Description
This recipe outlines a faster, easier way to make croissant dough, requiring no lamination of butter and no complicated shaping techniques. The dough comes together in under 10 minutes and produces a flaky, buttery pastry that can be used for both sweet and savory purposes, including croissants, Danishes, kouign amann, and more.
Notes:
- If you don’t have a food processor: Freeze the butter, then grate it into the dry ingredients. Use the back of a fork to further incorporate it into the dry ingredients. Then proceed with the recipe.
Ingredients
processor danish pastry:
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) water, room temperature or tap
- 1/2 cup (125 grams) milk, 2% or whole
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/4 cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 teaspoons (7 grams) instant yeast
- 1.5 teaspoons (6 grams) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar
- 1 cup (227 grams) butter, salted or unsalted, cold, cut into thin slices
for the croissants:
- flour for dusting
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Mix the dough: In a medium bowl or 2-cup liquid measure, whisk together the water, milk, and egg. In a food processor, blend together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar until well combined. Add the cold butter, and pulse 10 to 12 times at 1-second intervals, until the butter is in small pea-sized pieces. Transfer the contents of the food processor to a large bowl. Add the water-milk-egg mixture, and, using a spatula, stir until you have a wet, sticky mass. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 4 days.
- Roll it out: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two equal portions, each roughly 384 grams. Pat each portion into a rough square. Set one aside while you begin working on the next: using flour as needed, roll the square out, flipping it as needed to prevent sticking, until you have a shape 10- to 11-inches wide/tall — it’s OK if, at this point, it looks a little misshapen. Fold the dough envelope-style: the top third down over the dough, then the bottom third up. Then fold the right third of the dough from right to left and then from left to right, to ultimately create a square. (see photos for reference). You’ve now completed one set of folds. Repeat this process 3 more times: roll the dough out into a large, thin square, then fold the dough envelope-style from top to bottom and from right to left. By the end of the four sets, the dough will be smooth, and there should be little to no visible signs of butter flecking the dough.
- Chill it: Transfer the folded dough to an airtight container and transfer to the fridge for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. At this point, the dough can be frozen. Repeat with the remaining portion of the dough.
- Make pastries: From here, proceed with any of the recipes suggested above or any recipe calling for a croissant-like dough.
- To make croissants: Using flour as needed and working with one portion at a time, roll the dough into an 8×12-inch rectangle. Cut the dough in half vertically to create two long rectangles, each 4 inches wide. Then cut each rectangle diagonally to create 4 triangles. Starting at the flat end, coil up each triangle into a croissant shape, ending with the tip tucked underneath. Transfer the croissants to a parchment-lined sheet pan. Cover them with a pan — I use a turned-over 10×14-inch pan — to prevent them from drying out. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Proof: Let the croissants proof at room temperature (ideally between 75ºF and 80ºF) for roughly 2 hours. If your kitchen is colder, this may take longer; if it’s warmer, it may take less time. The coils are ready to bake when they have nearly doubled in size and feel marshmallowy to the touch.
- Prepare the oven and make the egg wash: Preheat the oven to 425ºF. If you have two ovens, preheat both of them — I prefer to bake one pan of croissants at a time to ensure they bake/brown evenly. In a small bowl, whisk together the yolks, heavy cream, and salt. Working with one pan at a time, brush each croissant with the egg wash, then wait 5 minutes. If you are working with one oven, wait to brush the other set of croissants until the first pan is nearly finished baking.
- Bake the croissants: Transfer the pan to the oven, immediately lower the temperature to 400ºF, and bake for roughly 15 minutes, or until the croissants are golden brown to your liking. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the croissants to a cooling rack. Let the croissants rest briefly before serving. Repeat with the remaining pan of croissants.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Pastry
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French