Croissants. This word strikes fear into the heart of most amateur bakers, even some of those who are more experienced. I was chatting with a friend who recently just finished his pastry certification program here in France, and he was amazed at the idea that one could easily make croissants at home! Well, I’m here to tell you – you can all make flaky pastry dough and croissants at home, and it doesn’t require an expertise in pastry, just some time and patience.
In our first children’s book, Madame Cookie and the Croissant of Confidence, the story is focused around the making of these once-difficult viennoiseries. The story skips the actual making of the dough, mostly because that part takes about 2 hours to do.
If you don’t have the time, prepackaged dough is fine. That sentence has also gotten me some crazy looks from people, but I stick by that statement.
Will using prepackaged dough save you time when making croissants? Yes, it will save you about 2 hours since you are not making your own flaky pastry dough.
Will using prepackaged dough make it easier to bake croissants than with homemade flaky pastry dough? Yes.
Does prepackaged dough taste better than homemade dough? No.
If using prepackaged dough makes it easier for you to have fun in the kitchen, go for it. Baking for me has always been about the memories it creates. That’s the real final product I’m looking for.
With that being said, if you are feeling brave enough, and you have the time, I invite you to try our flaky pastry dough for your croissants. I spent a few months working on this recipe, trying to simplify everything as much as possible. I’m pretty happy with the results!
Here is our video to help you out with this recipe!
Easy & Quick Flaky Pastry Dough
Equipment
- Parchment Paper
- Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
- 180 ml Milk Warm
- 15 g Active Dry Yeast
- 10 g Maple Syrup
- 320 g All-Purpose Flour
- 70 g Butter Room Temperature
- 180 g Butter Room Temperature
- 6 g Salt
- 35 g Sugar
Instructions
Mixing Base Dough
- Combine the milk, yeast, and maple syrup in a bowl. Let it rest until bubbly, about 15 minutes.180 ml Milk, 15 g Active Dry Yeast, 10 g Maple Syrup
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, place the flour, 70 grams of the room temp butter, salt, sugar, and the yeast mixture.320 g All-Purpose Flour, 70 g Butter, 6 g Salt, 35 g Sugar
- Mix on low speed for 5 minutes, then on medium speed for 5 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, place plastic wrap over the bowl, and let it sit for 20 minutes.
Butter Block
- Take a large sheet of parchment paper, place the remaining 180 grams of butter in the middle, and fold the paper over the top of the butter.180 g Butter
- Using your rolling pin, roll out the butter until it is about 4 mm (or 1/8 of an inch) thick. Keep the butter in the shape of a rectangle while rolling.
- Place the butter (still wedged between the parchment paper) in the fridge.
First Roll of Base Dough
- Place your now-rested base dough on a floured work surface.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle until it is about 4 mm thick (like the butter).
- Fold the rolled dough like an envelope, then cover in plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for 40 minutes.
Combining Base Dough & Butter Block
- On a floured surface, place the rolled base dough and unfold it.
- On one side of the rolled, and unfolded, base dough, place the butter block after removing the parchment paper surrounding it.
- Close the base dough over the butter block, like a book.
- Now, fold all the edges over and close tightly.
- Roll the dough with your rolling pin until it is 4 mm thick, keep it in a rectangular shape.
- Fold the dough like an envelope, cover in plastic wrap, and place it back in the fridge for 40 minutes.
Last Roll
- On a floured surface, roll the dough, just like before. (Until 4 mm thick, always in a rectangular shape)
- Now your flaky pastry dough is finished and ready to be cut/shaped into whatever your next recipe requires!
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