come to room temperature.
    2. Remove the dough from the fridge (it should have risen some and seem bubbly). Flour a surface, and roll the dough out into a 6 x 10" rectangle. The 6" side should be closest to you.
    3. Spread all 6 tablespoons of the butter evenly over the rectangle, but leave about 1cm of a border on all edges.
    4. Fold the dough like a letter: fold the top one-third to the middle. Fold the bottom third up to the middle also. Roll the dough back into a 6 x 10" rectangle. Cover and refrigerate the rectangle of dough for 2 hours.
    5. Remove the dough from the fridge after 2 hours, fold it like a letter again, and then roll back out to a 6 x 10" rectangle. Place it back in the fridge for 2 hours.
    6. Repeat this two more times for a total of 4 folds, refrigerating for 2 hours between each fold and roll. After the last roll out, refrigerate the dough overnight.

    DAY THREE:

    1. Remove the dough from the fridge, and roll it on a floured surface into a 10 x 10" square.
    2. Using a knife, cut the rectangle into 4 evenly-sized triangles. Roll the rectangles up, starting at the wide end. Roll towards the skinny tip.
    3. Place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with a nonstick mat, and brush with the remaining tablespoon of milk.
    4. Let the rolls rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. If your kitchen is cold, let them rise for longer--they really need to double in size before baking.
    5. Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
    6. Brush the egg yolk generously over the croissants. Be sure to get it in the nooks and crannies of the dough.
    7. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until very golden brown. Start checking on the rolls at 10 minutes, and shield them with foil if the edges threaten to burn. You just spent 3 days making rolls, keep an eye on them in the oven so they don't burn!
    8. Let cool 20 minutes, and serve.

    Nutrition Information:

    Serving Size:

    1
    Amount Per Serving:Calories: 142Total Fat: 1gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 508mgCarbohydrates: 29gSugar: 13gProtein: 5g

    Did you make this recipe?

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    Croissant Recipe from Scratch (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (2024)

    FAQs

    What is the best flour to use for croissants? ›

    Although you can produce excellent croissants from all-purpose flour, bread flour, or frozen packaged white dough, the high gluten content makes for hard and rubbery rolling out. A mixture of 2 parts unbleached pastry flour and 1 part unbleached all-purpose flour gives a dough that is much easier to handle.

    What is the secret of the croissant? ›

    First: use high-protein bread flour. The extra protein gives you the gluten structure to support all those thin layers. Second secret? We'll learn to laminate the dough using a tri-fold process that creates 109 distinct layers of butter and dough—giving us the croissant's distinctive crunch and flavor at home.

    What is the best butter to make croissants? ›

    What butter should I use? French boulangeries use butter that has a high fat content of 85 to 87 percent. For best results use quality butter with a high fat content and no additives or extra water. European style or imported butters can often be found in specialty grocery stores.

    Is croissant a meal or dessert? ›

    While the first type of croissant is considered sweet and is eaten during breakfast or tea, the second type is a more filling meal and is usually considered a sandwich and often prepared for picnics or as travel food.

    What is the secret to croissants? ›

    The layers which make up a croissant is a result of a process called laminating, where butter is folded into the dough multiple times to create alternating layers of butter and dough. This step is crucial in the process to ensure the steam effectively lifts the layers apart during baking.

    What is a substitute for T45 flour? ›

    For those of you who are abroad, you may notice that a lot of my recipes calls for T45 flour. If you don't have this on hand, you can mix some all-purpose flour with corn starch to have a quick alternative to cake flour at home. Cake Flour – 1 cup minus 2 tbsp (100g) all purpose flour + 2 tbsp cornstarch.

    What is the rule for croissant? ›

    By law, only a croissant made with 100% pure butter can wear a straight shape as a badge of honor. A croissant made with any other fat, such as margarine or (sacrebleu!) oil, must disclose its impurity with a curved shape.

    Why do croissants fail? ›

    Under or over-proofing the croissants

    Failing to proof your croissant dough for long enough is a common mistake that most commonly results in croissants leaking butter while baking, a tight crumb, and a flat, undeveloped flavor. Inversely, over-proofing croissant dough presents its own set of problems.

    Should croissants leak butter when baking? ›

    Your butter needs to be pliable and at the same time not too soft at the moment of usage. Help, butter leaks out when baking! Your croissants were probably under-proofed.

    How many layers of butter should a croissant have? ›

    A classic French croissant has 55 layers (27 layers of butter), achieved with a French fold followed by 3 letter folds. Less layers will mean a different texture (less tender, more chewy, with more defined layers). Too many layers bring a risk of the butter getting too thin and melting into the dough.

    Who makes Kirkland butter for Costco? ›

    That's what Costco buyer Mark Klauber and his team were searching for when they collaborated with Westland Milk Products in Hokitika, New Zealand, to create Kirkland Signature™ Grass-Fed Butter, launched in 2021.

    Can I eat a croissant every day? ›

    It isn't necessarily bad to eat a croissant every day. While croissants cannot offer all essential nutrients, you can up the health value by adding other nutritious foods to your croissant such as fresh fruit or veggies.

    How unhealthy is a croissant? ›

    While croissants do provide some nutritional benefits, they're also high in fats and calories. They're best enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, rather than a daily breakfast item. Pairing a croissant with fruits, lean proteins, and other nutrient-dense foods can help balance your meal.

    What country invented the croissant? ›

    Across various accounts of croissant history, most sources agree that it originates from Austria as the kipferl.

    What is the strong white flour for croissants? ›

    Type 00 flour from strong organic wheat suitable for ciabatta, baguettes, brioches, croissants and as a general bread flour.

    What kind of dough was used for the croissant? ›

    Croissants are made of yeasted laminated dough, and F&W Food Editor Paige Grandjean's time-tested lamination technique makes a base recipe that you can use for flaky layers in many other baked goods, like Kouign-Amann, biscuits, and anything made with puff pastry, like palmier cookies.

    What is the best flour for pastry dough? ›

    Pastry flour is a versatile ingredient perfect for creating baked goods such as pie dough, cookies, and biscuits. It has a protein content lower than all-purpose flour and higher than cake flour. This unique balance makes pastry flour an excellent choice for achieving a flaky and light texture in your baked treats.

    Is T55 or T45 flour better for croissants? ›

    Taste and style play a part too. For example, while 30 years ago when I started baking T45-type flour were commonly used for viennoiserie (think croissant, puff pastry, brioche), today T55-type flours are commonly used for making them as this gives more flavour.

    References

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