Golden, shatteringly crisp outside and soft, buttery and layered inside — a proper French croissant is pure patience. The dough takes a morning, but most of that is resting: fold the butter in, chill, fold again, and wake to the smell of a Paris bakery. Worth every minute.
Ingredients
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 10g instant yeast
- 60g caster sugar
- 10g fine sea salt
- 300ml cold whole milk
- 280g cold unsalted butter, for laminating
- 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
- Extra flour, for dusting
Method
- Make the dough: mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and milk until smooth. Knead for 8 minutes, then chill for 1 hour.
- Prepare the butter: beat the butter between two sheets of baking paper into a flat 20cm square. Chill until firm.
- Laminate: roll the dough into a rectangle, enclose the butter block, and roll it out. Fold in thirds, chill for 30 minutes, and repeat twice more.
- Shape: roll the dough to a long rectangle, cut into triangles and roll each one up from the base into a crescent.
- Prove: place the croissants on a baking tray and prove for 1–2 hours until doubled in size.
- Bake: brush with egg wash and bake at 200°C for 20–25 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
Recipe Card — Butter Croissants
Prep time: 150 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total time: 180 minutes
Serves: 8
Category: Vegetarian · Baking
Course: Baking
Cuisine: French