If you have ever wanted to make croissants, now is the time because we are going to show you how to roll a croissant like a pro. Follow our guide for delicious, authentic and tasty croissants.
The recipe for croissant dough is very simple, unfortunately that can’t be said for the actual process of making them.
It is not the most straightforward baking project, it has to be said. However, if you do make your own croissants they are well worth the effort.
Despite commonly held beliefs, croissant dough is not the same as puff pastry dough. For a croissant dough you need 2 parts flour, 1 part butter and 1 part liquid. Puff pastry, on the other hand, is 2 parts flour, 2 parts butter, and 1 part liquid.
Recipe
Croissant dough is made with flour, sugar, milk, salt, and yeast. After mixing the dough, it is covered and refrigerated, for around 30 minutes.
Then it can be rolled out into a large rectangle, roughly 14 inches by 10 inches.
Once rolled, it is again covered and refrigerated for at least 4 hours or overnight. Now it’s time to shape the butter that is going to be folded into the dough.
Some recipes instruct you to shape cold sticks of butter, but it is easier to beat softened butter, shape it and chill it for 30 minutes.
The size of the butter layer should be 7 inches by 10 inches. The dough and the butter should be the same temperature.
Place the chilled rectangle of butter in the center of the croissant dough and fold the sides over the top of it. Seal the edges.
Now you are ready to laminate the dough.
What Is A Laminated Dough?
A laminated dough is one that is layered with fat such as butter, although other types of fat can be used.
This dough is what croissants are made from and how they are formed.
The dough is rolled with the butter layer embedded. Then it is turned 90 degrees, folded into thirds and rolled again.
After the second rolling the dough is refrigerated again to return it to a chilled state as it will have warmed up by this point.
After half an hour take the dough out of the refrigerator and fold it again into thirds and roll it once more.
This process creates many layers inside the dough. The butter layer melts during baking and the resulting steam is what forces the layers of dough apart.
Following the final rolling the dough is covered and chilled in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
How To Roll A Croissant
Now you can begin to roll out your croissants. The chilled dough should be rolled into a rectangle that is 20 inches long by 8 inches wide.
Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter cut the rectangle down its length, creating 2 rectangles of 10 inches by 8 inches.
Then cut across each rectangle 3 times making 8 rectangles of 5 inches by 4 inches.
When you look at the cross-section of the cut rectangles you will notice all the layers in the laminated dough.
Rolling The Croissants
So you are wondering how you get croissant shapes out of rectangles. Well now you cut all the rectangles in half diagonally creating 2 triangles from each rectangle.
Then you have the shape that you need to begin rolling the croissants.
First you need to slightly stretch out the triangle, they should be around 8 inches long. Be careful not to flatten the layers as you do this.
At the wide end of the dough triangle cut a small slit about an inch long. Now take the points and begin to roll it towards the tip of the dough.
After you have begun rolling the dough you can use the flat of your fingers to roll it all the way to the tip.
You need to make sure that the point of the croissant dough ends up on the base of the pastry.
This is essential to the croissant maintaining its shape during baking.
If the point is uppermost on the croissant it will unfold as the butter melts and causes steam to force the layers apart.
Place the croissant on a lined baking sheet and gently pull the ends of the croissant toward each other to create the crescent shape.
You can apply a little pressure to the tips to press them onto the baking sheet which should discourage the dough from uncurling.
Baking The Croissants
You now need to let the croissants rest at room temperature for about an hour, and then you can either bake them straight away or chill them for an hour in the refrigerator before baking.
The latter method means the dough won’t spread as much.
Brush them with an egg wash before putting them in the oven. Serve them plain with coffee or add some of your favorite jam.
What About Chocolate Croissants?
Chocolate croissants are not the same shape as a regular croissant and are rectangular in shape. They are made with the same dough, however.
So for chocolate croissants, pain au chocolat or chocolatines, whatever you want to call them there is a different method for rolling them.
Cut the dough into rectangles, sprinkle some semi-sweet chocolate chips on one short edge of the rectangle.
From this edge roll the dough into a log shape. Place them on a lined baking sheet, seam side down.
Cover and leave to rise for a couple of hours or leave to chill in the fridge overnight. When ready to bake, brush them with beaten egg and bake in the oven.
Cool on a wire rack before serving. Enjoy with an invigorating cup of coffee.
In Conclusion
We hope you have enjoyed our guide to how to roll a croissant and that you will enjoy the delicious results of all your hard work. Bon appétit!
Have you ever made something so delicious that you wished you could savor it forever?
Only to find that the recipe has now mysteriously vanished from your phone and the entirety of the internet. Yep, there’s not much more painful than that.
Hi, my name is Mark Williams and I have been infatuated with cooking since I was young. I would beg my mother to pull a chair up to the counter so I could watch what she was doing.
