Croissant Bread Recipe: How to Make a Croissant Loaf
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: May 6, 2024 • 4 min read
Croissant bread, made with puff pastry dough, is a less complex version of traditional French croissants. A basic yeasted dough gets layered with unsalted butter, then shaped into a spiral roll and baked in a pan to resemble a bread loaf.
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What Is Croissant Bread?
Croissant bread is a loaf-shaped, laminated pastry made with yeast-leavened dough. Lamination is the process of layering dough with butter, and the result is a crispy golden-brown crust with a tender, flaky interior. The buttery flavor lends itself to both sweet applications like French toast or bread pudding and savory dishes such as grilled cheese sandwiches. If it’s your first time making laminated dough, croissant bread is an accessible introduction to a classic French croissant recipe like Chef Dominique Ansel’s.
Traditional croissant dough features a painstaking lamination process, which can take a few days of hands-on time and lots of practice to perfect. Croissant loaf recipes combine the yeasted dough of the traditional method with the convenience of a “rough puff”–style pastry, which uses pieces of butter incorporated into a dough instead of a more labor-intensive butter block. Both methods employ a resting and folding technique that results in a layered dough, but the croissant loaf is more forgiving, requires less time, and uses active dry yeast rather than a sourdough starter. Instead of a three-day process, croissant bread takes just a few hours to make.
3 Tips for Making Croissant Bread
Croissant bread is easier to make than traditional croissants, but it still requires some finesse. Here’s what you need to know:
- 1. Use a scale. Weighing ingredients for bread and other baked goods ensures consistent results every time. Learn how to use a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurements.
- 2. Keep the dough cool. While many yeast-leavened recipes call for letting the dough rise or rest in a warm place, croissant dough needs to stay chilled to keep the layers of butter suspended within the dough from melting.
- 3. Rest before slicing. Hot bread that’s just come out of the oven is prone to tearing, as it’s technically still going through the carryover cooking process. Let the croissant loaf cool for at least twenty minutes before slicing it to achieve uniform slices that keep their shape.
Homemade Croissant Bread Recipe
makes
1 loafprep time
40 mintotal time
1 hr 15 mincook time
35 minIngredients
Note: The total time does not include 2 hours and 30 minutes of inactive time.
- 1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the water, yeast, and sugar and let it sit until frothy, about 2–3 minutes.
- 2
Stir in the milk and melted butter, then add the flour and salt and stir on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. If the dough still has some dry spots, stir in another tablespoon of milk.
- 3
Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough until it becomes smooth and soft, about 3–4 minutes.
- 4
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover it with a clean kitchen towel.
- 5
Let the dough rise at room temperature for 45 minutes.
- 6
Gently tip the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a large rectangle, about 8x14 inches. Rotate it so that a short edge of the rectangle is closest to you.
- 7
Using a cheese grater, grate the frozen butter and place it onto the bottom half of the dough in an even layer, leaving a ½-inch border along the sides.
- 8
Sprinkle a bit of flour, about a tablespoon in total, evenly over the butter layer.
- 9
Fold the upper half of the dough over the butter layer, and pinch to seal the edges to completely encase the dough in butter.
- 10
Using a floured rolling pin, gently roll the dough (the butter should stay sealed in the dough without breaking through) into an 8x14-inch rectangle again. The first layer will look a little bumpy, but the surface will get smoother as you continue with the process.
- 11
Rotate the dough, so the shorter (8-inch) edge of the rectangle is closest to you, then fold the dough into thirds, like a letter.
- 12
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, set it onto a baking sheet, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- 13
Repeat steps 10–12 three more times: rotating, rolling, folding, and resting the dough for 30 minutes in the refrigerator each time.
- 14
After the third session of rolling and folding, grease an 8½ x 4½-inch loaf pan.
- 15
Use a floured rolling pin to roll the folded dough into an 8x14-inch rectangle once more.
- 16
Using your hands and starting at the short edge, roll the dough into a tight spiral, as if you were making a cinnamon roll. You will end up with a loaf about 8 inches long and 4 inches thick.
- 17
Place the loaf seam-side down into the greased pan.
- 18
Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and let it rise at a cool room temperature for 40 minutes. Take care to place the loaf away from any potential warm spots near the oven.
- 19
While the loaf rises, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 20
In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water, and use a pastry brush to coat the loaf with a light, even layer of egg wash.
- 21
Bake the loaf until it is puffed and deeply golden, with a shiny, burnished appearance, about 30–35 minutes.
- 22
Remove the loaf from the oven and let it rest in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 more minutes.
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