Sourdough Croissants

Sourdough croissant cut in half on small white plate with raspberry jam.

Sourdough croissants are made with simple ingredients and no stand mixer required.

Course Breakfast or Brunch, Desserts

Cuisine American, French

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Cold Fermentation 1

Total Time 1 1 30

Servings croissants

Calories 505kcal

Author Jessica Robinson

Ingredients

Sourdough Croissant Dough

650 grams unbleached all-purpose or bread flour (we like a mixture)
220 grams stiff active sourdough starter
165 grams water
165 grams whole milk
75 grams granulated sugar
75 grams unsalted butter softened
13 grams sea salt

Butter Block

350 grams unsalted butter (high fat butter, such as Kerry Gold)

Egg Wash

1 large egg (room temperature)
1 teaspoon water
pinch salt

Instructions

Sourdough Starter

Active starter – The night before, feed your starter and leave in a warm area to double in size. Once peaked, refrigerate.
Day of making croissants; take the ripe starter out of the refrigerator in order to come to room temperature.

Sourdough Croissant Dough

Pour all your dough ingredients into a mixing bowl. Either by hand using a Danish dough whisk or in a stand mixer with a dough hook, knead the ingredients into a smooth dough (5-8 minutes). Or you can knead by hand on a very lightly floured work surface. Use a plastic bench scraper to help you work the dough.
Place the dough round into a large, greased mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a reusable plastic shower caps and let warm ferment for 3-4 hours in a warm area. (75-78 degrees F)
Scoop out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, roll into a small rectangle (or use your hands to press down). Place dough onto a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper and cover well with plastic and place in the fridge for 4-24hrs.
It's essential to keep the dough wrapped with plastic wrap, so it doesn't dry out in the fridge.

Butter Block

Cut your butter in half (lengthways) using a chef’s knife and place both halves inside a two sheets of baking paper or one piece of parchment paper folded in half. With a rolling pin, beat into a ¼-inch thick rectangle. Butter should be easy to dent but not spreadable.
Refrigerate the butter block while your dough is fermenting.

Lamination

Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough into a rectangle, double the size of your butter. Place the butter in the center of the dough and fold both sides into the middle, encasing the butter. Roll out into a ½-inch thick rectangle, then pull the two ends into the middle and like a book, fold over.
Before folding, use a pastry brush to brush excess flour off of the dough.
Pop the folded dough in the fridge to chill and relax for 30-minutes, then repeat the folding process and return back to the fridge. (the lamination process is done a total of three times)

Chilling Dough

Let the dough refrigerate overnight to cold ferment. (4-24 hours)

Cutting & Shaping Croissants

Roll out the dough onto a ½-inch thick rectangular, roughly 12”x20” wide. Cut 10-12 triangles. (I measured the wide end around 3-4” and used a straightedge to guide my straight lines) Cut a slit at the wide end of the triangle. Starting at the base of each triangle, begin to gently roll into a croissant, making sure the tip is underneath.

Proofing Croissants

Place onto a lined baking tray, cover loosely with plastic wrap or place the entire sheet pan into a large clear plastic bag or half sheet pan plastic cover and proof at room temperature (75-78 degrees F) for 2-3 hours. You’ll want them to have risen and will be soft to the touch. They’ll jiggle like marshmallows if you shake the sheet pan back and forth.
Six croissants will fit nicely, with room to proof on one half sheet pan.

Chilling Croissants

Once proofed, place into the fridge for 1-2 hours. (This will let the butter solidify.)

Baking

Bake one sheet pan at a time. Hold the second pan in the fridge until you’re ready to bake or freeze for later.
Place a half sheet pan on the bottom rack of your oven. Boil a kettle of water. Once the water is boiling, pour onto the sheet pan. This will create steam while they bake, mimicking a commercial bakery’s oven.
Brush the croissants with an egg wash (1 large egg, pinch of salt and tablespoon of water whisked together) before baking. Preheat the oven to 400-degrees F.
Bake in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Should they be getting too browned, you can lower the temperature to 350 degrees F for the last few minutes of baking.
Remove from the oven and use a spatula to transfer baked croissants immediately to a baking rack. This will help them cool and not get soggy. Cool for 15-20 minutes before enjoying.

Video

Notes

Sourdough starter - You'll want a stiff starter, meaning it's thicker. We often add a few tablespoons of potato flakes to achieve this. Potato flakes also act as a natural preservative and add moisture.

As you work, keep your work surface lightly floured and turn the dough as needed. Before folding, use a pastry brush to brush excess flour off of the dough. This helps the dough stick to itself, so layers don't slide around.

When rolling the dough, be sure the dough and the butter are the same consistency. This will make rolling process easier and layers more even.

You can make rectangle, filled croissants. Cut into 3-inch strips and fill with ham and cheese, spinach and Gruyere cheese or bittersweet chocolate baking sticks.

Proofing croissants- If you have a baking rack with cover, you can place a saucepan of boiling water at the bottom, underneath the tray of croissants proofing. This creates warm steam to help them proof.

Baking -Place a half sheet pan on the bottom rack of your oven. Boil a kettle of water. Once the water is boiling, pour onto the sheet pan. This will create steam while they bake, mimicking a commercial bakery’s oven. (This helps the croissants rise and bake up nicely!)

Nutrition