Step by Step Sourdough Croissants

A golden, flaky sourdough croissants cut in half reveals its airy, layered interior, resting atop whole sourdough croissants on a cooling rack with a blurred background.

These sourdough croissants are buttery, shatteringly flaky, and leavened with sourdough starter. A labour of love, but worth it.

4.77 from 254 votes

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Prep Time 1 12

Cook Time 20

Total Time 1 12 20

Course Breakfast

Cuisine French

Servings

Calories 352 kcal

Ingredients

Starter

30 g starter
60 g all-purpose flour
60 g water

Dough Ingredients:

450 g all-purpose flour
8 g salt
40 g sugar
230 g water
All the active sourdough starter around 140g
50 g unsalted butter room temperature

Butter packet:

250 g unsalted butter room temperature or cold depending on method used, see notes
1 1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (only for the flour method, see notes)

Egg Wash

1 egg + 1 tbsp water

Instructions

Starter

In the morning, feed your starter by combining the starter, flour, and water in a bowl and mixing until well combined. Tip it into a clean jar and leave until doubled or tripled and at peak.

The dough

Mix all the dough ingredients together by hand to form a sticky dough ball. Knead on the bench for 5 to 8 minutes until smooth. It will still be a bit sticky, which is fine.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Ferment for 3 hours at 23 to 25°C / 74 to 77°F (4 hours if your room is cooler), until puffed by around 30 to 40%.
Shape the dough into a flat rectangle, wrap tightly or place in an airtight container, and chill in the fridge overnight. Shaping it into a rectangle now means less rolling tomorrow, which keeps the dough cold and relaxed for lamination.

The butter packet

Make the butter packet using either the bashing method or the flour method (see notes). Roll it into a rectangle of about 15 x 20cm (6 x 8 inch) between two sheets of baking paper, then chill it in the fridge.

Encasing the butter

Take the butter packet from the fridge and bash it firmly all over with the rolling pin, then give it a roll to bring it into a workable, bendy state. Bashing the cold butter with the rolling pin works the fat into a smooth, pliable state without warming it, so it bends like cold clay instead of cracking.
On a floured bench, roll the chilled dough into a 20 x 40cm (8 x 16 inch) rectangle. Place the butter packet in the middle. Bring the top of the dough down and the bottom up to meet in the middle over the butter, then pinch the seam where they meet to seal.
Make a shallow slit along each of the folded long edges (the closed sides where the butter is sealed in, not the open ends), to relieve the tension. Then turn the dough a quarter turn.

Fold 1

Gently press along the length of the dough with the rolling pin to start dispersing the butter, then roll out to around 8mm thick, focusing on lengthening rather than widening. Always roll in one direction, away from you, lifting the pin and starting again rather than rolling back and forth, which smears the butter. Dust with flour if it sticks.
Brush off any excess flour, then fold the dough like a pamphlet, bringing the top third down to the middle and the bottom third up over the top. Wrap tightly and chill for 30 minutes.

Fold 2 and 3

Turn the chilled dough 90 degrees and roll out again to around 8mm thick. Trim off any scraggly edges for more even layers. Brush off excess flour, repeat the pamphlet fold, and chill for 20 to 30 minutes.
Repeat the rolling and folding once more. After this third fold, chill the dough, tightly covered, for at least 2 hours.

Cutting and shaping

Roll the chilled dough into a 28 x 60cm (11 x 24 inch) rectangle, around 4mm thick.
Mark 5cm (2 inch) intervals along both long edges. Using a pizza cutter or large knife, cut triangles connecting the marks from top to bottom. A ruler helps keep your lines straight.
Stretch the base of each triangle out a little, then roll up tightly from the base to the tip. Bend the ends in slightly to make a crescent, or leave them straight.
Place the shaped croissants on parchment-lined trays and proof in a warm but not hot spot until puffy, lighter, and jiggly when the tray is gently shaken, with visible layers. This can take 4 to 7 hours depending on your room temperature, so go by the look and feel rather than the clock.
To stop them drying out, spritz them gently with water or create a warm, humid spot by placing them in a cold, turned-off oven next to a cup of hot water. Don't put the cup directly under the croissant tray, and don't let the spot get too hot, or the butter will melt and ruin the layers.

Baking

Brush the proofed croissants with egg wash.
Bake at 205°C / 400°F for around 20 minutes, until deeply browned. If they brown too quickly, turn the oven down a little.
Let them cool to room temperature before slicing, so the layers stay nice and distinct.

Notes

Baker's schedule ( 2 ways)

Schedule 1 (laminate day 2): Feed the starter in the morning of day 1 and let it peak (around 6 hours). Mix and ferment the dough, then chill it overnight. Day 2, make the butter packet, laminate with three folds (30-minute chills between), chill 2 hours, then shape, proof, and bake.

Schedule 2 (laminate day 1, my preferred): Feed the starter the night before so it's peaked by morning. Mix and ferment the dough, chill 2 to 3 hours, then laminate with all three folds the same afternoon and rest the laminated dough overnight. Day 2 is just shape, proof, and bake, so you get fresh croissants by lunchtime.

The butter packet, two methods:

For the bashing method (my preference), slice cold butter, lay it on baking paper, fold the paper into a 15 x 20cm frame, and bash and roll with a rolling pin to fill it evenly. This gives cleaner, more defined layers. Place it in the fridge to firm back up.

For the flour method, mix 250g room temperature butter with 1½ tablespoons flour until smooth, then roll into the same size rectangle. Place it in the fridge to firm back up.

Tips

1. Keep everything cold. Cold butter is what gives croissants their flaky layers. When you bash the butter packet to make it bendy, you're working it into a pliable state, not warming it. It should stay cold the whole time, just bendy enough to roll out with the dough. If the butter or dough ever feels soft, greasy, or sticky during lamination, chill it for 20 to 30 minutes before continuing. If butter melts into the dough at any stage, from lamination through to proofing, you'll get a bread-like texture with no layers.
2. Roll in one direction. Always roll away from you and lift the pin to start again. Rolling back and forth smears the butter rather than keeping it in clean sheets.
3. Underproofed croissants leak a lot of butter in the oven and can be gummy and look undercooked inside. Make sure they are genuinely puffy and jiggly before baking.
4. Freezing: Freeze the croissants after shaping but before proofing. Place them on a tray without touching and freeze until solid, then store in a bag for up to 2 months. To bake, place from frozen on a lined tray and let thaw and proof at room temperature until very puffy and jiggly (4 to 7 hours), then egg wash and bake as normal.
5. Storage: Best on the day they're baked. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze baked croissants for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1croissantCalories: 352kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 5gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 263mgPotassium: 53mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 625IUCalcium: 13mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Croissants, Sourdough

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