Homemade Classic Croissants Guide For Shaping Proofing and Baking

These homemade classic croissants are a labor of love but pure joy to bite into the buttery, flaky layers with airy pockets.

Once you finish making the laminated dough, the hardest part is done. Now comes the fun part where you can create any type of croissants your heart desires. When it comes to croissants, my favorite is still the classic croissant, plain and simple but incredibly buttery and flaky. I used the step by step guide from Lune croissant book by Kate Reid to help with shaping the croissants.

How to Cut Your Croissant

Unwrap the laminated dough and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to a rectangle slighter larger than 12x18 inches, with one long side facing you. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to trim the edges. Trimming the edges helps the dough to rise higher during baking. Save the trimmings to make oddly shaped mini croissants. I usually give this job to the boys and they have a blast making them.

Using a small knife and working from top left corner, mark the top long side of the rectangle at 4-inch intervals. Starting from bottom left corner, make the same marks every 4 inches but start 2 inches in from the edge.

Using a ruler as a guide, cut dough in a straight line from top left corner of dough rectangle up to bottom 2-inch mark and back up to first 4-inch mark, creating a triangle. 

Continue cutting across dough in a zigzag pattern to yield 8 triangles with 2 half-triangles left. Place dough triangles in a single layer a lined baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 15 minutes. This will firm up the dough and make it easier to shape.

How to Shape and Roll

Gently hold the wide base with your left hand, stretch each by running your right thumb down each triangle lengthwise to form a 13-inch long triangle.

Using a small knife, make a nick about ¾-inch in the center of the wide base. This step allows you to curve it as you roll it up. 

Gently pull on both sides of the nick in the base to create a gap where the cut is, allowing the base of the triangle to be wider.

Starting from the base, roll the dough toward you. Keep the roll tight.

Continue rolling toward the point.

The first roll should look like this.

The second roll should look like this.

At the end you should get about 3 rolls.

Make sure the point of the dough ends up underneath each croissant. Gently press point into dough to secure. Stretch the point of the triangle a little to make the end land where you want it. This step prevents the dough from unraveling during proofing and baking.

Look at those beautiful layers!

Keep both the unrolled triangles and shaped croissants in plastic wrap as you work on the remaining dough. Repeating the process with remaining triangles until you have 8 croissants. Place croissants, point side down, on a lined baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Cover the croissants with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out and a dry skin from forming. At this point you can proof and bake or leave them the fridge overnight up to two more days for a distinctive tang and deeper flavor. 

How To Proof Croissants

To proof croissants at room temperature, leave them in a warm place in your kitchen until they double in size and wobble when you shake the baking sheet. This will take about 3-4 hours in warmer climate and 5-6 hours in colder climate or during winter.

To proof croissants using your oven, add 3 cups of hot water to a small baking dish and place it at the bottom of your cold oven. Place baking sheets with croissants, uncovered, in oven with hot water. Close door, and let proof until croissants double in size and jiggle when you shake the baking sheet, about 2 to 3 hours. The ideal temperature for proofing croissants is 77 degrees F with a high level of humidity per Kate Reid.

The Egg Wash

For the egg wash, lightly beat a large egg. Remove croissants and water from oven, brush them gently with the egg wash, coating every surface except for the cut sides where the layers are exposed.

How Long to Bake Them

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven, placing it on the middle rack. Bake the croissants until they are, puffed up, golden brown and crisp, about 22 to 25 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the over and let the croissants cool completely on it. They need to cool for another 15 minutes on the baking sheet so the steam and residual heat will finish baking the inner layers.

Here is a cross section of my homemade croissant. These layers with airy pockets made me do a happy dance. It was pure joy to bite into this classic croissant. As challenging as they are to make, you should try croissants at least once. It will give you an appreciation for those beautiful croissants you see at the bakery.

How to Store Croissants

They are best eaten the day they are baked. Serve these classic croissants warm by themselves or enjoy with a spread of your favorite jam. If you have leftover croissants, store them in an airtight container for 48 hours and rewarm in the oven for 5 minutes to crispy them up. If you plan on filling them or making almond croissants, store them in the fridge for up to a week.