Whole Wheat Croissants
As you know I love experimenting with ingredients and various types of flour. But when it comes to croissants, I was scared to even think of using whole wheat flour, considering the fact that it acts absolutely different, comparing to regular flour, it is heavier, thirstier and less stretchy.
But I was committed to try, and ready to start.
Flour selection played a very important role in my research. To achieve results you want, you have to use flour, that is suitable for whole wheat croissants (stone ground, sifted and fine milled).
The brand I trust is Janie’s Mill, their flours always helped me achieve best results and exceeded all of my expectations.
For this whole wheat croissant experiment, I had to test a few things, and now I am very happy to share my findings and results with you.
Croissants came out very light, with a beautiful color and unbelievable flavor.
Note: If you never made croissants before, I suggest you to start with a smaller batch(1/2 batch), (smaller dough is so much easier to roll, laminate and work with).
Ingredients
Dough (for 12 croissants)
- 500g Janie’s Mill Organic Sifted Artisan Bread Flour (100%)
- 235g lukewarm milk (47%)
- 85g lukewarm water (17%)
- 55g sugar (11%)
- 25g soft butter for the dough (5%)
- 10g salt (2%)
- 5g dry instant yeast (1%)
- 300g rolling butter (60%)( find the good quality European butter with fat content 82% or more)
Note: if you are looking for deeper flavor, substitute 100g of Janie’s Mill Organic Sifted Artisan Bread Flour with 50g Janie’s Mill Turkey Red flour and 50g Janie’s Mill Organic Black Emmer flour.
Directions
Night before
- Add lukewarm milk and water to a bowl.
- Dissolve yeast in liquid mixture, add sugar, salt all flour and butter (for the dough). 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,(temperature about 16-18C / 60-64F). Use parchment paper to roll it into a block, about 20cm/ 7.8 inches each side), transfer it to chill in the fridge for 5 minutes before rolling.
Please note, the butter shouldn’t be too cold, or too warm: If it’s too cold, then during lamination, it will start to break into pieces. if it’s too warm it will melt in between the layers.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. Roll it as a rectangle, big enough to place the butter block inside. (About 20cm x 40cm / 7.8 inches x 15.8 inches)
- 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 book. (See the picture)
- Turn the dough 90 degrees, and continue rolling lengthwise. Cut the edges, put them aside, fold the dough as a letter. (See the picture)
Note: work fast, and try not to touch the dough too much, to avoid overheating
- Cover the dough , transfer it to the fridge for 1 hour.
- Remove the dough from the fridge.
- Roll it as a rectangle with a narrow side about 26-28 cm / 10-11 inches
- Roll until the dough will become 5mm /0.1 inch thick.
- Trim all uneven edges.
- Cut the dough (the base of croissant has to be 8cm). See the picture
- Shape croissants and cover.
Note: at this point you can transfer covered shaped croissants to refrigerator until 9-10pm, then you can take them out and let them proof overnight at 68-72C/20-22C. This way 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 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Enjoy!
Whole Wheat Croissants
383kcal
Ingredients
The Whole Wheat Dough Base
- 235 g Lukewarm milk
- 85 g Lukewarm water
- 5 g Dry instant yeast
- 55 g Sugar
- 10 g Salt
- 500 g Janie’s Mill Organic Sifted Artisan Bread Flour (See Notes block for alternative deep-flavor flour swaps)
- 25 g Unsalted butter (softened completely to room temperature)
The Lamination Butter Block
- 300 g High-quality European style butter (Minimum 82% fat content)
The Bakery Egg Wash
- 1 Large egg
- 2 tbsp Water
Equipment
- Large Baking Sheet Pans
Method
Night Before – Dough Mixing and Auto-Gluten Rest
- 8:00 PM: In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), combine the 235g of lukewarm milk and 85g of lukewarm water. Sprinkle the 5g of dry instant yeast and 55g of sugar into the liquid, stirring gently until completely dissolved.
- Add the 10g of salt, all 500g of Janie’s Mill Organic Sifted Artisan Bread Flour, and the 25g of softened dough butter into the bowl. Mix by hand or on the lowest speed of your mixing machine just until the dry flour pockets vanish and a shaggy, cohesive dough builds.
- Note: Do not try to develop structural gluten strength at this stage. The dough can remain slightly lumpy. Wrap the entire dough ball tightly in plastic wrap and transfer it directly into the refrigerator until the next morning; the gluten network will safely build itself entirely overnight.
Day 2 – Pliable Butter Block Lamination
- 8:00 AM: Prepare your rolling butter. The butter must be pliable but not too soft, sitting around 16–18°C (60–64°F). Place the 300g of butter between sheets of parchment paper and beat it down with a rolling pin, shaping it into a flat, square block measuring exactly 20×20 cm (7.8×7.8 inches). Chill the butter block in the fridge for just 5 minutes before rolling.
- Remove the cold dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out into a broad rectangle measuring roughly 20×40 cm (7.8×15.8 inches). Place your pliable butter block directly into the center of the dough sheet.
- Fold the outer flaps of the dough cleanly over the butter, sealing all the outer edges securely so no raw butter can leak out.
- Using your rolling pin, gently push and roll the dough lengthwise from one side to another. Cut off the uneven short edges and stack them on top of the dough to release rolling tension. Complete your 1st Turn (Book Fold): fold the outer edges inward to meet in the exact middle, then fold the dough cleanly in half like a closed book.
- Turn the folded dough block exactly 90 degrees. Roll it out lengthwise a second time, trim the short edges, and complete your 2nd Turn (Letter Fold): fold the top third down, then fold the bottom third up and over it like a business letter. Wrap securely in plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour to cool.
Final Cutting, Shaping, and Baking
- 9:30 AM: Remove the chilled dough packet from the refrigerator. Roll it out steadily into a long, even rectangle until it is roughly 5mm (0.1 inch) thick, ensuring the narrow side measures between 26–28 cm (10–11 inches).
- Trim away any uneven edges. Using a sharp knife or pizza wheel, cut the dough sheet into uniform triangles with a base measuring exactly 8 cm.
- Starting from the broad 8 cm base, roll each triangle up tightly toward the narrow tip to shape your classic multi-layered croissants.
- Arrange the shaped pastries onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Choose your proofing timeline: * Standard Path: Cover loosely and let them proof for 4 to 5 hours at 74–78°F (24–26°C) until they double in size and look distinctly jiggly. * Fresh Breakfast Path: Transfer the covered tray directly into the refrigerator until 9:00 PM. At night, bring them out onto the counter to proof slowly overnight at a cool room temperature of 68–72°F (20–22°C) so they are ready to bake fresh in the morning.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Whisk together the single egg and 2 tablespoons of water, then use a pastry brush to gently coat the top of each puffed croissant with the wash.
- Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20 to 25 minutes or until the outer laminated crust expands into a beautiful, even golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
Nutrition
Calories383kcalCarbohydrates36gProtein7gFat24gSaturated Fat15gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat6gTrans Fat1gCholesterol75mgSodium234mgPotassium99mgFiber1gSugar6gVitamin A730IUVitamin C0.03mgCalcium41mgIron0.5mg
Notes
- Deep-Flavor Heritage Grain Flour Modification: If you want to introduce an even deeper, complex heritage flavor profile into this pastry, you can adjust your flour components easily. Keep 400g of the base Janie’s Mill Organic Sifted Artisan Bread Flour to ensure proper gluten lift, but substitute the remaining 100g by incorporating exactly 50g of Janie’s Mill Turkey Red flour and 50g of Janie’s Mill Organic Black Emmer flour.
- The Pliable Butter Block Rule: The most critical variable when laminating whole wheat dough is matching the consistency of your butter to the consistency of the dough. The butter should sit around 16–18°C (60–64°F). If the butter is too cold when you start rolling, it will shatter into hard, hidden pieces under the surface, tearing your layers; if it is too warm, it will melt straight into the flour starch matrix, destroying the lamination entirely.
- Managing Dough Tension with Edge Trimming: While rolling out your book and letter folds, you will notice the short edges of the dough rectangle naturally become thick and rounded. Always take a sharp knife and slice these rounded tips off before completing your folds. Slicing releases structural gluten tension, making it significantly easier to stretch and roll the dough block out smoothly without ripping.
- Beginner Sizing Strategy Adjustments: If this is your very first time attempt at creating laminated French pastries from scratch, managing a large 500g sheet of dough can feel unmanageable on standard home kitchen countertops. It is highly recommended to scale the entire ingredient list down by exactly half. Working with a smaller half-batch allows you to use a tighter 10×10 cm butter block, making rolling and shaping much easier to control.
Tried this recipe?
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good job keep going👌🏻
Looks great 👍
Did they crisp up?
Can we substitute yeast with sourdough starter ?
Yes, but the final fermentation will take more than 12 hours
It’s new idea and invention , let’s try this way too, moreover, afraid if crossiant turns harder after taking out from the oven because of wheate…. Flour?
With flour from Janie’s mill, croissants were soft as a cloud.
Hi Natalya, I’m in love with your work. This is my first time with croissant so I might mess it up: do you think I could use half doses? If I do, should I also halve the size of the butter block, the dough when I roll it as a rectangle, and the final triangles? (eg. 20cm -> 10cm; 8 cm -> 4 cm)
thank you!
Hi!
It will take some practice, but I’m sure you can do it.
For butter block do 10X10. And good luck 🙏
Hi Natasha,
I would like to try this recipe by making half the measurements first.
Rolling measurement of dough and the butter lamination measurement will also be halved right?
Thanks in advance. Looking forward to your reply.
Regards,
Hamsini
Hi Natalya, I made them with some regular Serbian whole wheat flour and they turned out perfect! Thank you so much!
Do you think I can try the same recipe with only rye and oat flour? Maybe different percentage of water and yeast?
Hi, Ivana !
Thank you!
Rye and oat flour doesn’t contain much of a gluten, so it will be very challenging to make croissants.
Hi any replacement for eggwash? May be milk?
I made this with half ingredients and it went perfect. Then I tried twice with the original measurements and both times the butter melted out of the layers unfortunately. I’m not sure why, the first time I tried overnight proofing and it melted and became a puddle when baking, the second time it melted while proofing in the oven. I have a convection oven and I didn’t cover the tray. But there was no such problem the first time.
There are only two things different the first time and the subsequent tries, other than half measurements. First, I tried a different brand of butter, could it affect the outcome? The second is I folded the dough one more time than instructed the first time.
A great recipe and each time regardless of butter puddles it turned out delicious and healthy! Thanks!
Hello Natalya! Unfortunately I do not have access to the brand of flour that you used. What approach should use when looking for substitute? Or maybe you can recommend flour type that I may try to use?
Thanks in advance)
Hi Natasha,
I would like to try this recipe by making half the measurements first.
Rolling measurement of dough and the butter lamination measurement will also be halved right?
Thanks in advance. Looking forward to your reply.
Regards,
Hamsini
I thought Whole Wheat and Bread flour are different …
Hey girl, I’m absolutely obsessed with all of your work. I love everything you make I am wondering if this is the same process you would use for regular French croissants with white flour? Would you use a bread flour to do this? I couldn’t find your recipe for just regular French croissants and I’m wondering if everything is the same except for the flour? Thank you!
Where does the integral come in?
Hi natasha,
I’ve tried the croissants but ended up with the butter leaking while baking.Since I live in a place where the temperature is typically between 29-30 degree celsius during winter months,I lowered the proofing time to 2hrs.Would that be the reason for the butter leak?
I don’t think you can call these whole wheat–you are using sifted bread flour:)
These are not whole wheat croissants. The ingredients of the flour must say “whole wheat” for it to be whole wheat.