Homemade Croissants, Plain and Chocolate

This weekend, I crossed one major thing off my baking bucket list.

Learning how to bake is stressful enough sometimes.

Trying to make French pastry on your own? Equal parts exciting and terrifying.

This dough – and those layers – are why arms and abs still hurt today.

Making croissants is no joke. It’s mostly rolling, and rolling, and rolling some more with your rolling pin. Then folding, folding, folding, and chilling. Repeat 4 times. Then wait some more.

From Saturday around 3 pm until Sunday morning when we finally pulled these out of the oven, this dough was the only thing on my mind.

Over the past two weeks, Nick and I have fallen in love with the chocolate croissants from Our Daily Bread, our favorite local bakery.

And since I’d been wanting to make them anyway, I just went for it.

This was a great idea and a bad idea.

Great because the croissants turned out incredible! They were flaky and buttery and tender and everything you want in a croissant. And hot out of the oven? I’m not sure I can have them any other way now.

Bad because Nick told me today that I should make either croissants or danish (recipe coming later) every week. Uh…not sure that’s happening. These take time. And arm strength. And a lot of butter.

But if you haven’t made your own and want to, just do it! I used Jessica’s recipe (plus, her pictures of the dough process are super helpful!) and the dough was perfect.

If you’re going to be home this weekend, whip out the butter and flour and make yourself some croissants. You’ll be very, very happy you did.

Also – Valrhona chocolate is incredible. I have to find more, and the sooner the better.

34 comments

  1. I’m so impressed with anyone who makes their own croissants! They look perfect!

  2. They look amazing! Nicely done:-)

  3. I’m not sure I have the patience for these…can I just come over and eat one of yours :)

  4. I really wished you lived closer to you Mom. I work with her so then we could make sure EVERYthing you make is good. We could be your tasters!! Now wouldn’t that be nice of us to do that for you?????
    LOVE your blog!!

  5. The picture of the rolled up dough and all of the flaky layers is beautiful! A perfect example of how hard work has it’s sweet [and tasty] rewards :D

  6. Would you open an online bakerey already!

  7. These look amazing! We used to make a version of pain au chocolat like this back in high school using store bought dough tho haha – NO comparison. I’m so impressed! :)

  8. That is quite a feat! I have a hard time just baking muffins :)

  9. These look amazingly delish! Seems like a lot of work but totally worth it.

  10. You’re such a baking super star! Go you! :) I would love to scale down croissants for 2 someday!

    • that is the BEST idea ever! but it would still need to at least make 4. because you always want more than one :)

  11. Gorgeous! That shot of the layers in the dough is perfect!

  12. These look amazing!!! well done!
    I was wondering why my abs were so sore on Monday… its from all the freaking rolling!
    Just so you know, I ended up only baking half of my croissants on the first day, but shaping and freezing the rest. As long as they were completely thawed AND proofed (so out of the freezer, on the counter for about 4 hours) they worked just fine!

    • that’s good to know! i cut my dough in half and used part of it for these croissants (plain and chocolate) and used the other half to make a danish :) SO incredible.

  13. Omg I can’t believe you made croissants from scratch!! So, so impressed! Not to mention they look absolutely delicious! But that dough is no joke- that must have taken forever!!

  14. I love love love having the time to make fresh croissants! Yours are gorgeous–I’d kill for one of the chocolate filled ones right now :)

  15. Croissants have always intimidated me, but the way you described them hot of the oven makes me want a warm croissant anyways! :-P

  16. croissants are the best!! i sickened myself from eating so many on the first day, haha.

  17. I’m dying to make my own croissants!! Except I know how long they would take! {And how many I would eat! It wouldn’t be pretty….}

  18. Chocolate croissants are one of my absolute favorite things to eat. I ate one in France and was convinced that I NEEDED one daily. So so good. I bet the house smelled amazing afterwards.

  19. Congratulations!! Croissants are tough! Yours look absolutely beautiful!!!

  20. OMG…you are a BRAVE soul to try making your own croissants. I bow at your feet, and am SOOOO impressed!!!!!!

  21. so impressed, you’re a rockstar!! i’ll have to give it a go… sometime :)

  22. Gorgeous, you did a fabulous job, I’ve very impressed and inspired :)

  23. Pingback: raspberry cream cheese danish

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