Oh my goodness, what an adventure! Made croissants for the first time.
I’ve always wanted to make them, but then I’d remember my dad. When I was younger, I remember my dad trying to make croissants. Twice. Both times were a huge failure. He told me that they were way beyond him, and will try again..some day. But that day never came. So I decided to take up the feat.
And they turned out great! I was amazed when I took them out of the oven. They were flaky and delicious. I actually bought some croissants at my grocery store to compare. No comparison. At all. The ones from the grocery store tasted stale and bland.
These took me three days to make. And it was well worth it. They will definitely make an encore appearance in my house.
Maybe I’ll make them with chocolate next time. Chocolate makes everything better. I tried them with nutella spread inside, and they were to DIE for! I can’t believe I didn’t make this sooner!
I was going to do a step by step with photos, but forgot because I was so excited about actually being able to make these croissants.
Croissants
printable recipe
What you’ll need:
Dough:
-4 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cold water
-1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
-1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar
-3 tablespoons cold butter
-3 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
-2 1/4 teaspoons salt
Butter Layer:
–1 1/4 cups cold butter
Egg Wash:
-1 large egg
-1 teaspoon water
Directions:
Day 1:
1. Mix all the dough ingredients together using an electric mixer with a dough hook. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes, then mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. Transfer dough to a lightly floured bowl and lightly flour the top. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Day 2:
2. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch thick slabs. Arrange the butter into a 5 to 6 inch square. Place another piece of parchment paper on top, and roll out with a rolling pan until the square of butter is a 7-1/2inch square. trim the edges of the square and place on top of the square. Pat down with the rolling pan. Refrigerate the butter layer.
3. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a 10-1/2 inch square. Remove the butter layer from the refrigerator. Unwrap and place the butter on the dough so that the points of the butter are centred on the sides of the dough. Like this handy picture I drew on paint:
4. Fold over the edges of the dough until the dough is completely covering the butter layer. Lightly flour the top and the bottom of the dough, and roll out with a rolling pin into a 8 by 24 inch rectangle. Fold the long side of the rectangle 2/3rds of the way over, and fold the other 1/3 end over it. Put the dough on a baking sheet and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes.
5. Repeat the rolling and folding process in the direction of the open end of the folds. Place in the freezer for an additional 20 minutes.
6. Repeat this process a third time, then cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Day 3:
7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll the dough out into a 8 by 44 inch rectangle. Trim the long ends of the dough until it is 40 inches long.
8. Along the bottom of the long side of the rectangle, measure 5 inch long intervals (you should have 7 of them) Along the top of the long side of the rectangle, make a 2-1/2 inch mark away from both ends of the rectangle and 5 inch intervals between. Cut the dough according to the marks along the sides as in the following picture:
9. Shape the croissants by rolling the long ends into the smaller end. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
10. In a small bowl, mix together the egg wash ingredients, and lightly brush over each croissant.
11. Refrigerate the remaining egg wash and let the croissants stand in a warm location for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
12. Place the racks of the oven on the top and bottom of the oven, and preheat the oven to 400˚F.
13. Lightly brush the croissants a second time with the egg wash. Place one baking sheet on the top rack, and one on the bottom. Bake for 10 minutes, and rotate the baking sheets and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes, or until golden. Let cool on baking sheets.
Recipe from Fine Cooking
You make these look so easy. Do they ever look good!
wow.. irresistible clicks.. perfect with evening tea/coffee..
Beautiful croissants you done very well.
Gr8 job,came out perfect on ur 1st attempt..Looks soft n flaky…
What? What? You are awesome! I have looked at croissant recipes before and the tediousness of it has turned me off and never given me courage to try it. You inspire me to give this a try! Thanks for the link to that video… That guy actually spoke at my former roommate's church about 2 years ago.
These are beautiful. I'm a little scared of baking, but you've made them look really easy. I can't wait to give them a try.
These look absolutely super! 🙂 I've wanted to make croissants for years?! i think i definitely need to try this!
Wow…croissants looks perfect! Well done!
I love croissant and my hubby is a huge fan of chocolate croissants! Its a time consuming work, but worth it!
I don't think I will try this..just enjoying your clicks and drooling over the 4th photo! 😉 🙂
Wow, this is so impressive. The croissants look wonderful. I wish I could just try them.
Oh I had wanted to make this for the longest time but the tedious steps has deterred me from going ahead. Yours have came out so delicious looking. Well done!
Wow. Congrats. Yes, a step-by-step photo tutorial would make this less intimidating!
Hi Cathleen, your croissants look excellent and very well baked. One of my most favorite, I make this very often for breakfast. Very addictive!
Taste great with tuna and mayo filling or egg with potato and mayo filling.
Have a nice week ahead, regards.
I cannot believe these are homemade my friend, you have got to be kidding me – so perfect 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
That small wrists can really whip up some delicious goodies ! lol Congrats , Cathleen ! These croissants sure look amazingly good !
amazing work… they look great
You made these perfect croissants look too easy 🙂
wow.. it came out perfect. nice one
what a gorgeous meal! so hearty and wonderful! yum!
So perfectly done!!! Love it!
Congrats! I've never made these, and I know how good freshly made ones can be! I should really do these sometime – the skills aren't beyond me, and the flavor is so great. But it does take some time and dedication, for for that I salute you! Good post – thank you.
those look FANTASTIC!!! great job 🙂 they intimidate me, but i know i'll try some day!
I am so impressed with your croissants! They have to be one of the hardest things to make, and you nailed it!
Wow Kathleen great job! I made them once before too and they were definitely a paaaain! It took me 2 days!! ahaha.. So yeah I give you props for your patience! 🙂 I'm so scared of making puff pastries now. lol
Oh my gosh, these are so lovely! I'm impressed!
Bravo!! i hv not got the courage to bake some croissants yet but will..will see 🙂 i'm impressed at your croissants, i wish that i can have a piece of that !
Hi love. Oh yes, croissant making is indeed an adventure! I still remember my first time! Thank you for sharing your experience…now I want to make a batch of my own!
Simply perfect!
Love the clicks…had no clue how croissants are made though I love them. These croissants look way better than the store bought ones we get here! Way to go gal 😉
Wow home made croissants, I havent made one of those yet and this lets me want to do some. Nothing beats a fresh croissant
wow, never knew these things could be done at home! Will try my hand.
They look gorgeous! great job. I'm so jealous. need to try make this one day.