How to Make Croissants

croissants on a wood serving tray

Today we’re conquering our fears and making homemade croissants! If you’re about to run away screaming, I understand. I’m not sugarcoating it: croissants aren’t easy. Croissants require time, patience, and a lot of rolling. However, just because this recipe is advanced doesn’t mean that YOU have to be an advanced baker to try it. You can absolutely handle this quintessential baking bucket list recipe. ♥

Let me hold your hand through the whole process. I’m sharing step-by-step photography, a full video tutorial, plenty of tricks based on what I’ve learned, and the croissant recipe. I started working on croissants earlier this year. I studied a couple recipes, tested them, tweaked what I found necessary, and played with this dough for weeks. The croissants are golden brown, extra flaky, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and unbelievable warm from the oven. One bite of this delicate French pastry will immediately transport you to a quaint French bakery. I’m confident in this homemade croissants recipe and I’m confident in YOU baking them.

The good news! You need zero fancy equipment and zero special ingredients. If you’re looking for a weekend project, know how to read directions, and crave a fresh homemade pastry (don’t we all?), then stick around. You’ll be rewarded with the BEST treat ever!!!

croissants

Let’s get right into it. Just like making mille-feuille, making croissants is a labor of love. The long recipe directions and all these step-by-step photographs seem intimidating, but let me walk you through the basic process so you aren’t nervous.

The Process

  • Make easy dough from butter, flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and milk.
  • Roll out dough into a large rectangle.
  • Make the butter layer (I have an easy trick for this!!!).
  • Enclose the butter layer inside the dough.
  • Roll out the dough into another large rectangle, then fold it back together.
  • Roll out the dough again, fold it back together again.
  • Roll out the dough one more time, fold it back together.
  • Shape the croissants.
  • Bake!

There’s resting time between most steps, which means most of the time is hands off. To help us develop all the layers, croissant dough needs to rest in the refrigerator often. That’s why I call making croissants a project. Do it over a couple days with long breaks between the steps.

croissants on a wood serving tray

All that rolling out and folding back together? That’s called LAMINATING.

What is Laminated Dough?

Laminating dough is the process of folding butter into dough many times, which creates multiple alternating layers of butter and dough. When the laminated dough bakes, the butter melts and creates steam. This steam lifts the layers apart, leaving us with dozens of flaky airy buttery layers. Same process that makes our Chicago-style deep dish pizza crust so buttery and flaky!

Just like we do when we make a croissant bread loaf or homemade cruffins, we’re going to laminate the dough 3 times, which will create 81 layers in our croissants. Yes, 81! Let me paint that picture for you.

  • Start with dough, butter layer, dough = 3 layers
  • Roll it out and fold it into thirds = 9 layers
  • Roll that out and fold it into thirds = 27 layers
  • Roll that out one last time and fold it into thirds = 81 layers

So we’re only laminating the dough 3 times, but that gives us 81 layers. When the croissants are rolled up and shaped, that’s one 81 layer dough rolled up many times. So when you bite into a croissant, you’re literally biting into hundreds of layers.

Isn’t that SO COOL???

croissants on a wood serving tray

Croissants Video Tutorial

Watch me make croissants in this video. I talk you through the whole video too.

Now let’s see everything come together in step-by-step photographs.

croissant dough in a stand mixer glass bowl

DOUGH

Croissant dough begins with butter, flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and milk. Unlike most yeasted doughs that require warm liquid to activate the yeast, you’re going to use cold milk. The yeast will work its magic later on in the recipe. In the beginning steps of croissants, the dough should always be cold. If, at any point, the dough becomes too warm… stop. Stop what you’re doing and place the dough back in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

The mixer will beat the dough for about 5 minutes. Stand by your mixer as it works the dough. This dough isn’t particularly heavy, but your mixer will still get a workout. Did you see my Instagram story when my mixer FELL OFF MY COUNTER? I walked away at the wrong time and the whole thing danced off the counter. Unplugged itself and everything. Don’t make my mistake!

See my How to Knead Dough video tutorial if you need any extra help with the kneading step.

We made the dough, now we’re going to cover it and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

croissant dough in a ball on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap

Now let’s roll out the dough into a 14×10-inch rectangle. Use a clean ruler or measuring tape. The ruler or measuring tape, besides your rolling pin, is the most crucial tool when making croissants.

I recommend using a silicone baking mat. While we will still lightly flour it, the mat is nonstick and it’s a handy guide for the exact measurement. You also need to transfer the dough to a baking sheet and the silicone baking mat makes that possible.

The dough isn’t extremely cold after only 30 minutes in the refrigerator, so it will be easy to roll out. Be precise with the 14×10-inch measurement. The dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working the edges with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle. You can see how I do all this in the video below.

croissant dough rolled out onto a silpat baking mat

Cover the rolled out dough and chill it for 4 hours or overnight. Literally pick up the silicone baking mat, put it on top of your baking sheet, cover the dough, and chill it. I usually chill it for 4 hours because there is one more 4 hour or overnight chill period coming up. That’s when I typically chill it overnight, making this a 2 day recipe.

BUTTER

Many croissant recipes instruct you to shape extremely cold butter into a rectangle or square. Have you ever tried to manipulate cold sticks of butter into another shape? It’s really hard. I learned the following trick from Zoe at Zoe Bakes. Please go follow Zoe, she is the absolute best. ♥

Start with softened butter, beat it with flour so it has some stability, then spread into a rectangle and chill it. It’s 100x easier to shape softened butter than it is to shape cold butter. Thank you, Zoe!

whipped butter in a glass bowl

You can use any butter you like best. If you’re going to spend money on European style butter, croissants are when to do it. If I’m being honest, I use store-brand butter and love the croissant’s flavor. It’s butter. It’s going to be good regardless.

The butter rectangle is 7×10 inches, half the length of the dough and the same width, so it fits into the dough. We will chill the butter rectangle right on the silicone baking mat. After it’s chilled, we can peel it right off and place it on the dough to begin lamination.

rectangle of butter on a silpat baking mat

Make sure you only chill the butter for about 30 minutes. Our goal is to have the croissant dough and butter be the same temperature. It makes lamination possible. Butter solidifies much quicker than a soft dough, so that’s why our dough will chill for 4 hours and our butter will only chill for 30 minutes. Make sense?

butter rectangle on top of croissant dough on a silpat baking mat

Because you shaped the butter into the precise 7×10-inch size, it fits nicely on the 14×10-inch dough. (After the butter rectangle chills, you can always cut sharp edges with a pizza cutter or knife to make it the appropriate size.)

Fold the cold dough over the cold butter. Use your fingers to seal the butter inside.

overhead image of folded croissant dough on a silpat baking mat

Now we’re going to laminate the dough 3x with a 30 minute break between the 2nd and 3rd time. Why between the 2nd and 3rd time? Because our dough has been out of the refrigerator for long enough by this point and needs to be chilled again. 30 minutes is plenty.

I do not have step-by-step pictures of the lamination process because it’s time sensitive and the dough just became too warm as I tried to set up the shot. However, you can see me laminate the dough and talk through the process in the video below. (3:20-5:15 minutes) Watching me work through this step is more helpful anyway.

Our dough has been rolled out and folded 3x, now it’s time to rest.

folded croissant dough

Cover the laminated dough and chill it for 4 hours or overnight. This is when I usually chill it overnight.

croissant dough rolled into a rectangle on a baking sheet with plastic wrap

Roll out the dough 1 more time. This time you’ll roll it into an 8×20-inch rectangle.

Use your pizza cutter and slice the rectangle down the center to create two 4×20 rectangles. Then slice across 3x to create eight 4×5-inch rectangles.

croissant dough rolled out and cut into squares

Look at all these layers!!!!

stack of croissant dough

Now slice each of the 8 rectangles into 2 triangles. Using your fingers or a rolling pin, stretch the triangles to be about 8 inches long. Do this gently as you do not want to flatten the layers. Cut a small slit at the wide end of the triangle, then tightly roll up into a crescent shape making sure the tip is underneath.

dough cut for one croissant before rolling

Loosely cover the shaped croissants and allow to rest at room temperature (I suggest just keeping them on the counter) for 1 hour, then place in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour. Unlike a lot of croissant recipes, I prefer the shaped croissants to be cold going into the oven. They won’t spread as much. They will rise and proof for the 1 hour at room temperature and continue to do so in the refrigerator for another hour.

The croissants are ready to bake after that! FINALLY.

Brush them with egg wash (egg + milk).

croissants on a baking sheet before baking

Bake.

croissants on a white cake stand

Indulge. Because after making the dough and rolling it out a million times, you completely deserve to. Enjoy them plain or with jam, honey butter, or homemade raspberry sauce. Interested in chocolate croissants? Of course you are!

If you happen to have any leftovers, day old croissants are perfect so soak up flavors in an easy breakfast casserole.

croissant on a black plate

FAQ: Why Are There Chunks of Butter in My Dough & Why Did Butter Leak Out of the Croissants?

These are 2 common questions and I’m happy to sum it all up for you. Some butter leakage during the baking process is normal and expected; however, if your baking croissants are sitting on pools of butter, your butter layer may have been too cold. It would make sense to give the best temperature for the butter layer, but you’re really looking for texture. You want the dough and sheet of butter to be similar in softness. If the butter layer is too hard, it will crack and split under the dough. Let it sit at room temperature to soften before the laminating process (step 7) OR reduce the chill time in step 6 down from 30 minutes to about 15.

See Your Croissants!

Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂

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homemade croissants on a platter

How to Make Croissants

4.7 from 296 reviews
  • Author: Sally McKenney
  • Prep Time: 12 hours, 45 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 13 hours, 10 minutes
  • Yield: 16 croissants
  • Category: Pastries
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: French
Save Recipe

Description

Buttery, flaky, and perfect homemade croissants!


Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for rolling/shaping
  • 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 Tablespoon active dry or instant yeast
  • 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) cold whole milk

Butter Layer

Egg Wash

  • 1 large egg
  • 2 Tablespoons (30ml) whole milk


Instructions

  1. Preliminary notes: Watch the video below and use the step-by-step photos before you begin. Read the recipe before beginning. Make room in the refrigerator for a baking sheet. In step 6 and again in step 13, you will need room for 2 baking sheets.
  2. Make the dough: Cut the butter in four 1-Tablespoon pieces and place in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (or you can use a handheld mixer or no mixer, but a stand mixer is ideal). Add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Turn the mixer on low-medium speed to gently combine the ingredients for 1 minute. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the milk. Once all of the milk is added, turn the mixer up to medium speed and begin to knead the dough.
  3. Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rest. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rest. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
  4. Remove dough from the bowl and, with floured hands, work it into a ball. Place the dough on a lightly floured silicone baking mat lined, lightly floured parchment paper lined, or lightly floured baking sheet. (I highly recommend a silicone baking mat because you can roll the dough out in the next step directly on top and it won’t slide all over the counter.) Gently flatten the dough out, as I do in the video below, and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and allow the covered dough to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  5. Shape the dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. I like to keep the dough on the silicone baking mat when I’m rolling it in this step because the mat is nonstick and it’s a handy guide for the exact measurement. Begin flattening out the dough with your hands. You’re rolling it out into a rectangle in this step, so shaping it with your hands first helps the stretchy dough. Roll it into a 14×10-inch rectangle. The dough isn’t extremely cold after only 30 minutes in the refrigerator, so it will feel more like soft play-doh. Be precise with the measurement. The dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working the edges with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle.
  6. Long rest: Place the rolled out dough back onto the baking sheet (this is why I prefer a silicone baking mat or parchment because you can easily transfer the dough). Cover the rolled out dough with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and allow the covered dough to rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. (Up to 24 hours is ok.)
  7. Butter layer (begin this 35 minutes before the next step so the butter can chill for 30 minutes): In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and flour together until smooth and combined. Transfer the mixture to a silicone baking mat lined or parchment paper lined baking sheet. (Silicone baking mat is preferred because you can easily peel the butter off in the next step.) Using a spoon or small spatula, smooth out into a 7×10-inch rectangle. Be as precise as you can with this measurement. Place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the butter layer for 30 minutes. (No need to cover it for only 30 minutes.) You want the butter layer firm, but still pliable. If it gets too firm, let it sit out on the counter for a few minutes to gently soften. The more firm the butter layer is the more difficult it will be to laminate the dough in the next step.
  8. Laminate the dough: In this next step, you will be rolling out the dough into a large rectangle. Do this on a lightly floured counter instead of rolling out on your silicone baking mat. The counter is typically a little cooler (great for keeping the dough cold) and the silicone baking mat is smaller than the measurement you need. Remove both the dough and butter layers from the refrigerator. Place the butter layer in the center of the dough and fold each end of the dough over it. If the butter wasn’t an exact 7×10-inch rectangle, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to even out the edges. Seal the dough edges over the butter layer as best you can with your fingers. On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough into a 10×20-inch rectangle. It’s best to roll back and forth with the shorter end of the dough facing you, like I do in the video below. Use your fingers if you need to. The dough is very cold, so it will take a lot of arm muscle to roll. Again, the dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working it with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle. Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter. This was the 1st turn.
  9. If the dough is now too warm to work with, place folded dough on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before the 2nd turn. I usually don’t have to.
  10. 2nd turn: Turn the dough so the short end is facing you. Roll the dough out once again into a 10×20-inch rectangle, then fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter. The dough must be refrigerated between the 2nd and 3rd turn because it has been worked with a lot by this point. Place the folded dough on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before the 3rd turn.
  11. 3rd turn: Roll the dough out once again into a 10×20-inch rectangle. Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter.
  12.  Long rest: Place the folded dough on the lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. (Up to 24 hours is ok.)
  13. At the end of the next step, you’ll need 2 baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. The dough is currently on a lined baking sheet in the refrigerator, so you already have 1 prepared!
  14. Shape the croissants: Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough out into an 8×20-inch rectangle. Use your fingers if you need to. Once again, the dough is very cold, so it will take a lot of arm muscle to roll. The dough will want to be oval shaped, but keep working it with your hands and rolling pin until you have the correct size rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the dough in half vertically. Each skinny rectangle will be 4-inches wide. Then cut 3 even slices horizontally, yielding 8 4×5-inch rectangles. See photo above for a visual. Cut each rectangle diagonally to make 2 triangles. You have 16 triangles now. Work with one triangle at a time. Using your fingers or a rolling pin, stretch the triangle to be about 8 inches long. Do this gently as you do not want to flatten the layers. Cut a small slit at the wide end of the triangle, then tightly roll up into a crescent shape making sure the tip is underneath. Slightly bend the ends in towards each other. Repeat with remaining dough, placing the shaped croissants on 2 lined baking sheets, 8 per sheet. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rest at room temperature (no warmer—I suggest keeping on the counter) for 1 hour, then place in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour or up to 12 hours. (Or freeze, see freezing instructions.) I prefer the shaped croissants to be cold going into the oven.
  15. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
  16. Egg wash: Whisk the egg wash ingredients together. Remove the croissants from the refrigerator. Brush each lightly with egg wash.
  17. Bake the croissants: Bake until croissants are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Rotate the pans halfway through baking. If croissants show signs of darkening too quickly, reduce the oven to 375°F (190°C).
  18. Remove croissants from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before serving. They will slightly deflate as they cool.
  19. Croissants taste best the same day they’re baked. Cover any leftover croissants and store at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm up to your liking.

Notes

  1. Make Ahead Instructions: Croissants are perfect for getting started ahead of time. The dough can rest for 4 hours or overnight in step 5 and again in step 11. You can also freeze the dough after the 3rd turn in the lamination process (after step 10). Instead of the 4 hour rest in the refrigerator in step 11, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, place in a freezer zipped-top bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and continue with step 12. You can also freeze the shaped croissants after they rest for 1 hour at room temperature in step 13. (Before placing in the refrigerator.) Cover them tightly and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw completely in the refrigerator, then bake as directed.
  2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer (preferred), Hand Mixer, or Glass Mixing Bowl with Wooden Spoon / Silicone Spatula | Rolling Pin | Pizza CutterPastry Brush | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Baking Sheet | Cooling Rack
  3. Yeast: I use and recommend Red Star Platinum, an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead if needed. No changes to the recipe or prior proofing required; just mix it in as instructed. (Most modern yeasts are already active!) Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
  4. Keep Dough Cold: Make sure the dough is ALWAYS cold. If it warms up too much, stop what you’re doing and place the dough back in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  5. Floured Surface: Lightly flour the work surface, your hands, the dough, and the rolling pin as you work.
  6. Air Bubbles: Are there air bubbles in your dough as you roll? That’s ok. Pop them with your fingers or a toothpick, then lightly flour where you popped the air bubble.
  7. Croissants for Brunch: I recommend starting the recipe the day before in the early afternoon. Complete steps 1-10, then let the laminated dough have a long rest in the refrigerator overnight (step 11). Begin step 13 2-3 hours before brunch.
  8. Dough adapted from Joy of Baking, Food & Wine, and Epicurious
sally mckenney headshot purple shirt.
About the Author

Sally McKenney

Sally McKenney is a baker, food photographer, and New York Times best-selling author. Her kitchen-tested recipes and step-by-step tutorials have given millions of readers the knowledge and confidence to bake from scratch. Sally’s work has been featured on TODAY, Good Morning America, Taste of Home, People, and more.

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Reader Comments and Reviews

  1. Chris says:
    July 28, 2024

    What if you don’t have a mixer? I just have an electric beater? Seems like this would break it.

    1. Michelle @ Sally's Baking says:
      July 28, 2024

      Hi Chris, you can use a handheld mixer or no mixer if needed.

  2. Stephanie Helsel says:
    July 26, 2024

    Omg!! I have never made bread ever! Easiest step by step directions!!

  3. David Olsen-Vazquez says:
    July 16, 2024

    After returning from Lyon I made your receipe and loved it! The receipe turned out perfect. Why is there no time set aside for the dough to rise? Thank you!

  4. Joetta Schork says:
    July 9, 2024

    Finally got up the courage to try it. They came out beautifully and were just amazing!!! I am wondering if anyone has tried to make using whole wheat flour?

    1. Lexi @ Sally's Baking says:
      July 10, 2024

      Hi Joetta, For best taste and texture, we recommend sticking with all-purpose flour. We do not recommend whole wheat flour without testing it ourselves, since it would take some tweaking to ensure results. We’re so glad you had success with this recipe!

  5. Chels says:
    July 8, 2024

    I tried this recipe, very easy to follow! I got some good lamination but after baking the Center was doughy- what should be done differently?

    1. Lexi @ Sally's Baking says:
      July 8, 2024

      Hi Chels, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. Usually a doughy center simply means they were underbaked and could use a few additional minutes in the oven. How were the outsides of the croissants? You might also try an adjustment to your oven’s temperature. Try baking them at 375°F (190°C) for the first 10 minutes then down to 350°F (177°C) for 10+ minutes after that. Lower oven temperature will help cook the centers a little better. Hope this helps for next time!

  6. annie says:
    July 2, 2024

    am i able to use salted butter rather than unsalted? i made these last time and they were so good but needed more salt!!

    1. Lexi @ Sally's Baking says:
      July 2, 2024

      Hi Annie, you can use salted butter if desired.

  7. Lauren M says:
    June 20, 2024

    I use this recipe every time and they always turn out a success. Is there a limit to how many times you turn / laminate? Didn’t know if I could try this recipe for cronuts!


    1. Sally @ Sally's Baking says:
      June 20, 2024

      Hi Lauren, you can certainly try using this dough for cronuts. I actually haven’t had the chance to try it yet! As far as the max number of turns, I wouldn’t suggest anything past 4 or 5. The more turns, the tighter the texture.

  8. Robin says:
    June 16, 2024

    Thank you Sally it work very well with me

  9. Anna says:
    June 13, 2024

    Yummy and my family enjoyed them. Was wondering how many calories per croissant?

    1. Trina @ Sally's Baking says:
      June 13, 2024

      Hi Anna! So glad you enjoyed them. We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076

  10. Claire Dadoun says:
    June 8, 2024

    Hi! I was wondering if I could shape them the night before and take them out to proof in the morning to have fresh croissants for breakfast? Thanks!

    1. Lexi @ Sally's Baking says:
      June 10, 2024

      Hi Claire, the shaped croissants can be placed in the refrigerator rest for 1 hour or up to 12 hours. We don’t recommend extending the time longer than that. Hope you enjoy them!

  11. Laurence says:
    June 3, 2024

    Hey Sally & crew, another great recipe!! The instructions were easy enough to understand and the croissants tasted divine! I just have one question- is there anything that I can do with the leftover yeast? I made these using two standard yeast packets (measuring the amount needed for this recipe ). It’s only like a few teaspoons, but it feels wasteful to throw it away. Also, in general, do you use the standard packets or a jar for yeast?
    Thanks again for a great recipe

    1. Lexi @ Sally's Baking says:
      June 3, 2024

      Hi Laurence, we’re so glad you enjoyed the croissants! Here are all of our yeast recipes. We use both the packets and the jar—whichever you have access to works!

  12. J. D. says:
    May 29, 2024

    I followed the recipe as closely as possible, weighing all my ingredients and cooling and resting for the recommended times, but they didn’t at all turn out like the pictures. The butter leaked out and they turned out greasy. The flavor was still good, so I’m not sure where I went wrong, but I feel like I did everything that was called for or recommend. A little bit bummed!

    1. Trina @ Sally's Baking says:
      May 29, 2024

      Hi J.D., did you have nice flaky layers before baking? If the butter leaked out while baking, they may have needed more time to rest/chill before baking – did they rest for at least an hour? You can try increasing that time, or freezing before baking to help keep the shape and butter layers. Hope you still enjoyed them!

  13. Janine says:
    May 27, 2024

    Can i use cake flour? I live in South Africa and we don’t seem to sell All purpose. i can only find cake flour or white bread flour. thanks so much

    1. Beth @ Sally's Baking says:
      May 27, 2024

      Hi Janine, all-purpose flour is sometimes labeled “plain flour”–do you have that option where you are?

    2. Estelle says:
      June 28, 2024

      Since I retired 4 years ago, I have started baking. I live in the Western Cape, South Africa. You cannot find All-purpose or plain flour in South Africa. I googled for a substitute for all-purpose flour and a 1:1 ratio of cake- and bread flour was suggested. Have used it making bread and it works well. Will try it now with your croissants recipe.

  14. Matt J says:
    May 21, 2024

    I have made these a couple different times and they work out amazing! Very easy and clear instructions to follow! I have to make these 50% whole wheat because I make these for a school district to make into sandwiches for Chicken Salad/Tuna Salad and Egg Salad! Our students love them!! Thank you for the recipe!

  15. Amelia says:
    May 16, 2024

    The first time that I made these they turned out pretty good! They looked like croissants. They tasted like croissants. Then I refrigerated the dough for maybe a couple days. I put them straight into the oven (with the egg wash) and they turned out different. Was it because I didn’t let them warm up in the counter?

    1. Sally @ Sally's Baking says:
      May 17, 2024

      Hi Amelia, can you explain how they turned out differently? I will be glad to help troubleshoot.

  16. Sarah D says:
    May 14, 2024

    Help!! I did everything exactly as the recipe but the croissants just didn’t rise or fluff up? The taste was ok but texture all wrong? Any ideas?

    1. Trina @ Sally's Baking says:
      May 14, 2024

      Hi Sarah, the rise comes from both the yeast and the layers of butter expanding in the oven as they croissants cook. Do you have flaky layers? The butter could have melted into the dough if it was too warm.

  17. Adeline says:
    May 11, 2024

    Amazing! I love making these the night before a sleepover!

  18. Jane doe says:
    April 27, 2024

    Why do I have to refrigerate the dough?

    1. Michelle @ Sally's Baking says:
      April 27, 2024

      Hi Jane, The dough will tear and the butter will leak without refrigerating.

  19. kait says:
    April 22, 2024

    do i have to bake them cold and refrigerate it?

    1. Trina @ Sally's Baking says:
      April 22, 2024

      Hi Kait, yes, we recommend chilling the shaped croissants before baking, as instructed in the recipe.

  20. Maraina says:
    April 21, 2024

    Hello Sally!
    Im American but I live in Africa, and the temperature is different especially with humidity. Should I make any adjustments.
    Thanks again

    1. Michelle @ Sally's Baking says:
      April 21, 2024

      Hi Maraina, Warm, humid weather will make croissants more difficult. You can try extending the chill times to allow the butter to cool down. You can also try adding a little extra flour to bring the dough together. The video tutorial in the recipe card should be a helpful reference for the texture of dough you’re looking for.

  21. Dawn says:
    April 15, 2024

    Hi! I live at 6,000 ft elevation. Should I be making any adjustments? Thanks

    1. Trina @ Sally's Baking says:
      April 15, 2024

      Hi Dawn, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html

  22. Tammy says:
    April 6, 2024

    I accidentally got ahead of myself and put the butter sheet on before waiting 4 hours so I only fold the first time and put in the fridge for four hours is this going to be ok if I take the dough out of the fridge and warm up a little and start layering?

    1. Stephanie @ Sally's Baking says:
      April 10, 2024

      Hi Tammy, That should be fine. The end result may not have as many layers but the taste should be ok.

  23. Liz says:
    March 26, 2024

    This was my first attempt at laminated dough and it was a success! I have a convection oven, and 18 minutes at 375 was just about perfect. Maybe could have gone even a little colder (and then a minute or so longer). In case that helps anyone 🙂

  24. Claire says:
    March 25, 2024

    This recipe was soo good! I do have two questions: mine unrolled a bit while baking do I just need to roll them tighter? and can you add cream to these, if so do you have a recipe 🙂

    1. Lexi @ Sally's Baking says:
      March 27, 2024

      Hi Claire, yes, we would recommend rolling them a bit tighter. We haven’t tried adding a cream filling to these, but let us know if you do any experimenting!

  25. Rachel says:
    March 24, 2024

    These turned out amazingly! My 13 year old daughter and I made them together over a weekend. We did half chocolate (following your chocolate croissant recipe) and regular for the other half. Delightful! We thought the regular ones cooked up better… the chocolate ones were a little soggy in the middle with the flat roll shaping. Next time we may try to cook them a different way. But the regular ones were fantastic!!

    1. AmeliaJ says:
      April 21, 2024

      So freaking delicious! I’ve made them twice now and the recipe is so easy to follow, my first attempt, the butter was too cold so it broke up and leaked out. But second attempt was spot on, so incredible. My only question would be, can I freeze the uncooked croissants and bake them from frozen?

      1. Michelle @ Sally's Baking says:
        April 21, 2024

        Hi Amelia, absolutely. See the recipe notes for make ahead instructions.

  26. Charlotte W. says:
    March 20, 2024

    I loved these croissants! They were super beginner friendly, and were so delicious! I messed up in some spots, but they still tasted great. I will be making them again for sure. I fell in love with making bread recently and so this was perfect to spend my weekend on. I hope that they come out with a sourdough version!

  27. Laila Harris says:
    March 17, 2024

    Can you use almond milk instead of whole milk?

    1. Michelle @ Sally's Baking says:
      March 17, 2024

      Hi Laila, a lower fat or non-dairy milk is fine in a pinch but the dough will not be as rich.

  28. Soozi G says:
    March 12, 2024

    The most clear instructions for a near perfect outcome! It was such a fun experience, I’ve already done it three times, and it gets better each time.

  29. Susanna says:
    March 8, 2024

    These r amazing! That long awaited wait is worth it! Thank u!

  30. Jane Doe says:
    March 3, 2024

    i loved this recipe so much!