Croissants and Danish Pastries
Cooking Skills: Pastry 2
Chapter 5 · Croissants and Danish Pastries
Skill goal
Laminate a yeast dough with butter, shape it, prove it and bake it into flaky pastries.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A croissant is a yeast dough laminated with butter. It is made from bread dough (see Cooking Skills: Bread 1, chapter 1) wrapped around a block of butter, then rolled and folded three times, as in puff pastry. After proving, the layers of dough and butter puff in the oven, and the yeast gives a soft, airy crumb as well as flaky layers. It is the most time-consuming recipe in this course, and the most rewarding.
Temperature is everything. The dough and butter must be the same stiffness when rolled, and the dough must prove in a cool room (about 24 to 26°C): warmer and the butter melts out. Quick croissants and folded breads are in Cooking Skills: Bread 2, chapter 6; here you make the real thing. Full puff, which uses the same turns, is in chapter 4. Plan two days: dough and chilling on day one, shaping, proving and baking on day two.
The method
- Make the dough the day before and chill it overnight, so it relaxes and the yeast works slowly.
- Beat the cold butter into a flat square between parchment and chill; it should bend without cracking.
- Lock the butter into the dough, roll into a long rectangle and fold in three; chill 30 minutes between each of three turns.
- Roll to 4 mm, cut and shape, then prove for about 2 hours in a cool room until puffy and wobbly.
- Brush with egg wash and bake at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 15 to 18 minutes until deep golden.
| Pastry | Shape | Filling | Bake (approximate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croissant | Rolled triangle | None | 200°C, 15 to 18 minutes |
| Pain au chocolat | Rolled rectangle | Two chocolate batons | 200°C, 15 to 18 minutes |
| Danish pastry | Folded square | Custard and fruit | 200°C, 15 minutes |
| Cinnamon knot | Strips, tied | Cinnamon sugar | 200°C, 15 minutes |
Warm rooms, hot oven and allergens
Yeast dough and warm rooms: yeast dough proves best at 24 to 26°C. In a warmer place the butter melts out of the layers. Prove in a cool room, not on top of a radiator or in a hot oven, and cover the dough so a skin does not form.Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.
Allergens: pastry contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter); egg washes contain egg. Use a plant block fat for a dairy-free version, and note that gluten-free flour needs a different method.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Croissants (and the laminated dough)
Make the dough and laminate it as below. The recipe makes enough dough for 12 croissants; you will use half of it for the pains au chocolat, Danish pastries and cinnamon knots below, so for those make the dough once and divide it.
Ingredients (12 croissants)
- 500 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for rolling
- 60 g caster sugar
- 10 g fine salt
- 7 g fast-action dried yeast
- 150 ml lukewarm milk
- 150 ml cold water
- 40 g soft unsalted butter
- 250 g cold unsalted butter, for the block
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, to glaze
- Day one: mix the flour, sugar, salt and yeast, add the milk, water and soft butter and knead for 8 minutes into a smooth dough. Shape into a rectangle, wrap and chill overnight. Beat the cold butter into a 15 x 20 cm rectangle between parchment and chill.
- Day two: roll the dough to 20 x 40 cm, put the butter on one half, fold the other half over and pinch the edges. Roll to 20 x 60 cm, fold in thirds (turn 1), chill 30 minutes, then repeat for turns 2 and 3 with 30 minutes of chilling between.
- Roll to 4 mm and cut triangles of 10 cm base and 25 cm height. Roll up from the base, curve into crescents, place on lined trays and prove for 2 hours in a cool room. Glaze and bake at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 15 to 18 minutes.
Warm rooms, raw egg wash and allergens
Yeast dough and warm rooms: yeast dough proves best at 24 to 26°C. In a warmer place the butter melts out of the layers. Prove in a cool room, not on top of a radiator or in a hot oven, and cover the dough so a skin does not form.Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.
Allergens: pastry contains gluten (flour) and milk (butter); egg washes contain egg. Use a plant block fat for a dairy-free version, and note that gluten-free flour needs a different method.
Level 2 · Chocolate
Pains au chocolat
Rectangles of croissant dough rolled around two batons of dark chocolate. If you cannot buy batons, break up bars of good dark chocolate into strips. Roll them loosely so there is room for the layers to rise.
Ingredients (6 pastries)
- ½ batch of laminated croissant dough (above), after 3 turns
- 12 dark chocolate batons or strips (about 60 g)
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, to glaze
- Roll the dough to 4 mm and cut 6 rectangles of 10 x 14 cm. Put a chocolate baton across the short edge of each, roll once, add a second baton and roll up, seam side down.
- Place on lined trays and prove for 2 hours in a cool room until puffy and wobbly.
- Glaze and bake at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 15 to 18 minutes until deep golden. The chocolate is hot: let them cool for 10 minutes.
Hot chocolate, hot oven and allergens
Hot syrup and sugar: syrup and jam fillings become hotter than boiling water and stick to skin. Let a tart cool for 15 minutes before cutting, and take care with hot jam when eating tarts straight from the tin.Yeast dough and warm rooms: yeast dough proves best at 24 to 26°C. In a warmer place the butter melts out of the layers. Prove in a cool room, not on top of a radiator or in a hot oven, and cover the dough so a skin does not form.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk, egg and soy (chocolate).
Level 2 · Fruit
Danish pastries with custard and fruit
Danish pastry is the same sort of dough, shaped as squares with the corners folded to the middle. Pipe a spoonful of custard in the centre and top with fruit. Use custard from Cooking Skills: Eggs 2, chapter 2, or a ready-made one, which must be thick.
Ingredients (8 pastries)
- ½ batch of laminated croissant dough (above), after 3 turns
- 8 tbsp thick custard, cooled
- 8 tinned apricot halves, drained, or a few berries
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, to glaze
- 3 tbsp apricot jam, warmed, to glaze
- Roll the dough to 4 mm and cut 8 squares of 10 cm. Fold each corner into the centre (pinwheel) and press down, or leave flat with a raised border.
- Place on lined trays, prove for 2 hours, then press the centre down gently and fill with custard and fruit.
- Glaze the edges with egg and bake at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 15 minutes. Brush the warm pastries with warmed apricot jam.
Hot jam, hot oven and allergens
Hot syrup and sugar: syrup and jam fillings become hotter than boiling water and stick to skin. Let a tart cool for 15 minutes before cutting, and take care with hot jam when eating tarts straight from the tin.Yeast dough and warm rooms: yeast dough proves best at 24 to 26°C. In a warmer place the butter melts out of the layers. Prove in a cool room, not on top of a radiator or in a hot oven, and cover the dough so a skin does not form.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk and egg.
Level 3 · Twisted
Cinnamon knots
Strips of laminated dough spread with cinnamon sugar and tied into knots. The shaping is easy but the layers show best if you cut with a very sharp knife straight down.
Ingredients (8 knots)
- ½ batch of laminated croissant dough (above), after 3 turns
- 2 tbsp soft unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, to glaze
- Roll the dough to a 20 x 30 cm rectangle. Spread the butter, then the sugar and cinnamon. Fold in half lengthways and cut into 8 strips about 3 cm wide.
- Twist each strip and tie into a loose knot, tucking the ends underneath. Prove on lined trays for 2 hours.
- Glaze and bake at 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6) for 15 minutes until deep golden. Cool for 10 minutes; the sugar is very hot.
Hot sugar, hot oven and allergens
Hot syrup and sugar: syrup and jam fillings become hotter than boiling water and stick to skin. Let a tart cool for 15 minutes before cutting, and take care with hot jam when eating tarts straight from the tin.Yeast dough and warm rooms: yeast dough proves best at 24 to 26°C. In a warmer place the butter melts out of the layers. Prove in a cool room, not on top of a radiator or in a hot oven, and cover the dough so a skin does not form.
Allergens: contains gluten, milk and egg.
Experiments
Experiment
Proving warm or cool
Butter melting.
- Prove one tray in a cool room at 24°C and one next to a warm oven for the same time.
Look for: The cool tray puffs and keeps its layers; the warm tray leaks butter and bakes flat and greasy.
Experiment
Butter thick or thin
Layers.
- Make two croissants, one with the butter block folded in thickly and one rolled very thin.
Look for: Thick butter makes bigger gaps and a flakier, greasier croissant; thin butter gives tight layers and a drier one.
Experiment
Shaping tight or loose
Rise.
- Roll one croissant tightly and one loosely.
Look for: The loose roll rises taller with a visible spiral; the tight one is dense.
Experiment
Egg wash
Colour.
- Glaze one croissant with egg and milk and leave another unglazed.
Look for: The glazed one is deep golden and glossy; the unglazed one is paler and matt.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croissants | ||||
| Pains au chocolat | ||||
| Danish pastries | ||||
| Cinnamon knots | ||||
| Proving warm or cool | ||||
| Butter thick or thin | ||||
| Shaping tight or loose | ||||
| Egg wash |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Butter leaks out | Proved too warm | Prove at 24°C; chill the shaped pastry for 15 minutes first |
| Dense, bready croissants | Layers merged or under-proved | Chill between turns; prove until wobbly |
| Raw in the middle | Under-baked or oven too hot outside | Bake until deep golden, lower the heat after 10 minutes |
| Butter streaks, no layers | Butter too cold and shattered | Let the butter soften slightly before locking it in |
| Pastries open up | Rolled loosely with no seam tuck | Tuck the end underneath and place seam down |
| Too sweet or flat | Too much sugar or salt too low | Check measurements |
Hot oven, hot fillings and leftovers
Hot oven and hot trays: ovens, trays and tins are hot enough to burn badly. Use dry oven gloves (a damp cloth conducts heat), pull the shelf out a little before lifting a tray, put hot things on a heatproof surface and keep children away from the oven door.Hot syrup and sugar: syrup and jam fillings become hotter than boiling water and stick to skin. Let a tart cool for 15 minutes before cutting, and take care with hot jam when eating tarts straight from the tin.
Keeping and freezing: raw pastry keeps in the fridge for about 2 days wrapped tightly, and freezes for about 3 months (general guidance). Cooked pies and tarts keep for about 2 days chilled; reheat pies until steaming hot all the way through, and freeze cooked pies for no more than about 2 to 3 months.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make a yeast dough and chill it overnight.
- I can lock in a butter block and make three turns.
- I can shape a croissant and a Danish.
- I can prove in a cool room.
- I can fix butter that leaks.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Pastry 2, chapter 6 is Hot-Water Crust and Raised Pies: building a free-standing pie with a firm crust.