Got 17 hours and a desire to make croissants?

Then LET’S DO THIS!

Don’t let the time scare you. Most of the time the dough is resting in the refrigerator, but this recipe is not for someone who wants to whip up something quick.

I’ll be honest, I had to try this recipe twice before I got a decent croissant. My first batch looked like this.

They completely unraveled and the filling was exposed.

Not very tasty or appetizing.

In my second batch, I did some research and did the trial and error for you. I will share what I learned as a PRO TIP. When you see that, take special notice because it’s how I managed to get through this recipe.

Let’s start!

Here is what you need to make the croissants:

500g strong white bread flour (you’ll need more for dusting later)

10g salt

80g sugar

10g instant yeast

300ml cool water

300g chilled unsalted butter

1 medium egg (for egg wash)

Here’s what you need for Frangipane:

100g unsalted butter

45g sugar

2 large eggs

75g plain flour

100g ground almonds

1 tsp almond extract

PRO TIP: Always weigh your ingredients. Don’t rely on a measuring cup because it’s normally off. Weight can never be off, so it will always be more precise.

Let’s start with the easy stuff!

HOW TO MAKE FRANGIPANE:

This will be the almond filling.

Put the softened butter and sugar into a bowl and mix with a hand mixer for 3 minutes. Add the eggs and a spoonful of flour and continue to mix for another 2 minutes.

Now add the rest of the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, and extract. Mix for another 2 minutes. PRO TIP: Put it in the refrigerator to chill. It will be easier to work with.

It will look like this.

Now it’s time for the croissants. I know it looks hard, but you can do it!

I BELIEVE IN YOU!

Let’s get started!

HOW TO MAKE CROISSANTS:

You will need a stand mixer with a dough hook.

Put the flour in the stand mixer bowl. On one side, place the salt and sugar. On the other, place the yeast. PRO TIP: You don’t want the yeast to ever touch salt directly because it will break down.

Add the water and mix on a slow speed for two minutes. After that, mix the dough on medium speed for another six minutes. You’ll know it’s done when it’s firm and springy.

Dust the dough with some flour and shape it into a ball. Then put it in a large bag and chill it in the fridge for an hour. PRO TIP: I used the two-gallon ziplock bags.

Dust your surface with some flour and roll your dough into a rectangle. It should be about 24” x 8”, will a thickness of 1 cm.

Now you need to make layers with the dough and butter. PRO TIP: I took my chilled butter and with a knife, cut thin slices off. You want them to be equal in length and width. Do NOT try rolling your butter with a rolling pin like lots of recipes suggest. It starts to melt quickly and becomes a very messy and frustrating endeavor.

Place the butter on the bottom two-thirds of the dough. Then fold the exposed dough over one-third of the butter. Now gently cut the exposed butter and place it on top of the layered dough. Do not go through the dough. Fold the bottom half of the dough up. You now have layers or dough, butter, dough, butter, dough, butter. Put the dough back into the bag and let it chill in the refrigerator for an hour.

After the hour, take out the dough on a lightly floured surface. You’re going to make a single turn. To do this, make sure the short end is towards you and roll the dough out to the same length and width as before. Now fold up one-third of the dough and fold the top third down. You’ve just doubled the number of layers in the dough. Put it back in the refrigerator for an hour. You’re going to repeat this step twice. Don’t forget to chill the dough in between. You want the butter to harden.

After the last turn, you need to leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight or at least eight hours. It needs to rest and will rise a bit.

Now it’s time to shape the croissants!

Preheat your oven to 395 degrees and line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone paper.

Lightly flour your surface and roll the dough. PRO TIP: Trim it so it’s a perfect rectangle, this makes it so much easier to cut and will make your croissants evenly shaped.

Cut the rectangle lengthways so you have two strips. You’re going to cut a triangle out and make sure it’s around 13-15” inches tall and about a 5-7” base.

Tug the base of the triangle towards your bit and cut a slit in the middle. Then you can fill it with your filling.

Here is how you roll them. He shows you how around 4:20

They will look like this after.

My first batch looked like this. Pretty sad, right?

Look, we all make mistakes. Let’s move on, okay?

Put the croissants on the tray. Lightly whisk the egg with a pinch of salt to make the egg wash. Brush the tops and sides of the croissants with the egg wash. Throw on some of those sliced almonds for a tasty crunch.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. For me, 15 minutes was perfect. Transfer them to a cooling rack or clean parchment paper to cool.

BAM! You just made croissants! Go put on that French beret and open your bakery because you’re a pro now!