![Easy Banana Bread](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/09/28/multimedia/LH-banana-bread-hkbj/LH-banana-bread-hkbj-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Croissants
![Croissants](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/04/07/dining/06croissantsrex1/merlin_184841898_ccc8fb62-ee41-44e8-9ddf-b95b198b88db-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 24 hours, largely unattended
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 4⅔cups/605 grams all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
- ⅓cup/66 grams granulated sugar
- 1tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon/12 grams kosher salt
- 2¼teaspoons/7 grams active dry yeast
- ¾cup plus 2 tablespoons/214 grams water, at room temperature
- ½cup/120 grams whole milk, at room temperature
- ¼cup/57 grams unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, chilled
- 1½cups/340 grams unsalted European or European-style butter (3 sticks), chilled
- All-purpose flour, for rolling
- 1large egg yolk
- 1tablespoon heavy cream
For the Détrempe (dough)
For the Butter Block and Assembly
Preparation
- Step 1
Twenty-four hours before serving, start the détrempe: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt and yeast, and stir to combine. Create a well in the center, and pour in the water and milk. Mix on low speed until a tight, smooth dough comes together around the hook, about 5 minutes. Remove the hook and cover the bowl with a damp towel. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Reattach the dough hook and turn the mixer on medium-low speed. Add the butter pieces all at once and continue to mix, scraping down the bowl and hook once or twice, until the dough has formed a very smooth, stretchy ball that is not the least bit sticky, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Form the dough into a ball and place seam-side down on a lightly floured work surface. Using a sharp knife, cut two deep perpendicular slashes in the dough, forming a “+.” (This will help the dough expand into a square shape as it rises, making it easier to roll out later.) Place the dough slashed-side up inside the same mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until about 1½ times its original size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 12.
- 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 ½-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, ¼-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 ⅛-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 1½ 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 ⅜-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 or 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 2½ 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.
- 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.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I have done this several times. If you love labor, and practice it, the result is very good -- but never as good as Paris. Believe me, I have tried. However, their is a faster recipe, and it takes less than 24 hr, most of it leisure time. Book a round-trip flight to Paris. On arrival, take an Uber to Maison Pichard 88 Rue Cambronne. Buy a dozen or more. Eat several with a nice cafe. Return to airport. Enjoy the flight home. You will be home in under 24h with something truly wonderful.
I made croissants (and all types of laminated doughs) professionally for about 40 years, and this is the best recipe I've ever seen for successfully making them yourself. All the proportions and instructions are completely accurate, and the methodology is well explained. If you do everything carefully, you will be very well rewarded.
I sometimes wince when I see this kind of question appear, but I don't have a stand mixer with a dough hook. I make a lot of breads and rolls, and I usually ignore the mixer instructions and just mix and knead by hand. That's worked well in the past, but I'm concerned that the mixer might be important to this process. Are there alternate instructions for hand mixing? And yes, although perhaps not necessary, a video showing the rolling out and forming of the croissants would be delightful!
Like everyone in the past year, I woke up one morning and thought, "If there was ever a time to learn to make croissants, this is it." And, I did and they were incredible and I have earned much love and admiration because of it. I then moved onto bagels receiving similar accolades. Whilst I was investigating the skill, I found a video which helped me immensely. Here's the link:https://www.cooksillustrated.com/videos/2143-croissants In May of 2020, it was free. Go forth, brethen and bake:)
Has anyone tried adding a hot dog and a slice of American cheese during baking process? At what step is this done?
The first day is very time intensive because of all the resting that needs to be done. I start around 9:30 and was done for the day around 3:30 to which you let it rest overnight. Day two all that needs to be done is cut/proof/bake. This all together takes 3-4 hours depending on how fast you can shape. So I would recommend starting before 1 on the first day and starting as early as you can on the second.
I made these this weekend and think a turn (fold) is missing from the recipe. I'm a professional baker for 25+ yrs. I've made croissants for 1/2 my career, and have used professional grade equipment as well as hand rolled with a pin. I've made croissants at home and in a restaurant. I noticed there is only 1 book fold and 1 letter fold. That's only 2 turns. There should be 3. I don't 1 book fold and 1 letter fold will give you the same# of layers. Croissants had layers, but bready
For those who would like to see photos of the process go to King Arthur Flour’s website. There is a blog post by Susan Reid attached to the recipe for Baker’s Croissants. Bon Chance!
I did some research and figured out a solution that worked for me! On my third attempt I grated the chilled butter into the flour mixture before adding the milk and water. This allowed the butter to evenly disperse before adding the moisture and then was able to knead it into a smooth ball. Hope this helps!
I'm also frustrated by NYT's frequent assumption that everyone has a stand mixer. Here, the key thing is that you need to develop strong, cohesive gluten without adding extra flour to achieve elasticity. You can do that with prolonged, vigorous hand-stirring (w/ a Danish dough whisk, if you have one), but probably best to avoid kneading & the temptation to add extra flour, unless you're comfortable handling slack doughs.
Made these at least 15 times in last year as a delicious anti-suicide tactic in an upside down world. 1. Watch Claire on YouTube *before* starting & research what “pliable butter” looks like. 2. Good temps for détrempe 50° & Butter 55°F (Unsalted Kerrygold, or President). 3. Put in fridge/freezer if dough gets warm, whether you’re finished the turn or not! 4. Proofing croissants may take FOUR TO SIX hours - wait for the puffy jiggle!
This is a once a year event for me. I have used the Julia Child recipe. Note: some refrigerators and freezers are too small. I usually make these in the fall or winter so the overnight temperatures mimic the refrigerator. Finally, I am 72 years old and don't have a scale and make do with measuring.
I've never made croissants or any laminated pastry before, but I followed every step to the letter and it truly produced the most beautiful croissants I've ever seen. It wasn't nearly as difficult as expected. All it takes is patience and precision, and trust in the recipe.
For folks who are asking for a video, there’s now one up on the NYT Cooking YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/vpwY3nmLLaA
First time making croissants & followed this recipe to a T. Everything that could go wrong went wrong--I let the butter get too cold, then too warm, had it come oozing out of the sides, etc. But Claire's recipe is forgiving. At the end of the day they still tasted AMAZING and I even got the super flaky crunch. Would not change anything, and they'll only get better with more practice!
Very time consuming but very rewarding! Mine had a good inner structure but had a strong yeast smell!
As a non baker taking this on was a fun weekend challenge for my family. We don’t have a stand mixer so followed one of the other commenter’s suggestion to shred the butter into the dry ingredients before adding the wet, mixing, resting, then kneading until the right consistency. Worked well!
Last weekend was my first try, and this video was awesome with suggestions! My grandaughter, a bread lover at 8, happily crunched into one and loved the flakes spraying out with every bite. She now wants to make them, and we certainly will because Claire was right, I want to make them again and again! Hoping this will be good therapy (as all bread making is) for my little granddaughter who is starting the journey of her father going through cancer treatment. She loved the video too!
It helps a lot to chill the dough overnight after the croissants are shaped, then proof them in the oven. This is if you have time.
It’s hard to search through all the comments here so my apologies if someone has asked before. I was wondering if anyone has tried or knowsmodifications in timing, even if it made the process a day longer, where you could do the finial shaping and then leave it in the fridge overnight before any final rising and baking.
Following the recipe is very important, BUT… it’s a testament to the amazing recipe that my croissants turned out perfect even after I botched some steps. I had to eyeball the yeast after realizing my kitchen scale was having issues, and then I had some life scheduling issues and so I skipped some dough resting stages. They look a tad rough but I’m THRILLED with the result. I’m so proud of them and grateful that recipes can be so accessible and thorough like this one.
I think the oven temp is in Fahrenheit not degree…. After 24 hours hard work, dough is totally ruined with 70degree humidity heat……
Made this for the first time and sadly slightly overproofed the croissants in the last step - make sure the oven is only humid and not too warm for this as mentioned in the instructions. Results were still really amazing though! Would recommend reading through the recipe properly and watching the video BEFORE making ;)! Great recipe that’s totally worth it even if you don’t do it perfectly.
This was my first time making croissants (and laminated dough at all), and it was a tremendous success. The dough wasn't even perfect--it tore in some places when I was rolling it out, leaving some butter exposed (tried to dust those bits with flour)...still, the croissants were very, very good. And very little butter leaked out in the oven. Claire does it again!
This is my GO-TO croissant recipe! Claire is awesome! The steps listed here are super detailed but can be very daunting. It was really helpful having Claire's video up with me as I made them. I prefer to knead the dough by hand, not sure if anyone else has this issue but my mixer tends to warm the butter up too much. Thank you so much, Claire!
Friends, I am a rank amateur baker. I did use King Arthur flour and Kerrygold butter, but for everything else I was flying by the seat of my pants. I did get a lot of butter leaking out during baking; after some googling I'm pretty sure I under proofed them--after 2.5 hours they definitely rose but didn't jiggle. And they are So.Good! I'm absolutely delighted with this recipe and with myself for attempting it!
Kater, I had the same issue with butter leaking! It definitely helped proofing them for closer to 4 hours vs. 2.5 next time I tried. I also chilled them for 30 mins in the fridge before applying the egg wash.
I've tried this recipe a few times and my detrempe isn't coming out right -- it is not smooth and it tears when pulled apart. What am I doing wrong?
As I am lactose intolerant I thought I would substitute butter for clarified one and it run away during proofing! So much work! I am gutted! :(((
Alas, the water in the butter is necessary for the layers to form. Clarified butter has the water cooked off (and yes, the milk solids removed). So it couldn't work. Maybe try a vegan butter? Miyoko's Vegan Butter is the best I've tried, although I haven't tried to make croissants with it.
These were great! I would strongly recommend checking the temperature of your steamy oven before using it for the final proof. My oven was too warm (>75) and would have melted my croissants. Instead I let them rise on the kitchen table at room temperature. I was nervous about using active dry yeast without dissolving it in liquid first, and I could see some undissolved yeast granules in the dough. However, this didn’t seem to hugely affect the final product.
I made these and I am sure made a number of mistakes, including under-proofing them a bit (I gave them the full 2 1/2 hours; next time I will pay more attention to the jiggliness) and perhaps my oven running a bit high. So they were very well done on the bottoms but overall...they are croissants and I am very pleased. I will for sure make them again (though maybe not for a little while). I'm usually a bit of a mess when it comes to fine/fiddly things in baking and this recipe was great.
Advertisement