Croissants

By Claire Saffitz

YIELD 8 croissants

TIME 24 hours, largely unattended

This recipe is a detailed roadmap to making bakery-quality light, flaky croissants in your own kitchen. With a
pastry as technical as croissants, some aspects of the process — gauging the butter temperature, learning how
much pressure to apply to the dough while rolling — become easier with experience. If you stick to this script,
buttery homemade croissants are squarely within your reach. (Make sure your first attempt at croissants is a
successful one, with these tips, (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/dining/croissant-recipes.html) and
Claire Saffitz’s step-by-step video on YouTube. (https://youtu.be/vpwY3nmLLaA))

INGREDIENTS PREPARATION

FOR THE DÉTREMPE (DOUGH): Step 1

Twenty-four hours before serving, start the détrempe: In the bowl of
4 ⅔
cups/605 grams all-purpose or a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar,
bread flour, plus more for dusting salt and yeast, and stir to combine. Create a well in the center, and
⅓
cup/66 grams granulated sugar pour in the water and milk. Mix on low speed until a tight, smooth
dough comes together around the hook, about 5 minutes. Remove
1
tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon/12
the hook and cover the bowl with a damp towel. Set aside for 10
grams kosher salt
minutes.
2 ¼
teaspoons/7 grams active dry
yeast Step 2
¾
cup plus 2 tablespoons/214 Reattach the dough hook and turn the mixer on medium-low speed.
grams water, at room temperature Add the butter pieces all at once and continue to mix, scraping down
½
cup/120 grams whole milk, at the bowl and hook once or twice, until the dough has formed a very
room temperature smooth, stretchy ball that is not the least bit sticky, 8 to 10 minutes.

¼
cup/57 grams unsalted butter, cut
Step 3
into 1/2-inch pieces, chilled
Form the dough into a ball and place seam-side down on a lightly
FOR THE BUTTER BLOCK AND floured work surface. Using a sharp knife, cut two deep
ASSEMBLY: perpendicular slashes in the dough, forming a “+.” (This will help
the dough expand into a square shape as it rises, making it easier to
1 ½
cups/340 grams unsalted roll out later.) Place the dough slashed-side up inside the same
European or European-style butter mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room
(3 sticks), chilled temperature until about 1 1/2 times its original size, 45 minutes to 1
hour. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4
All-purpose flour, for rolling
hours and up to 12.
1
large egg yolk
1
tablespoon heavy cream Step 4
As the dough chills, make the butter block: Place the sticks of butter
side-by-side in the center of a large sheet of parchment paper, then
loosely fold all four sides of the parchment over the butter to form a
packet. Turn the packet over and use a rolling pin to lightly beat the
cold butter into a flat scant 1/2-inch-thick layer, fusing the sticks
and making it pliable. (Don’t worry about the shape at this point.)
The parchment may tear. Turn over the packet and unwrap,
replacing the parchment with a new sheet if needed. Fold the
parchment paper over the butter again, this time making neat, clean
folds at right angles (like you’re wrapping a present), forming an 8-
inch square. Turn the packet over again and roll the pin across the
packet, further flattening the butter into a thin layer that fills the
entire packet while forcing out any air pockets. The goal is a level
and straight-edged square of butter. Transfer the butter block to the
refrigerator.

Step 5
Eighteen hours before serving, remove the dough from the
refrigerator, uncover and transfer to a clean work surface. (It will
have doubled in size.) Deflate the dough with the heel of your hand.
Using the four points that formed where you slashed the dough,
stretch the dough outward and flatten into a rough square
measuring no more than 8 inches on one side.

Step 6
Place 2 pieces of plastic wrap on the work surface perpendicular to
each other, and place the dough on top. Wrap the dough rectangle,
maintaining the squared-off edges, then roll your pin over top as
you did for the butter, forcing the dough to fill in the plastic and
form an 8-inch square with straight sides and right angles. Freeze
for 20 minutes.

Step 7
Remove the butter from the refrigerator and the dough from the
freezer. Set aside the butter. Unwrap the dough (save the plastic, as
you’ll use it again) and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the
dough, dusting with flour if necessary, until 16 inches long,
maintaining a width of 8 inches (barely wider than the butter block).
With a pastry brush, brush off any flour from the surface of the
dough and make sure none sticks to the surface.

Step 8
You’re going to enclose the butter block in the dough and roll them
out together. To ensure they do so evenly, they should have the
same firmness, with the dough being slightly colder than the butter.
The butter should be chilled but able to bend without breaking. If it
feels stiff or brittle, let sit at room temperature for a few minutes.
Unwrap the butter just so the top is exposed, then use the
parchment paper to carefully invert the block in the center of the
dough rectangle, ensuring all sides are parallel. Press the butter
gently into the dough and peel off the parchment paper. You should
have a block of butter with overhanging dough on two opposite sides
and a thin border of dough along the other two.

Step 9
Grasp the overhanging dough on one side and bring it over the
butter toward the center, then repeat with the other side of the
dough, enclosing the butter. You don’t need the dough to overlap,
but you want the two sides to meet, so stretch it if necessary, and
pinch the dough together along all seams so no butter peeks out
anywhere. Lift the whole block and dust a bit of flour underneath,
then rotate the dough 90 degrees, so the center seam is oriented
vertically.

Step 10
Orient the rolling pin perpendicular to the seam and lightly beat the
dough all along the surface to lengthen and flatten. Roll out the
dough lengthwise along the seam into a 24-inch-long, 1/4-inch-
thick narrow slab, lightly dusting underneath and over top with
more flour as needed to prevent sticking. Rather than applying
pressure downward, try to push the dough toward and away from
you with the pin, which will help maintain even layers of dough and
butter. Remember to periodically lift the dough and make sure it’s
not sticking to the surface, and try your best to maintain straight,
parallel sides. (It’s OK if the shorter sides round a bit — you’re going
to trim them.)

Step 11
Use a wheel cutter or long, sharp knife to trim the shorter ends,
removing excess dough where the butter doesn’t fully extend and
squaring off the corners for a very straight-edged, even rectangle of
dough. Maintaining the rectangular shape, especially at this stage,
will lead to the most consistent and even lamination. If at any point
in the process you see air bubbles in the dough while rolling, pierce
them with a cake tester or the tip of a paring knife to deflate and
proceed.

Step 12
Dust any flour off the dough’s surface. Grasp the short side of the
rectangle farther from you and fold it toward the midline of the
dough slab, aligning the sides. Press gently so the dough adheres to
itself. Repeat with the other side of the dough, leaving an 1/8-inch
gap where the ends meet in the middle. Now, fold the entire slab in
half crosswise along the gap in the center. You should now have a
rectangular packet of dough, called a “book,” that’s four layers thick.
This is a “double turn,” and it has now quadrupled the number of
layers of butter inside the dough.

Step 13
Wrap the book tightly in the reserved plastic. If it is thicker than
about 1 1/2 inches, or if it’s lost some of its rectangularity, roll over
the plastic-wrapped dough to flatten it and reshape it. Freeze the
book for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Step 14
Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Unwrap
and place on a lightly floured surface. Beat the dough and roll out as
before (Step 10) into another long, narrow 3/8-inch-thick slab. It
should be nice and relaxed, and extend easily. Dust off any excess
flour.

Step 15
Fold the dough in thirds like a letter, bringing the top third of the
slab down and over the center third, then the bottom third up and
over. This is a “simple turn,” tripling the layers. Press gently so the
layers adhere. Wrap tightly in plastic again and freeze for 15
minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Step 16
Let the dough sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, then
unwrap and place on a lightly floured surface. Beat the dough and
roll out as before, but into a 14-by-17-inch slab (15-by-16-inch for
pain au chocolat or ham and cheese croissants). The dough will start
to spring back, but try to get it as close to those dimensions as
possible. Brush off any excess flour, wrap tightly in plastic, and slide
onto a baking sheet or cutting board. Freeze for 20 minutes, then
chill overnight (8 to 12 hours). If making pain au chocolat
(https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022057-pain-au-chocolat)
or ham and cheese croissants
(https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022058-ham-and-cheese-
croissants), see recipes.

Step 17
Four and a half hours before serving, arrange racks in the upper and
lower thirds of the oven. Bring a skillet of water to a simmer over
medium-high heat. Transfer the skillet to the floor of the oven and
close the door. (The steam released inside the oven will create an
ideal proofing environment.)

Step 18
As the steam releases in the oven, line two rimmed baking sheets
with parchment paper and set aside. Let the dough sit at room
temperature for about 5 minutes. Unwrap (save the plastic for
proofing), place on a very lightly floured surface, and, if necessary,
roll out to 17-by-14 inches. Very thoroughly dust off any excess flour
with a pastry brush. Use a wheel cutter or long knife and ruler to cut
the shorter sides, trimming any irregular edges where not all the
layers of dough fully extend and creating a rectangle that’s exactly 16
inches long, then cut into four 4-by-14-inch rectangles.

Step 19
Separate the rectangles, then use the ruler and wheel cutter to slice
a straight line from opposite corners of one rectangle to form two
long, equal triangles. Repeat with the remaining rectangles to make
8 triangles. Trim the short side of each triangle at a slight angle,
making them into triangles with longer sides of equal length.

Step 20
Working one triangle at a time, grasp the two corners of the shorter
end, the base of the crescent, and tug gently outward to extend the
points and widen the base to about 3 inches. Then, gently tug
outward from about halfway down the triangle all the way to the
point, to both lengthen the triangle and thin the dough as it
narrows. Starting at the base (the short end), snugly roll up the
dough, keeping the point centered and applying light pressure. Try
not to roll tightly or stretch the dough around itself. Place the
crescent on one of the parchment-lined baking sheets, resting it on
the point of the triangle. If the dough gets too soft while you’re
working, cover the triangles and freeze for a few minutes before
resuming rolling. Space them evenly on the baking sheets, four per
sheet. Very loosely cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap, so the
croissants have some room to expand.

Step 21
Three and a half hours before serving, open the oven and stick your
hand inside: It should be humid but not hot, as the water in the
skillet will have cooled. You want the croissants to proof at 70 to 75
degrees. (Any hotter and the butter will start to melt, leading to a
denser croissant.) Place the baking sheets inside the oven and let the
croissants proof until they’re about doubled in size, extremely puffy,
and jiggle delicately when the baking sheet is gently shaken, 2 to 2
1/2 hours. Resist the urge to touch or poke the croissants as they
proof: They’re very delicate. Try not to rush this process, either, as
an underproofed croissant will not be as light and ethereal.

Step 22
Remove the baking sheets from the oven and carefully uncover
them, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes while
you heat the oven. Remove the skillet from the oven and heat to 375
degrees.

Step 23
In a small bowl, stir the yolk and heavy cream until streak-free.
Using a pastry brush, gently brush the smooth surfaces of each
crescent with the yolk and cream mixture, doing your best to avoid
the cut sides with exposed layers of dough.

Step 24
Transfer the sheets to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the
baking sheets and switch racks, and continue to bake until the
croissants are deeply browned, another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove
from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.

Tip
Croissants are best within an hour or two of baking. After that,
revive the croissants by warming in a 350-degree oven for 5 to 8
minutes. Keep wrapped airtight at room temperature.

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