This homemade croissant recipe is one of those recipes I don’t make on a random weekday when I’m hungry and want something fast for breakfast or lunch. This recipe may take a while, but it is totally worth it!
This recipe is for an authentic French croissant bakery style, but If you enjoy baking projects like this, you might also want to try this Blueberry Croissant Bake. It has that same special-occasion feeling, just in a completely different, fruity way.
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Try This Easy Homemade Croissant Recipe
I say easy here very loosely, because croissants are not easy in the way a quick salad or tray bake is easy. They take patience, precision, and a bit of faith. But once you understand what you’re doing and why each step matters, they become much less intimidating.
I’m usually the kind of cook who likes simple meals and quick recipes, but every now and then I enjoy something that feels like cooking therapy. This is exactly that. It’s one of those bakes where I actually enjoy the quiet process of rolling, folding, chilling, and watching the dough slowly turn into something beautiful.
Why You’ll Love These Homemade Croissants
• I love how rewarding this recipe is: This is not the kind of recipe I rush through, but when I get a tray of properly flaky croissants, I genuinely feel proud of myself.
• They feel really special: I mostly cook simple food, so when I do something like this, it feels like a proper occasion bake.
• The texture is worth the effort: That crisp outside and soft layered center is exactly what I want from a good croissant.
• I like that I can make bakery-style pastries at home: I don’t need to go anywhere when I can make something this good in my own kitchen.
• It teaches patience in the best way: This recipe really is about slowing down and trusting the process, and I actually enjoy that sometimes.
Ingredients
• Flour: This is the base of the dough, and I always pay attention to the type because it really affects the final texture.
• Unsalted butter: This is the heart of the recipe and one of the biggest reasons the croissants turn out flaky and rich. Butter with higher fat content gives the best results.
• Yeast: This helps create that airy interior that makes croissants feel light instead of heavy.
• Milk and water: These bring the dough together and help create the texture you want.
• Egg and egg yolk: These are used for the egg wash that gives the croissants their beautiful golden, flaky layers.
How to Make Croissants From Scratch - Step By Step
1. Prepare the croissant dough - Add the flour, sugar, yeast, milk, softened butter, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Stir with a dough hook on low speed, then slowly add the cold water and knead until the dough comes together and sticks to the hook.
Tip: Use a wooden spoon to get all of the dough together.
2. Refrigerate the dough - Shape the dough into a rectangle, roll it to the correct size, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
Tip: A silicone mat on the counter works well for rolled dough, especially if you need to perfect thin layers of dough.
3. Make the butter block - Roll the cold butter between sheets of parchment paper into a square butter block with an even thickness.
4. Freeze the butter block and dough - Once the dough has rested overnight, freeze both the dough and butter block for 20 minutes.
5. Encase the butter - Roll out the dough, place the butter block over one half, fold the dough over it, seal the edges, and rotate the dough.
6. Make the first layers - Roll the dough carefully, fold it into layers, pat it gently, fold again, and freeze for 30 minutes.
7. Make more layers - Roll the dough again, fold it like a letter, and freeze for another 30 minutes.
8. Cut the dough into triangles - Roll out the dough, trim the edges, shape it into a parallelogram, and cut elongated triangles.
9. Prepare for baking - Line your baking sheets and remove the dough triangles from the freezer.
10. Shape the croissants - Cut a small slit at the base of each triangle, roll up into crescent shapes, and place on the baking sheets with the tip tucked underneath.
11. Proof the croissants - Brush with egg wash, place them in a warm oven with a bowl of boiling water underneath, and let them rise for 2.5 hours.
12. Bake the croissants - Brush with egg wash again and bake one tray at a time until evenly golden brown.
13. Cool and enjoy - Let them cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack.
Expert Tip: I always stop and chill the dough again if I feel it softening while I work. Croissants really depend on keeping the dough and butter cold, and I’d rather pause than ruin the layers.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure your work surface is clean before rolling out the dough.
- I always try to keep my edges as straight as possible for my desired shape when rolling because it makes the folds much cleaner in the end.
- If the dough starts fighting back or feeling too soft, I put it back in the freezer for a few minutes. I’ve learned not to be stubborn with croissant dough.
- I pay close attention to measurements here more than I normally would. Even the final triangle width matters when you want evenly shaped croissants.
- I also make sure the butter stays cold but pliable. That’s the sweet spot. If it’s too hard, it cracks. If it’s too soft, it disappears into the dough.
- Sprinkle some cinnamon sugar over the croissants after baking, or you can create chocolate croissants by adding some melted chocolate over the top for different flavors.
What Can You Serve With Croissants?
- Espresso
- Cold milk
- Powdered sugar
- Chocolate drizzle
- Vanilla ice cream
- Fresh fruit
- Cheese
FAQs
For me, it always comes down to three things: cold butter, patience, and precision. If the dough stays at the right consistency and you don’t rush the steps, your chances improve a lot.
I wouldn’t. I know it sounds tempting, but puff pastry does not give me the same airy, yeasted texture I want in a proper croissant.
I always prefer unsalted butter with higher fat content because it gives a smoother butter block and better layers. European-style butter is usually a great option. You can use salted butter in other bakes, but for croissants, I like full control over the seasoning, so I stick with unsalted.
I like flour with a protein content of around 11 to 12%. That gives me a balance I really like between structure and flakiness.
Because they ask for patience. That’s really it. They’re not difficult because the ingredients are fancy. They’re difficult because every little detail matters, and you can’t bully the dough into behaving.
Recipe
Homemade Croissant Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (T45)
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp sugar
- 3 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 6 ½ tablespoon milk, cold
- 7 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup + 1 tsp cold water
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
1 cup boiling water for rising
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, with a stand or handheld mixer fitted with a dough hook stir together flour, sugar, yeast, milk, soft butter, and salt. Stir on low speed until it starts to come together. Slowly add water while mixing the dough. Knead on medium-low speed for 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a 9.85x6.7 inches (25x17cm) rectangle. Wrap tightly with plastic foil and refrigerate overnight (8-12 hours).
- Place the cold butter between 2 pieces of parchment or wax paper. With a rolling pin, pound butter into a 7.1x7.1 inches (18x18cm) rectangle. Straighten the sides with the outer edges of your hands by pushing towards the center. Roll evenly thick. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze butter and the croissant dough for 20 minutes.
- Remove dough from the freezer and roll on a very lightly floured surface with a very lightly floured rolling pin into a 15x7.9 inches (38x20 cm) rectangle, 0.3 inches (7-8mm) thick. Place butter slab on one half of the croissant dough so that there is about 0.4 inches space around three edges and fold the other dough-half over the butter. Completely seal the butter inside the dough by pressing the edges together. Make sure that there are no air bubbles between the layers. Rotate 90°.
- Just use as much flour as needed that the dough doesn't stick. Firmly but carefully press the dough with the rolling pin starting on both sealed ends. Then stop pressing and begin rolling the dough. Be careful and don't work the dough over that the butter doesn't incorporate with the dough. Roll the croissant dough just in one direction into a 15x7.9 inches (38x20 cm) rectangle, 0.3 inches (7-8mm) thick. Rotate the dough 180° while rolling to keep it even, if needed. Make sure that you lengthen the dough instead of widening it and keep the edges as straight as possible. Shape the corners with your hands to a square.
- Remove all excess flour from the dough before folding it, if there is any. Take one short side and fold one-third of the dough over itself that about ⅔ of the dough is covered by itself. Then take the other short side and flap it over itself that it touches the edge of the previously folded part. The croissant dough has now ⅓ of its original size. Then fold it in half. You should have a rectangle with 4 layers of dough. Be sure that you remove all excess flour between each layer. Cover with plastic foil tightly and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough in the direction of the two open ends with the fold to your right until it is a 15x7.9 inches (38x20 cm) rectangle, 0.3 inches (7-8mm) thick. Be careful, not to overwork the dough and take as little flour as possible. Keep the edges as straight as possible. Rotate 180° while rolling to stay even, if needed. Pick up one short end and fold one-third of the dough on itself. Pick up the other short end and fold on top that it covers itself (letter style). You should have a 3-layered dough. Cover with plastic foil tightly and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Turn the dough again by 90° from the previous position, and roll into a 26x10.6 inches (66x27cm) rectangle, 0.12-0.15 inches (3-4mm) thick. And again, take as little flour as possible, keep the edges as straight as possible, and don't overwork the dough. Shape the corners with your hands to a square.
- With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut off 0.4 inches all around the rectangle to reveal the multilayered puff pastry. The croissant dough should be 25.2x9.85 inches (64x25cm) in size. Transform it into a parallelogram by picking up 2 corners of the dough opposite the diagonal and stretch gently. Use a tape measure or yardstick and measure both long sides of the dough (should be still 25.2 inches / 64cm) and divide each side through 7-8. This makes sure that your croissants are all the same size. Depending on your parallelogram and the precision of your cut, you get 14 or 16 croissants. Then cut triangles with the tape measure. The cut croissants should be between 3.15-3.55 inches (8-9cm) wide and 9.85 inches (25cm) long. Cover with plastic foil and freeze for 15 minutes.
- Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Remove croissants from the freezer and cut with a knife 0.2-inch (5mm) slits in the middle of the short sides. Place croissants with the notched side towards you. Roll the dough up and away from you, moving your hands outward from the center. Lightly press the tip to close the croissants. Place croissants on prepared baking sheets (a maximum of 6 croissants per baking sheet) with enough space between each croissant. They will triple in size. Place the dough tip underneath that they don't unroll during baking.
- Combine egg and egg yolk in a small bowl and lightly brush croissants. Your oven should have a temperature of 80-85°F (26-29°C). Maybe you need to open the door for 1-2 minutes if it is warmer than that.
- Pour boiling water in a heat-proof bowl. Arrange all baking sheets in the oven and the boiling water on the bottom of the oven. Close the door and let the croissants rise for 2.5 hours. This trick can simulate a professional oven. It lets the croissants rise high and prevents them from drying out.
- Remove croissants from the oven and preheat to 375°F (190°C). Carefully brush croissants a second time with eggs. Bake one sheet at the time for about 16-20 minutes until they have a brown and even color. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Even if the croissants are best eaten fresh on the same day, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. Dip or drizzle with chocolate, dust with powdered sugar, or fill to your taste, if desired.
Notes
Taste & Texture
- Flaky crisp exterior
- Buttery rich layers
- Soft airy center
- Golden delicate finish
Storage, Freezing & Reheating
- Fridge: There’s no real need to put them in the refrigerator, but you can if you want them to last a little longer. Let them come back to room temperature before eating.
- Freezer: The dough is frozen at different stages during the process, and shaped croissant dough can also be chilled as needed while working.
- Reheat: Fresh is best, but you can warm croissants slightly before serving if you like them a little crisp again.
Cooking Time and Temperature
The proofing temperature matters a lot here. I like keeping the oven around 80 to 85°F for proofing because room temperature usually doesn’t give me the rise I want. For baking, 375°F works well. I bake one tray at a time for 16 to 20 minutes so I can keep an eye on the color and make sure they bake evenly.Serving Recommendations
I love croissants the classic way with espresso, but I also like them with cold milk when I want something simple. For something sweeter, I would go with powdered sugar, chocolate drizzle, or even vanilla ice cream if I’m treating it more like dessert. If I’m serving them as part of a snack board, I’d add fruit and cheese and keep the rest fairly simple because the croissants already do a lot.Recipe Variations and Substitutions
If you have extra dough, you can use it to make pain au chocolat instead of regular crescent-shaped croissants. You can also play around with toppings after baking, like chocolate drizzle or powdered sugar. I would not swap in salted butter here even though some people ask about it. The recipe works best as written, and I prefer not to change what already works, especially with something this technical.Proper Storage Tips
- I keep baked croissants in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- There’s no real need to refrigerate them unless you want them to last longer, but I prefer bringing them back to room temperature before eating because the texture is better that way.
- Croissants are best fresh, so I try to enjoy them the same day whenever I can.
Pro Tips for Success
- Keep your edges as straight as possible while rolling so your folds stay clean and even.
- Use as little flour as possible, and always brush away any excess between folds.
- Don’t overwork the dough. If it starts warming up, stop and chill it again.
- Keep the butter cold at all times, but still workable enough to spread inside the dough.
- Try to keep your measurements accurate, including thickness and triangle width, because consistency makes the whole process much smoother.
- Be patient with yourself. This is not the kind of recipe I would call casual, but once you get it right, it feels amazing.
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Tory
Great recipe
Afroditi
Hey Sabine,
Great recipe, thanks for sharing! Can you also link the original french one? So the creators also take credit 🙂
Keep up the good work,
Afroditi
Sabine
Hi Afroditi, The recipe is from a personal friend of mine who is born and raised in France and showed me how to make croissants like they do in France. If it were online I would link the source of course. Thanks, Sabine
Yuko
Hi !
Its looks wonderful recipe !
I’d like to make them—-
And i have a question about measurement.
Its says 4cups of flour.
I am always confused which measure cup should I use for 1 cup... 180ml? 200ml ? Or 250ml ?
Thank you !!
Sabine
Hi, It stands in brackets how many grams these are. Hope that helps!
mariam
Hi.i made it last night but there was a poroblem for rising.they didnt rise well ☹why?my temperature was 29c too
Sabine
Hi Mariam, I can't say for sure where the problem was. But I guess the yeast was already dead. Please use just active yeast (try if it is still living before).
Karen
This recipe looks fabulous and I'm gearing up to try making them this week.
In the directions, I don't understand what you mean by "Watch out, that the yeast and the salt don't get in touch." If they're in the same bowl, how would they not touch.
Thanks!
Sabine
It's meant that when you add the ingredients one after another that you don't put the salt directly on top of the yeast until you start mixing. They will get in touch when mixing though.
Mike Jones
Very good, I miss understood the last freeze step and froze the rolled up croissants they still turned out very good.
Sabine
I'm glad you like the recipe!
Marilize
Hi.
Do you think that you could freeze finished croissants and bake at a later stage? By letting the reach room temp and then proofinf them?
Sabine
Hi Marilize, Yes, that is absolutely possible. Make the croissants as described and after rolling place them in the freezer until ready to bake. If you plan to freeze them longer as just overnight, please make sure that you place single croissants in freezer bags and remove as much air as possible. They freeze well up to two weeks. For thawing, place them on the kitchen counter to let them come to room temperature and then go on with the proofing as described. Hope that helps!
John
Did the oven trick to proof and had it at about 70 when I added to the water. Came back 2 hours later and the butter is melting out. Second time I’ve tried this trick and this always happens - never again...
Sabine
Hi John,
I'm sorry to hear that you had troubles with the proofing. Actually, 70°F is lower than recommended and is room temperature. I've never seen butter melting away at room temperature. Are you sure that it was not 70°C? Also, an oven thermometer would help. My oven temperature is not accurate and an oven thermometer saves my recipes.
Thebakerlust
Happened to me too! The dough turned out very watery and melty from the proofing in the "steam" oven process. I even had to throw one away. But anyway i think in future i wouldn't do that method of proofing, but just normal proofing process. heh. But otherwise, the recipe turned out really great! i even did one extra step of folding. I really loved this recipe and it was super good and my best croissant attempt thus far!
Sabine
Thank you so much for your feedback! I'm happy that it was your best croissant attempt ever!
Kate
I also had the butter melt out during this step, perhaps it would be better for beginners to just leave them at room temp?
Sabine
Yes, you can place the croissants in a warm environment as well. They maybe need then longer to rise. I'm sorry that this happened to you.
Anne
Loved this post! I made these last weekend and they where delicious, so I had to share it to my own blog (allaroundthegoods.com)!
Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Sabine
Anne, Thank you so much for your sharing your thoughts on this! I'm happy that you like the croissants as much as I do. Have a great day! xo Sabine
Maha
Hiii,what is flour T45 plz?
Sabine
Hi, Maha! T45 refers to the mineral content in the flour (means 0.45% of mineral content is left after processing the wheat). It is very light in texture, soft, and white. It is a French style flour often used for brioche or croissant dough. Equivalents are American cake flour, European (T)450 type, or T00 Italian flour. Hopefully, that helps!