Flaky Sourdough Croissants - With Step by Step Instructions

A step-by-step recipe for easy sourdough croissants. The end result is buttery, flaky pastries, sure to impress.

Sourdough croissants are deliciously buttery, flaky and once you make them you can’t help but feel darn proud.

Making croissants with the sourdough starter is a pretty drawn-out process, but it is not actually difficult. In this post, I will show you step by step how to make this sourdough pastry recipe.

The process is spread out over two days so the main thing you need is time. 

These croissants are best made in an environment where the room temperature is not too hot. The trick to flaky layers in the dough is to keep the butter cool as it is rolled into the dough. If it melts into the dough, it won’t be laminated correctly.

If your room temperature is above 25°C/77°F you may struggle to keep the dough and butter cool.

The starter

In the morning, feed your sourdough starter. You’ll need 150g of fed and active sourdough starter at 100% hydration for these sourdough croissants. 100% hydration means there are equal weights of flour and water used when feeding the starter.

To get great and consistent results it’s important that you use an active starter that has a low acid content.

If you refresh your starter regularly and use a small amount of seed starter each time, this can slow the acid build-up.

I like to use the feeding ratio of 1:2:2, (1 part starter, 2 parts flour, and 2 parts water measured in weight).

I refresh my starter like this very often, in a clean jar. This brings a fairly small amount of seed starter into the new mix, with double the amount of fresh flour and water.

For this dough, it could be 40g starter, 80g flour, and 80g water. This will make approximately 200g starter. 150g can be used for the dough and the remaining starter can be fed again 1:2:2 and stored for the next time you need it.

See more about maintaining a starter.

At a room temperature of between 21-23°C, a starter that’s ready will double, if not triple, easily within 6 hours at that ratio. Ensure to use your starter before it passes its peak and starts to collapse.

If used after this point it will likely be too exhausted and acidic to give good results.

Read more about acid content in starters.

The pastry dough

When the starter is ready to use, combine the flour, water, salt, sugar, sourdough starter, and butter in a bowl. Mix it together by hand to create a sticky ball of dough.

Give it a knead for 5-8 minutes to create a smooth ball, though it will still be sticky. Place it in a greased bowl.

Leave the dough out for 3 hours to ferment, ideally at room temperature between 23-25°C/74-77°F. If your room is cooler than this, leave it for 4 hours. The dough should be slightly puffier after the ferment.

Afterward, transfer it to the refrigerator overnight.

At this point, leave out 250 grams of butter for tomorrow’s step so it is at room temperature for when you need it.

Butter Packet

In the morning, take the butter that was left out overnight and mix it with some flour to create a butter mixture that is nice and malleable.

Roll this butter mixture out between two sheets of baking paper into a rectangle of about 15 x 20cm (6x8inch.)

Place the butter in the fridge for a few minutes to cool. Ensure it is cool but still pliable.

If the butter is too cold and stiff, it’s going to shatter in the dough when it’s rolled out which can create uneven layers. Aim for the butter and the dough to be similar consistencies.

Gauging the exact temperature of the butter packet, so that it is a similar consistency to the dough is something that gets better with practice.

Lamination

Now, on a floured bench, roll out yesterday’s dough into a 20x40cm(8x16inch) rectangle.

Once the butter is cool again, place it in the middle of the dough. Bring the top of the dough down and the bottom of the dough up to meet in the middle and tuck in the butter.

Turn the dough a quarter turn. Use a rolling pin to gently push on the dough to help disperse the butter.

The butter should just be cool but not rock hard. Keeping the butter and the dough at similar consistencies is key. If the butter is too firm and brittle it won't incorporate into the dough well.

However, ensure it doesn't warm and softens too much. Cold butter is what will give the flaky layers in the croissants. If the butter melts into the dough, you'll end up with bread-like croissants with no layers.

Fold 1

Roll this dough out in front of you into a rectangle that's around 25x50cm (10x20inch), focus on lengthening the dough rather than making it wider. While rolling, check that the dough isn't sticking to the bench and dust with flour if it is.

Fold the dough like a pamphlet by bringing the top third down to the middle and then bringing the bottom third up overtop.

Wrap the dough up (I use the baking paper used for the butter) and let the dough rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. If your kitchen is on the cold side, the dough can rest on the bench.

Again, you want the butter and the dough to be similar consistencies, but don’t let the butter warm up.

Fold 2

Turn the chilled dough 90 degrees and roll it out in front of you into another 25x50cm (10x20inch) rectangle. At this point, you can cut off any scraggly edges, which will help give you more even layers later on. Repeat the folding process. Place it back in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.

Fold 3

Repeat this step once more. After this fold, chill the dough for at least 2 hours.

Shaping

Roll the chilled dough into a 28x60cm (11x24inch) rectangle.

Mark 5cm (2inch) marks along both lengths of the dough rectangle. Use a pizza cutter or large knife to cut triangles that connect the marks from the top to the bottom. Using a ruler can really help keep your lines straight.

Make a little cut in the bottom of each triangle and stretch it out. Then roll the triangles up tightly, starting from the bottom and rolling to the tip. You can bed the ends of croissants a little to make a crescent, or leave them straight.

You can also make pain au Chocolat with croissant dough, or cruffins and danish pastries.

Leave the rolled croissants to proof on parchment paper-lined trays for around 4 hours at a temperature between 23-25°C/74-77°F. They should become puffy and jiggle when the tray is gently shaken. The layers in the croissant should be visible.

You can brush the croissants with a little water to stop them from drying out or create a humid and warm spot by placing the croissants in a turned-off oven next to a cup of hot water.

Ensure the butter in the croissants doesn't melt or it will ruin the layers.

Baking

The croissants can be baked once they have puffed out, or they can be refrigerated if you want to bake them in the morning. The extended fridge time will increase the sour flavor.

Preheat the oven to 205°C/400°F. Brush the croissants with egg wash.

Bake them in a hot oven for around 20 minutes until deeply browned. If they are browning too quickly, you can turn down the oven temperature a bit.

Storing

Croissants are great served fresh on the day they are baked. The layers in the croissants will be most prominent if the croissant has cooled down to room temperature before slicing.

Leftover croissants can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or frozen for up to three months.

Freezing croissant dough

Unbaked croissants can be frozen after they have been shaped and proofed. This way they have already done all their rising and can be baked from frozen.

I have a Youtube video on sourdough croissants however it has been a few years since this video was made and my technique and methods have slightly changed.

Related recipes

Try these other sourdough recipes -

• Easy sourdough focaccia
• Sourdough garlic knots
• Cruffins with sourdough starter
• Sourdough fougasse

Love lamination? Try this inverse puff pastry, or if you're short on time here's a rough puff pastry!