How to Achieve Flaky Buttery Homemade Croissants

How to Achieve the Most Beautiful Flaky Buttery Homemade Croissants

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Buttery homemade croissants are what dreams are made of. An explosion of flaky crispy bits as you bite down on pillowy soft layers. If your end goal is that classic honeycomb crumb then this post is for you my friend.

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This is almost as near to a classic French croissant recipe that I’ll ever achieve. You know, without being taught by a French pastry instructor.

During all my croissant research, I discovered that they haven’t taught the art of croissant baking in French baking programs for over 40 years.

It’s true. I found an online article interviewing the creator of the best croissants in Paris admitting same.

Like how is that even possible?

Anyone who has ever dreamt of traveling to Paris to perfect the art of French croissant baking can toss their dream right off the proverbial Parisian VRBO verandah!

C’est la vie.

While it may be a lost art lying in a raggedy pile of broken dreams, all is not ruined. You can still learn how to make almost-damn-near-perfect French croissants.

It seems intimidating at first and I recommend you read as many blogs and cookbooks as you can. And watch some YouTube videos to get a feel for the technicalities of baking croissants.

Or you can just roll up your sleeves and go all in like I did!

It’s not for the faint of heart that’s for sure, so if that’s you, you should probably X on out and move on to baking something a bit easier like banana bread.

Every year at Easter, time permitted of course, I make homemade croissants. It’s a two day process, but the actual labor involved isn’t all that difficult.

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It’s the waiting in between that makes it more time consuming than laborious. And yes, it involves a lot of trial and error. You’re probably not going to get perfect results on your very first try.

I sure didn’t and if you do, you’re either some freak of nature who the pastry gods have blessed…or I wrote onehellova croissant instructional recipe post. I doubt it’s the latter.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

That is the key to making a great buttery homemade croissant. You have to be in it for the long haul.

If it is just a passing fancy, again, this post isn’t for you.

That end payoff as you bite down into a flaky buttery croissant is well worth all the waiting and work.

When you cut into the center and have a honeycomb crumb staring back at you…well you have achieved the holy grail of croissant baking. The feeling is indescribable.

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I’m not touting I’m some expert level croissant baker by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, I’m an at home self taught internet/cookbook baker and cook.

But I learned…and so can you.

It is my emotional connection and relationship with food that has kept me so involved in this blog all these years. Since 2010 to be exact.

Food makes me want to be a better cook and baker. I enjoy preparing food and sharing it with others. I also love eating food.

My father was a self-taught restaurant chef.

I wish when I was younger, I would have appreciated & acknowledged how hard he worked to support a family of 8 on a meager chef’s salary.

I’m only too sorry he didn’t live long enough to see how I took on a passion for food. I guess it’s in the blood. But I digress.

I’ve been baking croissants on and off now for seven years. I’ve definitely had my share of disasters and disappointments from skipped butter in the dough to butter leaking out of the croissants on to the baking sheet and nearly deep frying them in the oven.

That’s why I’m going to share some tips and techniques with you to help improve and expedite your buttery homemade croissant skills. Knowledge is power.

I know this is a long post, so while I will apologize for that, keep in mind you only have to read it.

I had to write, edit, and produce all the content for this, so stop complaining and let’s get on with it.

This isn’t really one of those posts where you can hit the “Jump to the recipe” button. So grab yourself of glass of Pinot Noir or Grigio… or your favorite beverage and let’s dive into the recipe.

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Tips for making Buttery Homemade Croissants:

  • I recommend the following kitchen supplies and appliances to make your baking a bit more smoother. Of course it is not necessary, merely suggestions.
  1. Stand mixer to mix and knead the dough. You can mix and knead by hand but you’ll have to work a bit harder.
  2. Rolling pin. I used two types while baking these, but I prefer just a regular heavy duty wooden rolling pin as I found it to roll more evenly than a French rolling pin.
  3. Good quality baking sheet pan. I prefer David Burke baking sheets as the beveled bottom makes for an even bake on the bottom. Also non stick and easy clean up.
  4. You’ll want a pastry brush to brush off the excess flour each time you chill the dough.
  5. Good quality sharp chef’s knife to cut your croissants. You can also use a pizza cutter or pastry/pasta cutter.
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  • Use a combination of whole milk and water to get the best results for buttery homemade croissants. Milk has a higher fat content and adds less water to the dough which can make the dough harder to work with because water develops gluten. It also adds flavor to the croissant. Using 1/4 cup water to activate the yeast gives the dough a nice balance of milk and water.
  • Use a combination of equal parts all purpose flour and 00 flour. 00 flour is often used to make homemade pasta and pastry. 00 flour is finely milled and has a soft texture. It has a lower protein/gluten content. You can usually find it in Italian markets but you can always order it online. I find mixing the two flours gives a nice balance of gluten and elasticity which make the dough easier to work with in my experience.
  • You need a good quality European butter with a high fat content for correctly laminating the dough. Professional bakers use a special butter with an 84% fat content which is normally only available to them. You can usually find European butter at the market and Plugra and President have around 82% fat content. Using a butter lower in fat content means more water is going into the dough making it harder to work with and putting the laminated layers at risk. If using a butter lower than 82% in fat content (Kerrygold) you can add 2 tablespoons of flour to the butter which I’ve talked about in more detail below.
  • It’s very important that you keep the dough and butter chilled but pliable during the lamination process. The best surface to use for rolling out the dough is granite or marble as it tends to have a cooler temperature. Handle the dough as little as possible. On the other side of the coin. You don’t want to roll the dough if the butter is too cold and “skipping” in the dough. I’ve talked about this more in the recipe instructions.
  • The butter block and dough should be roughly the same thickness as well. You want them to work in unison with each other. The butter should be pliable enough to roll but cold enough so it’s not melting into the dough.
  • Make sure to give the croissants a 2 1/2 hour proof after you’ve rolled them. If you don’t give them proper time to proof you risk your butter leaking into a pool on the baking sheet. Also proof them in a room where the temperature is between 72°-78° F. Keep them away from the hot oven while proofing.
  • Give your croissant dough a little stretch before you roll it. Begin by rolling it tight then decrease the tension as you get closer to the end. You also want the croissant end tucked under the croissant so it doesn’t pop up while baking.
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I really hope you bake some buttery homemade croissants at least once in your lifetime. I’ll admit, it’s not for everyone.

If you’re truly interested you would be right where you are meant to be at this very moment. Right here reading the end of this post.

Please leave any comments, questions, or feedback that you have. I still continue to learn something new every time I bake them. I have a feeling you will too.

 

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