This Shortcut Easy Croissant recipe is a more streamlined version of the classic French pastry. This extensive tutorial has everything you need for making easy-ish croissants with step-by-step photos, a video, and lots of tips!

Want to save this recipe?

Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get weekly updates from me!

Easy Croissant Recipe

We’ve all had a super-delicious, buttery croissant from our favorite bakery, but what if I told you the one you make at home will be even better? I know what you're thinking: croissants are one of the hardest pastries to bake! But hold on, I’m here to convince you to give homemade croissants a try! Because I made you a recipe that is easy-ish.

This recipe is like the croissant version of rough puff pastry. We will call them Shortcut Croissants because they are a more streamlined version of the classic method; one that is less fussy yet still produces exceptionally similar results. And I promise they’ll be the best croissants you’ve ever had, full stop.

This easy croissant recipe will guide you through every step of the process, from making the dough, to laminating it, shaping it, proofing it, and baking it.

But before we begin, let’s just lay out this rule: Practice makes progress (not perfection) with any recipe, but especially with croissants. Making any viennoiserie requires various skills that you will improve over time with practice. And it’s totally okay if things don’t go perfectly, as this shortcut croissant recipe has some leniency and isn’t as fussy as you might think.

Even if they don't turn out flawlessly the first time, you’ll still be left with pretty amazing homemade pastries. Unlike croissants made in bakeries using machines, the love and care you put into making them with your own hands is guaranteed to result in the best croissants you've ever had.

So, let's get to making it, shall we? The article below is jam-packed full of useful information and a video. You can jump around using the menu below, or skip to the end of the article for the full recipe.

Jump to:

Easy Croissant Recipe
Want More info ad-free?
What Makes this Recipe "Easy?"
Ingredients Needed
Tools Needed
How to Make the Dough
Proofing the Dough
The Butter Layer
All About Lamination
How to Shape the Croissants
Proofing (and Yeast)
Baking Good Croissants in a Home Oven
Serving and Storing
Sample Schedules
Make Ahead Tips
More Baking Bucket Lists Recipes
Watch It: Croissant Video
Full Recipe

Want More info ad-free?

This Shortcut Croissant recipe is available as an e-guide for purchase. It gives you an ad-free, 25-page Easy-ish Croissant guidebook and full recipe, that can be viewed as a PDF or printed out to keep by your side as you make croissants at home! It has much more detailed information, photos and graphics.

What Makes this Recipe "Easy?"

Croissant pastry is a yeasted dough wrapped around a butter "block" and laminated several times before being shaped, proofed, and baked. Traditional croissants require several different periods of proofing and chilling and a few laminations. My traditional croissant recipe has one “double turn” and one “single turn."

When I set out to develop this shortcut recipe, I wanted to achieve similar results to traditional croissants, but with fewer steps, less hassle, and in less time. I don’t know what convinced me it was possible, but I just knew it could be done.

This shortcut croissant recipe results in 8 really delicious, buttery croissants with lovely layering and beautiful exteriors. Yet they're made with only one easy lamination step (without making a butter block), very little dough rolling, and can made in as few as 12 hours. There is nothing traditional about the preparation in this recipe, but the results are strikingly similar to any good croissant you'd find in a bakery.

Ingredients for shortcut easy croissants.

Ingredients Needed

Here is an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe is listed below in greater detail. I tried my best to give as many substitutions as possible, but sometimes a recipe works the best only with the ingredients called for, and this is one of those cases. If you want to try a different ingredient than what is named, you will have to do your own experimentation to see if it affects the final product.

high-fat (European-style) unsalted butter (brands such as Kerrygold, Plugra, Cabot Extra Creamy, and Vital Farms worked well). Look for butter with a fat content of 82%. If you really can’t find any high-fat butters, I have made this recipe with standard butter. The results are a little less flavorful and the crumb on the finished croissant isn’t as even, but it’s still possible.
bread flour (I recommend King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill, which is what I tested this recipe with)
instant yeast (I only tested this recipe with the "red" SAF instant yeast and cannot advise on alternative yeast options)
granulated sugar
fine sea salt (for yeasted breads, fine sea salt works well for its ability to dissolve faster and more evenly. If you don't have it, I suggest using the gram amount listed in the recipe to ensure the salinity level is correct.)
whole milk
egg wash

Tools Needed

Here is a list of some of the primary tools I use in this recipe. You won't necessarily choose to use them all, but they are exactly what I used. Any links may contain affiliate links.

Stand Mixer: The instructions call for using a stand mixer to assemble the dough and the butter.
Plastic wrap: I know some people are averse to plastic, but it keeps the moisture inside the dough during the resting time in the refrigerator. It's possible to reuse the same piece of plastic wrap or you could use parchment paper instead, but it can be trickier.
Rolling pin: There are many different styles out there. Use the one you are most comfortable with. I actually use two rolling pins nearly every time I roll anything out, one tapered french dowel rolling pin and one straight dowel rolling pin.
Bench scraper: This helps keep your dough in the correct shape, but it’s not absolutely essential.
Ruler: Useful for ensuring your dough is rolled out to the proper sizes.
Clean / Kitchen-safe spray bottle: This is used to add a mist of water to the baking trays for a higher rise in the croissants
Pastry wheel or sharp knife: This is used for cutting the dough during lamination and for cutting it during shaping.
Dry pastry brush: To get any excess flour off the dough.
Wet pastry brush: For brushing on the egg wash.
A sheet tray: For holding the dough in the refrigerator while it rests and for baking the croissants.
Room thermometer: This is useful for having a true understanding of the ambient temperature of your home. I have two in my kitchen that I use whenever I'm baking.

Do you really need all those tools? At the end of the day, all you really need is a rolling pin and a bowl. However, using the above-mentioned tools (which is everything I use) makes making croissants easier.

Something to mention that isn't a tool: you'll need space in both your freezer and refrigerator that can fit a sheet pan when making the dough. The dough will need to rest multiple times, so it's helpful to prepare a designated spot in advance to ensure you have enough room.

How to Make the Dough

This easy croissant dough is a semi-lean dough, meaning it has a small amount of sugar and fat added to it. It's made in a stand mixer.

Making the croissant dough in a stand mixer.

Step 1: Add the liquid ingredients to the mixer, plus the yeast.

Step 2: Add the flour, salt and softened butter on top.

Step 4: Mix the dough for about 5 minutes.

Step 4: Hand knead for 1 minute to ensure the butter is fully mixed in.

Proofing the Dough

The ambient temperature of your home and the temperature of the ingredients used are both important and have an effect on yeasted pastry.

The goal is to get the dough to double in size in 1-2 hours. For this recipe, it's better to underproof the dough than to overproof it. It's always important to be aware of the temperature of your kitchen, because it will dictate the speed at which the dough will properly proof. If it's too cold in your kitchen (below 70ºF), then it might take longer than 1-2 hours. If it's too hot (above 80ºF), then it might be ready in an hour.

The Butter Layer

One of the biggest shortcuts in this recipe to make it less fussy is that unlike traditional croissants, it will not use a butter block.

Instead, softened butter is used. Spreading the butter onto the rolled out dough and then folding it mimics the multitude of thin layers of butter and dough in traditional croissant dough. It isn’t quite as precise, but it’s amazing how close it is to the “real thing.”

Butter and flour in a mixing bowl to make croissant butter.

Step 1: Add softened butter and flour to a mixer.

Malleable butter made for easy croissants.

Step 2: Paddle it until it's completely combined.

Flour is added to the butter to help keep it malleable and similar in texture to the dough. The goal here is not to aerate (or cream) the butter, but just combine the flour into the butter so all the butter has been mixed and is spreadable.

All About Lamination

That softened butter is spread on to the dough in an even layer.

Spreading softened butter onto croissant dough.

After the butter is spread on, the dough is folded down three times. While you could technically call this step a lamination, it's more like "locking in the butter," only it's locked in thinly and in layers!

Locking in the butter for easy croissants.

Step 1: Butter is spread onto ¾ of the dough.

Step 2: The top ¼ is folded down.

Step 3: Repeat folding down another ¼ of the dough.

Step 4: Repeat one last time to achieve even layers of dough-butter-dough.

After the butter is locked in, it is then rolled out and laminated once. And that’s it! That’s all this recipe requires in terms of lamination.

Lamination easy shortcut croissant dough.

These steps are meant to be less precise and more forgiving than traditional laminating methods.

After the dough is laminated, it will be chilled for about two hours, or until it's 40ºF to 50ºF.

How to Shape the Croissants

Once the dough is chilled, it is rolled out to a 10x16-inch rectangle. For neat croissants, square off the edges to make an exact rectangle. This also helps release any air bubbles that may be caught up in the edges. Leaving air bubbles intact can mess up the proofing and final bake of the croissants.

To create the perfect croissant, cutting the dough into precise triangles with a 4-inch short side is important. To help you do this, you can refer to the graphic below for a visual guide. However, non-perfect is okay too! So don't sweat this step too much.

First, measure and notch out marks every 4 inches on both the bottom and top long sides of the dough, for a total of four notches on each side. The notches on the top long side should start 2 inches in from the left side to represent the "middle point" of the eventual triangle. Then, connect the notches with a pastry wheel to cut the dough into triangles. You should end up with 7 of them. The two leftover half triangle scraps can be brought together to create the 8th croissant, which I call the "baker's croissant." Although it may not be as perfect as the others, using these two leftover pieces help eliminate excessive waste with the dough.

Final Rolling and Cutting Croissant Dough

Once the triangles are cut, it's time for the actual shaping.

This is a good time to ensure the dough is still cold. If it isn't, briefly rest it in the freezer for 10 minutes or refrigerator for 15 or so.

Shaping croissant involves three steps:

Gently elongating the length of the isosceles triangle.
Gently stretching out the two short-sided corners.
Rolling up the triangle to form the crescent.

By elongating both the length of the triangle and the corners, you'll be able to make enough rolls in the croissant (there should be a total of 7 "humps" on the final shaped croissant). This can be done by hand or with a rolling pin. It's a skill that will come with practice, so don't worry too much about it when you're just starting out. The most important aspect here is to keep the layers of butter intact.

Gently stretching out the croissant traingle.

Step 1: Elongate the triangle.

Step 2: Gently pull out the two short-sided corners.

Step 3: Begin rolling up the triangle.

Step 4: Finish by rolling it and placing the end piece on the bottom.

Proofing (and Yeast)

After shaping the croissants, the next step is proofing (or fermentation). This process is necessary to achieve the airy final texture of the pastry.

Once the croissants are shaped, they should be placed equally spaced apart on two parchment lined baking sheets. To prevent the dough from drying out, very lightly and loosely place a sheet of plastic wrap over the sheet pan. For the best results, avoid securing the plastic wrap too tightly around the edges of the pan, as it can hinder the proofing of the croissants and flatten them out.

Homemade shortcut croissants on sheet pans.

The Proofing Environment

Yeast are living organisms and they are most active in a warm, slightly humid environment. To achieve the perfect proofing for croissants, many bakeries use a professional "proofing box" that maintains ideal temperature and humidity levels. As a home baker, you obviously need to make do without a proof box.

It's important to consider certain factors for proper fermentation. One of these is the ambient temperature in your kitchen, which affects the proofing time. If your kitchen is cold (below 70ºF), the croissants will take longer to proof than in a warm kitchen (above 75ºF). Additionally, you should keep in mind the temperature of the butter during proofing to ensure it stays solid and doesn't melt and get absorbed into the dough.

If your proofing environment is too hot, the butter will melt.
If the proofing environment is cold, the croissants can take longer to reach the proper size.

I have tried various methods to make a faux-proof box at home with mixed results. I found it frustratingly easy to melt the butter or mess up the proofing when playing with temperature. So my safe suggestion would be to allow the croissants to naturally rise in the ambient temperature of your home if you are a beginner. This means it can take anywhere from 2-4 hours to proof at room temperature fully. Or longer, if your kitchen is really cold.

Unproofed shortcut croissants.

Fully proofed shortcut croissants.

However, once I did master controlling the temperature of a faux-proofbox, the crumb on my croissant exponentially improved. I found success using the warming function on my oven for 10 minutes, 1-2 hours before I planned to proof. Then, I shut off the oven and left the door open. I monitored the residual heat and allowed the oven to reduce to around 80-85 degrees, which I found to be an ideal proofing temperature. Just be sure to use a thermometer to monitor the temperature constantly.

There are various other methods for making a proof box at home, but again, proceed with caution.

How To Tell When The Croissants are Done Proofing

It will take an average of 2-4 hours for the croissants to fully proof in a warm, draft-free space. When they are properly proofed they will have about doubled and size and be very, very jiggly.

At this stage they are incredibly delicate, and it's important to keep the proofing intact. While the oven preheats, gently and carefully remove the plastic wrap from the croissants and discard it.

It is very easy to underproof the croissants for fear of over-proofing them. And this is the mistake I often made early on in developing this recipe.

Baking Good Croissants in a Home Oven

Once the oven is preheated, it's time to eggwash and bake the croissants.

Brushing egg wash on easy croissant dough.

Gently brush the egg wash on the croissants, avoiding the exposed layered areas of the pastry if possible. This could fuse the dough together and prevent lift.

And finally, one last trick to get good at home croissants: a spritz of water on the baking sheets. Adding a bit of "steam" in the hot oven helps the initial rise (also known as oven-spring) of the croissants to bake up higher. Use a kitchen-designated spray bottle to mist the parchment-lined sheet tray around the croissants, but if that isn't available, carefully flick some water onto the tray instead. Just be sure not to get water on the croissant dough.

Then, finally, after all that hard work: it's time to bake.

The oven will be preheated much higher than the actual temperature at which that the croissants will be baked. This helps with oven spring. Preheat the oven to 425º and then turn it down to 375ºF when placing the croissants in to bake.

Bake the trays on the middle and lower middle rack for 15 minutes. Then, rotate the trays between the two racks so the croissants bake evenly. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or more, depending on how dark you like your croissants. If well-cooked is what you are after, let them continue to bake a few extra minutes.

Serving and Storing

Croissants are best served within a few hours of baking. They'll be crisp on the outside and soft and buttery on the inside.

Croissants can be refreshed anytime by gently reheating in a toaster oven.

Leftover croissants can be stored covered at room temperature for 2 days. They can also be frozen in an airtight container for 1-2 months. Defrost at room temperature and then refresh in a toaster oven.

Check out this Croissant French Toast recipe to use up leftovers!

Sample Schedules

Here are two sample schedules with a morning and afternoon start time:

Making Croissants from Start to Bake (Morning)

8am: Assemble dough and proof
9am: Assemble the butter and laminate it in dough
9:15am: Move dough to refrigerator
11:15am: Pre-shape dough by rolling it as far as it will go without springing back, transfer dough on sheet pan back to the refrigerator.
11:30am: Roll out, cut and shape croissants, place on baking sheets and proof.
2pm: Preheat the oven
2:30pm: Bake

Making Croissants from Start to Shape with an Overnight Rest (Evening)

5pm: Assemble dough and proof
6pm: Assemble the butter and laminate it in dough
6:15pm: Move dough to refrigerator
8:15pm: Pre-shape dough by rolling it as far as it will go without springing back, transfer dough on sheet pan back to the refrigerator.
8:30pm: Roll out, cut and shape croissants, place on baking sheets and transfer to the refrigerator.
7:00am: Proof Croissants
10am: Preheat the oven
10:30am: Bake

Make Ahead Tips

There are several stopping points in this recipe, if you find yourself needing them.

You can prepare the dough a day in advance by degassing it after proofing and then wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze it for 15 minutes before transferring it to the refrigerator overnight. When you're ready to continue, begin by rolling out the dough and mixing the butter.

I've had mixed results with the freezer, so I can't wholeheartedly recommend it. I've had success but also failure, and I don't know where exactly the process failed, so for now I'd suggest experimenting at your own risk.

It is also possible to assemble and shape the croissants a day in advance, then proof and bake them on the following day.

More Baking Bucket Lists Recipes

Want to check some more advanced bakes off of your baking bucket list? Check out this list!

Watch It: Croissant Video

I am so honored when you make a recipe from my site! If you make this Easy Croissant Recipe, please leave a comment and a star rating with your experience! If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment here, too!

Full Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.9 from 10 reviews

Shortcut Croissants

Recipe by Kelli Avila

This Shortcut Croissants recipe is a more streamlined version of the classic method. It's less fussy yet still produces exceptionally similar results to traditional croissants. This easy-ish recipe results in 8 really delicious, buttery croissants with lovely layering and beautiful exteriors. They're made with only one easy lamination step (without needing to make a butter block), very little dough rolling, and can be made in as few as 12 hours.

Print Recipe

Total Time5 hours 39 minutes
Yield8 Croissants

Ingredients

For Croissant Dough:

¾ cup (165 grams) water
½ cup (115 grams) whole milk
¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
2-½ teaspoons (9 grams) instant yeast (see notes)
4 cups (480 grams) bread flour
1 teaspoon (7 grams) fine sea salt
4 tablespoons (56 grams or ½ stick) unsalted European-style butter, cubed and softened (see notes)

For Croissant Butter:

20 tablespoons (280 grams or 2-½ sticks) unsalted European-style butter, softened, cubed
¼ cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour

For Egg Wash:

1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Make and Laminate the Dough:

For the croissant dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add all of the dough ingredients in this order: water, milk, instant yeast, sugar, bread flour, salt, and softened butter cubes.
Turn the mixer on low and mix until the dough comes together and the sides of the bowl are clean. Continue kneading the dough in the machine for 5 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead for 1 minute to ensure the butter is fully incorporated. It's okay if the dough is not smooth.
Place the dough in a covered bowl or container and let rise for 1-2 hours, until the dough is just about doubled in size. Do not let the dough proof beyond doubling in size.
When doubled, remove the dough from the container and flatten it to remove any gas bubbles. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and transfer it to the freezer while the croissant butter is prepared. It should be there for no more than 15 minutes.
For the croissant butter: Add the softened butter to a clean stand mixer bowl and sprinkle the flour on top. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low until the butter and flour are combined. Scrape the butter off the paddle and mix again for about 30 seconds to ensure the butter is smooth with no unmixed butter or flour.
Remove the croissant dough from the freezer. Roll the dough to a rough 10-by-20-inch rectangle on a lightly floured work surface. Brush off any excess flour using a dry pastry brush.
Using an offset spatula, spread the butter on the bottom ¾ of the dough, going all the way to the edges. There should be no butter on the top ¼ of the dough.
Take the top of the dough and fold it down about ¼ of the way down (about 5 inches). Repeat this fold twice more (taking the top part of the dough and folding it ¼ of the way down) until the butter is no longer visible.
Rotate the dough counterclockwise 90 degrees so the dough seam faces the right.
Evenly roll out the dough lengthwise, using flour as necessary, to a rough 8-by-20-inch rectangle. Brush off any excess flour.
Take the top short side of the dough rectangle and fold it ⅓ of the way down. Repeat with the bottom short side up, like a business letter.
Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for 2 hours.
Pre-shape the dough: Evenly roll out the chilled dough to an 8-by-12-inch rectangle, or as close as possible to this. Do not fight the dough. If it’s springing back, leave it as is, wrap it in plastic, and place on a sheet pan. Chill the dough for 15-30 minutes.
Using only a very light dusting of flour, if any, roll out the chilled croissant dough to the final length of 10 by 16 inches.
Using a ruler and a pastry wheel, cut off any uneven edges of the rectangle, especially on the left and bottom sides.
Cut 7 isosceles triangles in the dough. To do this, premark the dough with 3 very small notches, 4 inches apart on the bottom. Then, starting 2 inches in on the top, premark 4 notches 4 inches apart. Connect those notches from bottom to top, then top to bottom, resulting in 7 perfectly cut isosceles triangles. Two half triangles will remain; connect those together to complete 8 triangles.

Shape and Bake the Croissants:

Working one piece at a time, take hold of the base of the triangle and gently elongate it by placing your other hand towards the middle of the triangle and pulling the dough, letting it glide through your hand as it stretches. It should gently elongate the tip of the triangle, but be careful not to squish the layers. Then grasp the two corners of the base of the triangle and tug gently outward to extend the points and widen the base.
Roll up the dough starting at the base, keeping the tip of the triangle centered. Do not roll too tightly. Give a gentle push down on the rolled-up crescent to secure the tip of the dough on the bottom.
Repeat this process with the remaining triangles of dough.
Place four croissants each on two parchment-lined sheet pans. Very loosely cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.
Let proof in a warm place for 2-4 hours, or until the croissants have nearly doubled in size and are incredibly jiggly.
Place a rack in the lower middle and the middle parts of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF.
When the oven is ready, carefully remove the plastic wrap from the croissants. Brush the smooth tops of the proofed croissants (not the exposed cut edges) with the egg wash. Using a clean, food-safe spray bottle, spritz cold water on the parchment around the croissants to create steam in the oven (which helps the croissants bake up taller).
Turn the heat down to 375ºF and bake the croissants in the oven for 24-26 minutes, switching and rotating the trays halfway through, or until the croissants are a beautiful golden brown.
Remove the croissants from the oven, and let cool briefly before enjoying.
Croissants are best enjoyed fresh. To store, let sit at room temperature for 24 hours, and beyond that in a covered container. Croissants can be “refreshed” in the toaster oven

Notes

Have a question or looking for tips? The text written above the recipe is always a great first place to start! Want more information? I've put together a Shortcut Croissant e-guide for purchase with even more information, step-by-step photos, and graphics.

Although I offer both weight and volume measurements, weighing your flour is the most accurate way to measure. If you aren't going to weigh it, make sure to spoon it into the measuring cup, then level it off. If you scoop the flour out with the measuring cup and then level, it could change the outcome of the final product.

This recipe was tested using fine sea salt. If you use Diamond Crystal kosher salt you will need to increase by about double for volume, or use the same amount by weight.

Butter brands such as Kerrygold, Plugra, Cabot Extra Creamy, and Vital Farms worked well in testing. Look for butter with a fat content of 82%. If you really can’t find any high-fat butters, I have made this recipe with standard butter. The results are a little less flavorful and the crumb on the finished croissant isn’t as even, but it’s still possible.

I only tested this recipe with the "red" SAF instant yeast and cannot advise on alternative yeast options.

Because of the shortcut method of adding the butter to to the dough, it is likely to break up a bit during shaping, resulting in bumpy pastry. Don't worry about this, it's normal and unavoidable.

I leaned on several sources as I was researching both my Classic Croissant and Shortcut Croissant recipe including: Professional Baking by Wayne Gisslin, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee (although basically this book is always a source for me!), Tartine by Chad Robertson, Patisserie by Christopher Felder and the well-done video by NYTimes and Claire Saffitz. While this recipe isn't adapted by these sources, my croissant journey was guided by them and I felt it important to credit them here.

Prep Time: 00:45
Proof + Resting: 04:30
Cook Time: 00:24
Category: Pastry

Some of the links on this page may be affiliate links. Everyday Pie is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

"Shortcut" Easy Croissants