Posted on 80 Comments

Croissant Recipe (Yeast Method)

No matter how hard I’ve tried and wanted to make croissants with sourdough starter, or hybrid method… yeast croissant remains the winner. 

So light and airy, crunchy on the outside, soft inside.

The original recipe was generously shared by @season_adam on his Instagram page.

I wanted to share it with you and save it here in my journal.

Main Dough (for 7-8 croissants)

  • 350 g bread flour (protein 12-13%) (100%)
  • 108 g water (31%)
  • 109 g milk (31%)
  • 32 g sugar (9 %)
  • 8 g salt (2.3 %)
  • 3.85 g instant yeast (1.1%)
  • 205 g roll-in butter (pastry butter with 82% fat or more) (58.5%)

Night before

  • Dissolve yeast in water and milk mixture, add sugar, salt and all flour. Mix by hand , or on a slow speed of your mixing machine. No need to develop gluten. Dough can remain little lumpy. Gluten will develop by itself overnight.
  • Cover in plastic wrap, put in the fridge until next morning.

Next day

  • Prepare butter for rolling. Butter has to be playable, not too soft, use parchment paper to roll it into a block, about 12-14 cm each side), transfer it to chill in the fridge for 15 minutes before rolling.

Please note, the butter shouldn’t be too cold, or too warm: If its too cold, then during lamination, it will start to break into pieces. if its too warm it will melt in between the layers.

  • Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll it as a square, big enough to place the butter block inside. (About 25cm x 25 cm). 
  • Place butter block inside the dough, the way it showed on the picture.
  • Seal the edges, to let butter stay inside.
  • Start rolling by pushing the butter from 1 side to another (lengthwise).
  • Cut the edges. Place on top of the dough. It will release the tension during rolling 
  • Fold the dough as a letter.
  • Turn the dough 90 degrees, and continue rolling lengthwise. Cut the edges, put them aside, fold the dough as a letter.
  • Cover, transfer it to the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Repeat the same letter folding.

Note: you can do 3 letter folds in total, or 1 book and 1 letter fold.

  • Cover, transfer it to the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Remove the dough from the fridge.
  • Roll it in a rectangle with a narrow side about 23-26 cm.
  • The dough should be 4-5mm thick.
  • Cut the dough (the base of croissant has to be 8cm).
  • Shape them and cover.

Note: at this point you can transfer covered shaped croissants to refrigerator until 9-10pm, then you can remove them and let them proof overnight at 68-72C/20-22C. And you’ll be able to bake fresh croissants for breakfast.

Or 

  • Cover croissants and let them proof for about 4-5 hours at 74-78C / 24-26C  until they double in volume and become jiggly.
  • Egg-wash (mix one egg with 2 tbs of water).
  • Brush croissants with egg mixture.
  • Preheat the oven to 375F.
  • Bake croissants for about 25-30 minutes until golden brown.

If you would like to advance your croissant making skills, consider the Croissant Yeast Method Course.

80 thoughts on “Croissant Recipe (Yeast Method)

  1. Thank you!
    I didn’t see the butter (not the one for rolling..) in the recipe. Should it be in the first mixing step?

    1. Geniale Rezept! Danke

      1. Thank you 🙏

    2. When we roll it into a rectangle, how long is it?

      1. 12×12 cm

  2. Question! Can other milks be substituted without compromising the outcome?

    Thank you so much!

    1. Hi! Sure, you can substitute it with any other kind of milk 🙏

  3. Thank you for this recipe, I made them today and they came out great.
    The butter rolling was a little confusing to me – you wrote the size of the rolled butter in inches, then the size of the rolled dough in cm. The rolled butter came out very thin. Just making sure, should be inches or cm? Thanks!

    1. Rona, hi!
      Butter and the dough was mentioned in the description in centimeters🙏 hope it will help

  4. Hi Natasha,
    When you write istant Yeast, it means fresh yeast or dry yeast?
    Thanks in avance:-)

    1. Dry yeast 😊

  5. Hi Natasha,
    Thank you so very much for this recipe. I’m about to start the lamination! Was wondering if I could proof the dough during the day then refrigerate and bake straight from the fridge tomorrow? My kitchen is very warm, and I dont have a scale that measures decimals so may have added a tiny bit more yeast (scared they’ll overproof if I leave them on my counter tonight)

    1. I would shape, let them proof 70% and put in fridge overnight. Then they will slow ferment and will be 100% proof by the morning.

      1. Hey I saw this question and your reply and I was wondering, we are only two in the house so : would it be possible to proof at 70% then put them in the freezer for later use?
        Then let them unfreeze and come at room temperature, then bake them?

  6. Hi Nat,
    I have made these beautiful croissant. Yummy indeed.
    But one problem, Mine didnt get those hollow crumb like yours.
    More to a bread crumb.
    What should I do to make those beautiful crumb inside?
    What factor that can make those crumb?
    Thank you so much 😊

    1. Hi!
      Sorry you didn’t get a honey comb crumb. Croissant are very tricky. Keep practicing 😉

  7. Thank you for sharing your secrets. you’re the best

    1. Thank you so much for your support 🙏

  8. What kind/brand butter do you use? Also , Is it unsalted?

    1. Yes, I’m using unsalted Plugra butter

  9. Thank you so much for share your knowledge 🧡

  10. Hi can you use cups instead of g

  11. Hi can you use g instead of g.

  12. Can you use cups instead of g

    1. You can try, but I don’t trust the cups ☺️

  13. Hi Natasha!
    how we can use the edges that we have putted aside? thanks!!!

    1. Daniela, collect the edges, then braid it or roll it, bake as a bun, it still will be delicious

  14. Hey,
    I tried this recipe today, all ingredients are correct, but for some reason, it kept raising while in the fridge. I had to try deflating the dough to fold it…
    Even the final shaping was quite hard cause it was already puffy.
    Plus I have the feeling my butter melted away as I don’t see clear layers of dough/butter like in your pictures…

    Currently my kitchen is 20°C and tried not to overwork my dough while folding. Do you have any clues why it happened?

    1. Hi!
      When you first make a dough and let it rest overnight in the fridge it is normal for the dough to get puffy. Work fast on folding and rolling the dough, then the butter won’t melt inside the layers.

  15. Hello Natasha,

    I am really thankful for your recipe. I would like to ask, if I can use All purpose flour instead of bread flour. Or If you have any tips which flour substitute is the best?

    Thank you!

    1. Hi!
      Thank you!
      From my experience. Only strong flour with protein content 12% and more can give you that beautiful honeycomb pattern of the crumb.
      I’m using King Arthur bread flour (12.7%)
      But the best crumb I was getting from Sir Lancelot flour (14% protein)

  16. Hi Natalya, thanks for the recipe, I would like to ask if we can work directly with the main dough without having to rest it in the fridge for overnight? Thanks.

    1. No, we let the dough to ferment slowly in the fridge before doing lamination

  17. Ithank you for the detailed description, I really want to try it soon.
    Also, in one of your steps I think you meant “F” in the first instance?
    “Cover croissants and let them proof for about 4-5 hours at 74-78C / 24-26C until they double in volume and become jiggly.”

    1. Thank you so much!
      It was a typo 🙏

  18. I made your recipe last night and tried the overnight proofing. Put it in the oven at 9pm and had exactly 20C
    However, the next morning the croissants were very overproofed. Do you think it was because I used fresh yeast instead of instant ?

    Thank you so much in advance 😉

    1. Sorry about that.
      Could be the yeast.
      If you’ll use fresh yeast next time, add little less.
      Then it should work.

      1. Thank you for your quick response. I will try that!

        In your opinion: is there any downside from instant yeast to fresh yeast?

  19. Hello Natalya, Thank you for this wonderful recipe, I have never been more satisfied. You are the best❤️

    1. Masi, thank you so much for your kind feedback 🙏

  20. Please, is it possible to write the liquid in ml because the grams of liquid differ according to its temperature. and also did you use powdered or liquid milk?
    Thank you for sharing your secret with us .

    1. Thank you!
      I usually measure all in grams for accuracy

    2. You are wrong, the Mass(grams) doesn t differ according with the temperature. It s the volume (ml) that change according with It. If you want to be accurate you must measure the ingredients by grams.

  21. Hi Natasha, just curious you say to leave the dough overnight for the first step. Would it affect the dough if I made the dough for the day and night then next day started on the butter ?

    1. Sarah, hi!
      Yes, you can leave it for 24 hours in the fridge

  22. Hi Natasha , so I’ve managed to make the recipe for the crossiants just notsure why after 5hours of proofing why they go flat did I over proof them or maybe the heat of the room?

    1. Sarah, if it was too warm, then they definitely got overproofed.

  23. Thank you so much for this recipie !!! They were superb!!!! We al loved them. Is it possible to freeze them before cooking??? And then just putting them in the oven to have them fresh any time??

  24. Hi hope u well is it possible to shape them then freeze to use at a later time? How would it bake ?

    1. Hi!
      I never freezed them, but I know that it’s better to freeze them right away after shaping.

  25. Thank you so much! I have tried so many croissant recipes and these are finally THE ONES! This recipe was fabulous. They came out so beautiful and tasty as can be. I honestly can’t thank you enough for ending what seemed the never ending search for the perfect recipe 🙂 Cheers!

    1. Wendy, thank you do much!
      I really happy you liked it 🙏

    2. Thank you so much for sharing so Many and delicious recipies!! You explain so well!! You Make me bread addict 🙈

      1. Thank you 🙏

  26. Hi Natalie,
    Thank u for sharing!
    This recipe doesnt need kneeding the dough at all? So how the gluten web will active in the dough?

    1. Hi!
      Gluten will develop itself overnight.

      1. Thank u! I will give it a try! 😍

  27. Hallo,
    My dough when adding the butter and rolled it , after chilled starts to separate
    Why ?!?
    Not all, some layers and the butter becomes without dough in some areas
    Anyway, I started baking it
    😅🙈

    1. Hi Natasha, can you tell me what brand of instant yeast do you use? Thank you

      1. I’m using this brand

        LeSaffre Saf-Instant Yeast, Gold, 1 Pound https://a.co/d/bxwJXBS

  28. Hi Natasha, thank you for the recipe!
    I need one explanation. After placing butter block inside the dough, should I let the dough to rest before I start rolling?

    1. Thank you, no rest needing 🙏

  29. Thanks so much for sharing your experience and knowledge! My dough didn’t grow at all! It’s that normal? Water should be worm when is mixed?

    1. Hi!
      Usually I’m using water at 22-24C
      And the dough is supposed to get bigger in fridge.

  30. Hi, Natasha
    Do you use a fan oven for the Croissant?

    1. Hi!
      Yes

  31. Hi Natasha!

    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I finally worked up the courage to attempt croissants for the first time and though definitely not perfect, I was so pleased with the results! They were a beautiful golden brown, flaky and so delicious! I will admit the inside was a little more bready and chewy, certainly not open crumb. I wonder if my dough was too dry? I measured the dough ingredients by weight and the dough turned out a little more dry than anticipated but I decided to just trust it and stick it in the fridge anyways.. the next day when I took out the dough it felt a bit stiff and it didn’t want to stretch very much. What should the dough consistency be? Should I have added a little more water?

    1. Hi!
      Thank you for your feedback.
      The dough should be more on a stiff side.
      Please keep practicing, and result will be getting much better.

  32. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I want make it eggless, so may i use another substitute instead of eggs? Please suggest me.

    1. Hi!
      There’s egg only for egg wash.
      You can skip it .

  33. What do % mean in the recipe? Thanks

  34. Hey there,

    Made this recipe for the first time today. Everything went absolutely perfectly… UNTIL baking. Your recipe states 375F and in the comments you replied to someone and said you use a fan/convection oven, so I set my oven at 375F and slid them in. 10 min later I checked on them and they were burnt. I’m super confused as to how that happened. Any time I make a new recipe I always split the baking time into two increments and check halfway through to be safe, and I double checked the temp and my timer. 375F and Siri set my timer for 10 minutes. Any suggestions?

  35. hi! what do you think is the trickiest part/part that takes the longest to perfect to make croissants?

  36. May i ask, how many letter folds are there in a book, please?.

  37. Thank you for the recipe.
    I want to try it but can you explain what do you mean by : « 68-72C/20-22C« ?
    Thank you

  38. Can you freeze these after rolling them then bake them later?

  39. Hello,
    Thanks for this recipe ! Should the liquids be cold or at room temperature ?
    Nicolas

  40. Hi there, tried the recipe and they were nice and fluffy when I put them in the oven and during baking for deflated ☹️. What might have been the problem?!
    Thanks in advance

  41. This recipe works! Thank you for passing along. Was much easier than other recipes with better results.

    Used 14% gluten King Arthur flour. Added tiny bit extra milk abt 1/5-1 tsp extra milk as the flour package suggested that this flour absorbed more liquid. Worked well.

    Rolling was hard but kept at it. Found pounding with rolling pin worked better than careful rolling. I trimmed bottom and top and placed in center where butter split then folded – did twice. Did extra folds – due to mishaps. Determination resulted in wonderful croissants. Crispy and tasty. Worth the effort and will do often.

  42. Hi!! Would love to make the raspberry danish from your instagram. Do you use this croissant recipe or hybrid? Thanks so much! So excited to make them

Leave a Reply to Nana Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *