Homemade Croissants | Croissant Recipe | Step-by-Step Guide (2024)

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There is nothing quite like biting into homemade croissants with their buttery flaky texture. You can’t help but feel impressed with yourself after tackling this recipe.

It is okay if you aren’t a professional baker you definitely will feel like one after making these, heck you might feel like opening a bakery after!

One of my proudest moments in the kitchen was when I successfully baked homemade croissants from scratch. Learn how to make croissants with this step-by-step recipe guide, you are well on your way to making amazing buttery flaky croissants that are to die for. Are you ready? If I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get baking! 🙂

Step 1: Gather the ingredients and tools

To make homemade croissants, you need to gather a few ingredients and tools. You will need the following:

Croissants Dough From Scratch

• All-purpose flour or bread flour
• Salt
• Active dry yeast – although you can use rapid rise or instant yeast
• Sugar – just a hint of sugar to add a slight bit of sweetness
• Milk – ideally you will use whole milk, but you can get away with using a skimmer variety. You may also use water.
• Unsalted butter – Butter is the star of this recipe, don’t skimp on the butter!

Egg Wash

• Large egg
• Milk

Tools

The following tools will make your “from scratch” croissants baking life easier:

• rolling pin
• basting brush
• pastry brush
• silicone baking mat
• parchment paper
• meat tenderizer
• sheet pan
• Bowls
• cloth
• kitchen spray
• fork
• whisk
• wooden spoon
• plastic wrap
• pizza cutter

Step 2: How to make homemade croissants from scratch

Begin by making the croissant dough. To start we want to prepare the yeast. Take a small bowl and heat your milk it in the microwave or on the stovetop. The temperature should be around 105 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (40 to 44 C.)

Next, add the yeast and a pinch of sugar. The sugar will act as food for the yeast. There are probably enough natural sugars in the milk but I always add it in. And technically yeast does not require sugar to grow, but it does help it along.

Using a whisk or fork mix the ingredients together briefly, then let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it gets foamy. After 10 minutes if the yeast isn’t foamy then you need to start again.

It means the yeast was bad/old or the milk was too hot or too cold to activate it. It is better to start over now instead of running the risk that the dough doesn’t raise later.

Step 3: Flour, salt, and sugar

Next in a separate bowl mix the salt and the flour with a whisk or fork.

Then add the yeast mixture to a large bowl. Pour the sugar in with the yeast and combine them. Gradually add the flour to the yeast and sugar mixture about a fourth of it at a time.

Make sure to leave around a quarter cup of flour leftover which will be used while kneading the dough.

Step 4: Knead the homemade croissants dough

Add some of the leftover flour to a work surface like a counter or table. Then pour the dough onto the surface. Unless you are using a stand mixer, you can just keep the dough in the stand mixer bowl and use a dough hook.

Now knead the croissant dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough gets nice and smooth and bounces back when you poke it.

To knead the dough fold it over onto itself and push down and out with your palm gently stretching the dough. Then turn the dough a quarter turn and repeat.

Hand kneading is a great work out and oddly therapeutic for me. Can you believe I still don’t use a stand mixer? To this day I still hand knead all of my doughs.

After kneading the croissant dough place it in a large bowl which has been lightly sprayed with kitchen spray. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour.

Alternatively, you can place your bowl of dough in a dough proofer, no need to cover it, they create the ideal setting for dough rising.

While the dough is rising take the butter out of the fridge and let it soften at room temperature.

Step 5: Wrap and chill croissants dough

After the dough has risen punch it down and then wrap it with plastic wrap. Place the homemade croissants dough in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes.

Step 6: Make the butter slab, from scratch croissants dough’s best friend

Now for the really fun part, it is time to create the butter slab. Butter slab? Yes, please! I am sorry but there is no getting around the butter, and no you can’t substitute the butter with something else when it comes to good homemade croissants.

Besides, why would you want to that is what makes a croissant a croissant. The butter slab is a flat rectangle shape of butter. Take the butter and unwrap it and place it on a large sheet of parchment paper.

Next, fold over the parchment paper onto the butter and pound it down with a meat tenderizer or use a rolling pin.

Once you pound and shape the butter into a square shape roughly 8 by 8 inches wrap it with the parchment paper and place it in the fridge to chill with the dough.

Step 7: Roll out the homemade croissants dough

After the from scratch croissant dough and butter have chilled for 30 minutes its time to roll them out. First, roll out the dough with a rolling pin and make it a square shape that is a few inches bigger than the square slab of butter.

Place the butter slab on top of the dough right in the middle. Draw lines around the edges of the slap with your fingers.

Next, remove the slab and then roll out each side of the dough starting at the edge that you just drew. You will be left with a higher square of dough in the middle and thinner flaps of dough on the edges.

Use a pastry brush and brush off any excess flour on the dough.

Step 8: Folding the flaps of the from-scratch croissants dough

Remove the butter slab from the parchment paper and place it on the elevated middle part of the dough. Now fold the flaps of dough over the butter towards the middle.

This creates the perfect marriage between the dough and the best friend butter slab.

Step 9: Rolling, folding, and wrapping the dough. Homemade Croissants dough lamination

Next, we roll the dough fold side down, starting in the middle and rolling out elongating the square into a rectangle shape. Ideally, you wind up with a rectangle that is roughly 10 inches wide by 18 to 20 inches long.

Now you just fold it into thirds kind of like you would do to a piece of paper that was going to go into an envelope.

Wrap the dough up again in the plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes. At this point, the dough has gotten too soft and too warm, so it is hard to roll it out, so we need to chill it.

Step 10: Repeat the steps again

This process of rolling and folding (lamination) is what creates the wonderful buttery layers of dough which croissants are known for.

We need to continue rolling and folding and chilling 3 or 4 more times. The more we do it the more layers that will develop.

Make sure to always brush off any excess flour on the dough. After the final time place the wrapped dough in the fridge overnight. If you would like to eat the rolls in the morning you need to start the homemade croissants the afternoon before.

Step 11: The final homemade croissants dough roll

Alright, the homemade croissants dough is complete. It should have risen nicely in the fridge. Unwrap the dough and again roll it out to another long rectangle shape roughly 8 to 10 inches wide by 20 inches long.

You may need to add a bit of flour underneath the dough to prevent it from sticking to the surface.

Next, we take a pizza cutter or knife and cut out the triangle shapes that will make up the croissants. If you would like each the triangles to be the same you can create a cardboard template to use as a guide. I never worry about it.

Then after the triangles are all cut out, cut a slit about an inch long at the wide part of the triangle. Then stretch out the ends of the cut away from each other and roll towards the point of dough creating the classic croissant shape.

You can leave it as is or push the ends of the roll inwards to make a crescent shape. You can create whatever shapes that you like, these are your croissants.

Step 12: One final rise

Once all of the homemade croissants have been rolled place them onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Cover them with a cloth and let them rise for 1 to 2 hours. After they have risen baste the tops of them with an egg wash made from 1 beaten egg and some milk. The egg wash will give the rolls a nice golden brown color.

Step 13: Time to bake those homemade croissants

While you are basting the tops of the homemade croissants preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 C.) Next, bake the croissants in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until they are nice and golden brown.

Just look at that pulled apart croissant. Isn’t it amazing? It tastes even better then it looks. Serve them as is or as a sandwich for lunch or make bacon and eggs to go in the middle for breakfast or before baking them roll up some chocolate bars with the dough. These are yours make them how you want! 🙂 Enjoy!

How do I store the homemade croissants?

They will say fresh at room temperature for about 2 days if stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag. The croissants will stay fresh for up to a week if kept in the refrigerator.

Can I freeze the croissants after baking them?

Yes you can freeze them. Wrap them tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and stick them in the freezer. They will last for about a month.

After that they tend to break apart when they are reheated. Unwrap them and place them on a pan in a preheated oven at 350 F. And heat them for 10 to 15 minutes.

Do you like the recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it. If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.

Other recipes you may like:

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (No Mixer)

Delicious Crepes

Peanut Butter Cookies

Tags

dough yeast

46 Comments

1. Michelle

   May 17, 2023 at 3:43 pm·Reply

   
   Croissants have always intimidated me but I found your recipe simple and straightforward to follow. I did have to add a little extra flour as my dough was super sticky and I will reduce the salt next time. But these were excellent. Will definitely make again.

   • Matt Taylor

     May 17, 2023 at 3:51 pm·Reply

     So glad you gave it a try Michelle and liked it!! 🙂 And happy you will make them again.

2. EiCho

   March 28, 2023 at 5:44 pm·Reply

   
   Very interesting and easy to follow recipe. Thank you for your kindness.

   • Matt Taylor

     March 28, 2023 at 7:10 pm·Reply

     Thank you! You are welcome!

3. Siti Balqis Idris

   August 30, 2020 at 8:28 pm·Reply

   
   It looks easy and sounds easy
   I have been looking for homemade croissant which easy to understand like yours
   Will try soon!!
   Thanks so much the lovely video Matt

   • Matt Taylor

     August 30, 2020 at 9:07 pm·Reply

     Thank you! Good luck, let me know how they turn out. And you are welcome! 🙂

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