Here’s the best French croissant recipe from the amazing French master pâtissier, Cédric Grolet! In his cookbook Opéra, Cédric—who was named the world’s best pastry chef in 2018—shares his easy-to-follow recipe for French croissants. Whether you’re just starting out in the kitchen or have some experience under your belt, this recipe is perfect for you. If you’re craving more recipes from top French pastry chefs, be sure to check out my article on the best French pastry books of all time.
The croissant, with its golden crescent shape and delicate, flaky layers, is a true symbol of French culture. But did you know this iconic treat actually hails from Austria (Vienna)? The croissant began as the Austrian kipfel and became a French favorite when bakers started making it with puff pastry (pâte feuilletée), which is a French creation. If you order a kipfel in Austria or Germany today, you’ll still get a crescent-shaped pastry, though it’s not quite the same as the French version.
How to Make Delicious French Croissants
Croissants get their name from their classic crescent shape and, like other French viennoiseries, are made from dough that’s layered with butter. This dough is rolled, folded, and rolled again in a process called laminating (tourage in French), which creates that wonderful puff pastry. Here are a few tips to help you make perfect French croissants at home.
1. Start with Quality Ingredients
The secret to making delicious croissants lies in using top-quality ingredients. Butter is the star of this recipe, giving French croissants their rich, mouthwatering flavor. So, be sure to choose high-quality, unsalted French butter.
2. What is Beurre de Tourage, or “Dry Butter”?
Beurre de tourage, also known as dry butter or beurre pâtissier, is a special kind of unsalted butter with 84% butterfat, slightly more than the 82% you’ll find in regular unsalted butter. This butter is a pastry chef’s secret weapon for creating those perfect, flaky layers in croissant dough.
3. How to Make Your Own Beurre de Tourage
If you can’t find beurre de tourage, don’t worry—you can make it at home! For this recipe, you’ll need 400g of butter with 84% butterfat. In France, look for brands like beurre Charentes-Poitou AOP or beurre d’Isigny de Ste Mère. To make it, place the butter in the center of a large piece of parchment paper, fold the paper around it to form a square, then flip it over and use a rolling pin to flatten the butter into a square about 1 cm thick.
The French Croissant Recipe by Cédric Grolet
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 kg (8 cups) all-purpose flour, preferably a fine pastry flour similar to T45
- 420 g (1 3/4 cups) water
- 50 g (1/4 cup) eggs or 1 large egg
- 45 g (1 1/2 oz) fresh yeast
- 18 g (1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon) salt
- 100 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
- 20 g (1 tablespoon) honey
- 70 g (5 tablespoons) butter
- 400 g (14 oz) beurre de tourage or dry butter (see notes above)
For the egg wash:
- 55 g (2 oz) egg yolks or 3 egg yolks
- 30 g (2 tablespoons) heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Make the Dough:
- In a mixing bowl fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, water, eggs, fresh yeast, salt, sugar, and honey.
- Set your mixer to medium-slow speed and mix until the ingredients form a homogeneous paste. Then, increase the speed to medium-high and continue mixing until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Add the beurre pommade (see notes) and knead until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let the dough rise at room temperature (24 to 25°C / 75 to 77°F) for 1 hour.
- After rising, flatten the dough to release the air, then roll it out into a large rectangle, with the width matching the beurre de tourage and double its length. Place the dough in the freezer for 5 minutes, then transfer it to the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Place the beurre de tourage in the middle of the dough. Fold the dough from each side over the butter to cover it completely.
- With the edge of the visible butter facing you, use a rolling pin to make a double fold: roll the dough from bottom to top until it’s about 7 mm thick. Mark the center of the dough, fold the top and bottom edges to the center, then fold the dough in half like a wallet. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Finally, make a single fold: roll the dough to a thickness of 1 cm, rolling from bottom to top to form a long rectangle. Fold the top third of the dough over the middle, then fold the bottom third over the top. Immediately roll out the dough to a thickness of 3.5 mm to start cutting and forming the croissants.
Make the Egg Wash:
- In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and cream.
Forming the Croissants:
- Cut the dough into triangles that are 7 cm wide at the base and 35 cm high. Roll each triangle from the base to the tip to form the croissants. Let them rise for 2 hours at 26°C / 77°F.
Finishing and Baking:
- Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F.
- Place the croissants on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush them with a thin layer of egg wash.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the croissants are nicely golden. Remove the croissants from the oven and let them cool on a rack.
