Print

Homemade French Croissants (Small Batch) Recipe

Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.3 from 14 reviews

This recipe guides you through making authentic, flaky homemade French croissants in a small batch of 6. It features a detailed step-by-step process including preparing the dough and butter block (tourrage), laminating the dough, cutting and rolling the croissants, proofing, and baking them to golden perfection. The method focuses on traditional lamination techniques to achieve buttery, airy layers with a tender crumb.

Ingredients

Détrempe (Dough)

  • 85 g milk (⅓ cup), lukewarm
  • 60 g water (¼ cup), lukewarm
  • 6 g active dry yeast (about 2 tsp)
  • 5 g honey (1 tsp) malt syrup, or sugar if preferred
  • 25 g butter (1 ½ tbsp), melted and cooled
  • 20 g white sugar (generous 1 ½ tbsp)
  • 250 g all-purpose flour (2 cups, spooned and leveled)
  • 5 g salt (about 1 tsp)

Tourrage (Butter Block)

  • 140 g unsalted butter (10 tbsp), cold

Egg Wash

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tbsp milk and/or cream

Instructions

  1. Activate yeast: Dissolve honey in lukewarm milk in a bowl, whisk in the yeast and let sit for 10–20 minutes until foamy.
  2. Make dough (Détrempe): Add water, melted butter, sugar, flour, and salt to the yeast mixture. Stir with a spatula until a scraggly dough forms. Knead by hand for 1–2 minutes, then on a floured surface for about 4 minutes until smooth but not stiff. Place dough in bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and proof in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
  3. Shape and freeze dough: After proofing, degas the dough gently by flattening, then roll on parchment paper into a rough 7 x 10 inch rectangle. Fold parchment over dough to form a case and wrap tightly. Freeze for several hours or overnight.
  4. Prepare butter block (Tourrage): Slice cold butter thinly and arrange within a 5 x 6.5 inch rectangle on parchment paper. Fold parchment to enclose butter, hit with rolling pin to soften, then roll evenly into a flattened block. Chill in fridge until firm.
  5. Enclose butter in dough: Remove dough from freezer and let soften slightly if too firm. Unwrap dough and roll to correct rectangular size. Unwrap butter block but keep butter on parchment and place it on one half of dough, leaving a border. Press butter to dough and peel off parchment. Fold dough over butter, sealing edges to enclose butter completely. Chill dough at least 30 minutes if not cold enough.
  6. First lamination (double fold): Flour work surface and dough. Roll dough lengthwise to about 16 inches while keeping width about 5 inches. Trim edges to straighten. Fold dough by bringing 1/8th toward center, then fold other end to meet, making double folds. Make small corner cuts to release tension. Brush off flour and fold dough in half again, making additional cuts at fold corners. Wrap and refrigerate 30–60 minutes.
  7. Second lamination (single fold): Flour surface, roll dough to about 15 inches length and 5 inches width. Fold one-third of dough toward center, cut fold corners, then fold other edge over first fold. Make corner cuts, wrap, and refrigerate 30–60 minutes.
  8. Sheeting dough: Roll dough on floured surface to about 1 cm thickness and 8–9 inch width. Wrap and refrigerate for 30–45 minutes to rest gluten. Roll out again to 4–5 mm thickness and about 9.5–10 inches width. Keep dough cold; chill if soft.
  9. Cutting dough: Trim edges to 9 inches width. Mark 3.5 inch increments on one edge and staggered 9 cm increments on opposite edge. Connect marks with straight lines and cut into triangles (about 6). Retain leftover piece.
  10. Roll croissants and proof: Brush off flour, make a 1 cm cut in the base midpoint of each triangle. Roll base while gently pulling corners to widen the base. Roll croissant tightly but not too tight. Place on lined baking sheet, tuck tip underneath, and gently press to seal. Cover with plastic wrap and a half sheet pan to prevent drying and flattening. Proof at 25°C (77°F) until doubled in size, about 2–3 hours.
  11. Preheat oven: Heat oven to 375°F (190°C) at least 30 minutes before baking.
  12. Egg wash and bake: Whisk egg yolk with milk/cream until smooth. Brush croissants gently with egg wash using a small soft brush. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20–30 minutes until golden brown, turning tray halfway if needed.
  13. Cool croissants: Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes on tray. Transfer to a wire rack to cool fully, allowing the interior crumb to set.

Notes

  • Use leftover dough scraps to make additional small croissants, pain au chocolat, or freeze for later monkey bread.
  • If dough gets too soft or resists rolling, wrap and chill in fridge to relax gluten and keep butter firm.
  • For larger batches, prepare multiple separate doughs and butter blocks instead of doubling ingredient quantities in one batch.
  • Maintain cold temperature throughout lamination to achieve flaky layers.
  • Proof croissants gently covered with a second baking tray to keep shape and prevent drying.
  • Practice slow, gentle rolling and folding to avoid tearing dough or squishing butter.

Find it online: https://marthatasty.com/homemade-french-croissants-small-batch-recipe/