Croissant? Oui s’il vous plaît!
I hope you read that in your very best French accent…obviously the only correct way to pronounce ’croissant’ is the French way 🙂
As part of #SummerSourdough that I’m doing on Instagram, we are learning how to make sourdough croissants, and let me tell you…these are DIVINE! The melt-in-your-mouth buttery feeling that only a croissant can give is just magical and it’s even better when made with fermented grains.
If you’ve happened across this recipe but don’t know how to bake with sourdough, make sure you grab my WHY of sourdough here!
Let’s dive right in! Obviously we are going to start with active, bubbly sourdough starter so make sure to feed yours about 6-8 hours before mixing up the dough.
In a large bowl, add the cold milk or water and weigh in the starter. Using your hands or a fork, whisk together the milk and starter until it is frothy and well combined. Add in the honey and salt, mix to combine.
Add your flour to the wet mixture but do not mix it in right away. Pour the melted butter on top of the flour and wait 30-60 seconds until it absorbs and ”dries” into the flour. Drying the butter into the flour prevents the butter from forming shards and solidifying when it hits the cold liquid, resulting in a better dough.
Once the flour and butter are added, mix together the dough with a fork (I find this is the easiest way to combine it without getting messy) until it forms a shaggy dough. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and begin kneading. After about 2-3 minutes the dough should be soft and fully hydrated, not sticking to your hands or the surface.
After kneading the dough, place it into a clean bowl and cover with a plate or cloth. Let it rest at room temperature for 6 hours. The dough will not increase much in size, so if it doesn’t look like it has changed much, that’s okay. After resting, refrigerate it overnight or for 8-10 hours.
In the meantime, take two sticks of butter and sandwich them between two pieces of parchment or wax paper. Use a rolling pin to pound down the butter and begin flattening it. As it starts to get moldable, measure and fold the parchment into a rectangular “packet” that is 6×8. Use your hands and the rolling pin to roll and press the butter to fill the shape.
Once you have reached the appropriate size, place the butter packet into the refrigerator until the dough is finished bulk fermenting, at least for one hour. Alternatively, you can place it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes so it gets firm again.
Before we start making folds, we need to seal the butter packet inside of the dough to help create the signature croissant layers. This process of layering the butter and dough is called lamination. Roll out the dough to be a 9×13 rectangle, using flour to dust and prevent sticking if needed.
Place the butter packet in the center of the dough rectangle. Bring each side of the dough up and fold over toward the center of the butter packet. The dough edges should meet in the middle. Gently pinch together the dough seam as well as the top and bottom edges of the dough to fully enclose the butter. It should look something like the pictures below. Once sealed, place refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
Book Fold:
Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to a 9×20 rectangle. The edges don’t have to be perfectly straight, so long as it is close to the correct size throughout the main part of the dough. Just like we did when we sealed the butter packet in, fold over the sides so the edges touch in the middle. Next, fold the dough in half so that it looks like the pages and cover of a book. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
*The instructions require refrigeration of the dough between each step to prevent the butter from melting inside of the dough from the warmth of your hands and the working of the dough. We want to keep the butter cold so it doesn’t seep out and lose our flaky layers.
Letter Fold:
Roll the dough to a 8×18 rectangle. This time we will fold the dough in thirds, much like you would a paper letter. This time we do not need to refrigerate between steps.
Roll out the dough (for the last time!!) to a 10×20 rectangle. You can trim up any wobbly edges with a knife or pizza cutter. After that, cut the rectangle into 5 even-sized rectangles. The width of each one should be approximately 4 inches. Lastly, cut each smaller rectangle in half diagonally to create 10 total triangles.
To shape the croissant, pinch the corners of the triangle base between your fingers and gently stretch out the edges. Fold over the base of the triangle and begin to roll it up.
Now that our croissants are shaped, they need to rest. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and place 5 croissants on each one, leaving plenty of space between them. Cover with a lightly damp cloth and let rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours. After resting they should be a bit more puffy and the dough should still spring back when lightly poked.
Long Fermentation:
If you want to further ferment the croissants, place them in the refrigerator after shaping. They can proof in there for up to 72 hours, however I prefer 6-8 hours. Alternatively, you can freeze the shaped croissants and store them long term. Regardless, you will pickup at the room temp proof for 1-2 hours AFTER refrigeration or freezing.
While the croissants are resting, preheat the oven to 425°. Whisk together the egg yolk and water and brush the croissants liberally with the egg wash once they are done proofing. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until deeply golden brown. Only bake one pan at a time to achieve the proper bake and color.
Let the croissants cool for 5 minutes before eating. Once they are fulled cooled, they can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for 1-2 days or frozen. Reheat the frozen croissants in the oven at 475° for 3-4 minutes.
Bon appétit!
Sourdough Croissants
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 g flour
- 270 g water or milk
- 142 g starter
- 48 g sugar or honey
- 45 g melted butter 3 Tbsp
- 12 g salt
Butter block
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks
Egg wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
Mixing the Dough
- Froth together the starter and milk in a large bowl. Add in the sugar and salt and combine.
- Measure out the flour into the bowl but do not mix in. Pour the melted butter over the flour and let it absorb for 30 seconds. Using a fork or a stand mixer, mix the ingredients together until it forms a shaggy dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Gently knead for 2-3 minutes until the dough is soft and fully combined. It should not stick to the surface.
- Place the dough in a clean bowl and cover. Let rest for 6 hours. Refrigerate overnight or 8-10 hours.
Making the butter block
- Place the sticks of cold butter in between layers of parchment or wax paper. Use a rolling pin to pound the butter until it starts to flatten and become moldable. Using the rolling pin and your fingers to shape the butter into a 6×8 rectangle. Refrigerate the butter packet for at least an hour or in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Roll out the dough, using flour to prevent sticking if necessary, to a 9×13 rectangle shape. Place the butter packet in the center and fold the sides of the dough over. Pinch together the seam and the edges to seal the butter inside. Place on a plate or wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 20 mins.
Lamination
- Book Fold- roll the dough into a long 9×20 rectangle. From one side, gently stretch the dough and fold the outer edge to the middle. Repeat on the other side so that the outer edges meet in the middle. Then fold the dough in half. This creates 4 layers. Refrigerate the dough again for 20 minutes.
- Letter fold- roll the dough into a 8×18 rectangle. Fold the dough in thirds, just like you would a letter.
Shaping the Croissants
- Roll out the dough to a 20×10 rectangle, trimming the edges with a pizza cutter or knife.
- Cut the rectangle into 5 rectangles, each 4 inches in width. Cut each rectangle in half diagonally to make 10 triangles.
- To shape each croissant, gently stretch out the corner edges at the base of the triangle. Fold over the edge of the dough and begin to roll it up.
Proofing
- Once all the croissants are shaped, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let them rest covered with a slightly damp cloth for 1-2 hours. They should be more puffy and jiggly than before but the dough should still spring back if gently poked.
- Long Fermentation: After placing the croissants on the baking sheet, you can refrigerate them again for however long you want to help ferment more. 6-12 hours is ideal but it can go longer until you are ready to bake. Then take them out and rest at room temp for 1-2 hours before baking.
Baking
- Remove the cloth and whisk together the egg yolk and milk. Brush on the egg wash, applying liberally. (If you see the cloth is sticking to the dough, spritz some water onto the cloth for easier removal)
- Bake in a 425° oven for 16-18 minutes or until deeply golden brown. If your croissants are on multiple baking sheets, bake the sheets one at a time to get the right color and bake.
- Enjoy warm or let cool completely and place in a freezer-safe dish for long term storage. They can easily be reheated in the microwave or oven at 475° for 3-4 minutes.