andrejthechef
FranceBreadBreakfastVegetarian

Croissant au Beurre

All-butter French croissants made from scratch: a yeasted dough, a block of cold butter and three folds, giving a crisp shell and an open, airy crumb.

prep
14 h
cook
22 min
total
14 h 22 min
serves
10
level
hard
A glossy, deeply browned all-butter croissant on a white plate next to a cup of milky coffee on a round wooden café table.

The croissant au beurre is the standard French bakery breakfast, eaten at the counter, at a café table with a coffee, or at home on a weekend. Its crescent shape comes from the Austrian kipferl, but the yeasted, laminated dough is a French development, and the butter version is the one worth making.

Lamination decides everything. The cold butter block has to be the same consistency as the dough, pliable but still cold (about 13 to 15°C / 55 to 59°F), so that it spreads into thin sheets instead of cracking or smearing. Proof the shaped croissants below 27°C (80°F) or the butter melts out in the oven.

Croissant au Beurre is one of the best breakfasts from around the world.

method

  1. Mix the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Add the milk, water and the 40 g softened butter and mix until no dry flour remains. Knead 5 minutes in a stand mixer on low or 8 minutes by hand until smooth, then cover and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

  2. Press the dough into a rectangle about 2 cm (3/4 in) thick, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. This slow, cold rest develops flavor and makes the dough easy to roll.

  3. Place the 250 g cold butter between two sheets of parchment and beat it with a rolling pin, then shape it into an 18 cm (7 in) square about 1 cm thick. Chill 30 minutes. It should bend without cracking and without feeling greasy.

  4. Roll the dough on a floured counter into a 20 x 40 cm (8 x 16 in) rectangle. Put the butter square on one half, leaving a 1 cm border, fold the other half over and pinch the edges closed to seal the butter in.

  5. Roll the dough away from the fold into a 60 cm (24 in) long strip, brush off excess flour and fold it in thirds like a letter. Wrap and chill 30 minutes. Do this fold two more times (three in all), always chilling 30 minutes between folds and turning so the fold sits on your left.

  6. Roll the dough 6 mm (1/4 in) thick, about 24 cm (9.5 in) wide and 70 cm (28 in) long; roll it in two pieces if your counter is small. Trim the edges and cut 10 triangles with a 12 cm (4.75 in) base. Nick the middle of each base with a 1 cm cut, then roll from the base toward the tip with the tip tucked underneath, and place 5 cm (2 in) apart on parchment-lined trays.

  7. Proof, loosely covered, for 2 to 2.5 hours at 24 to 26°C (75 to 79°F) away from heaters, until almost doubled and wobbly when you nudge the tray, with layers visible. If butter leaks out, the room is too warm.

  8. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Brush the croissants lightly with the egg wash, avoiding the cut sides so the layers can rise. Bake 12 minutes, lower to 180°C (350°F) and bake 8 to 10 minutes more until deep golden brown and shiny.

  9. Cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes. Croissants taste best within a few hours, while the shell is still crisp and the center soft.

chef's tips

  • If the butter shatters into pieces when you roll, it is too cold: wait 5 minutes. If it smears or the dough feels greasy, it is too warm: chill 20 minutes.
  • Freeze the shaped, unproofed croissants on a tray, then bag them for up to a month. Proof them from frozen for 3 to 4 hours before baking.
  • Weigh everything with a scale; lamination dough does not forgive loose cup measurements.
  • Day-old croissants revive in a 160°C (325°F) oven for 5 minutes.