Croissant
Photo: Herry Wibisono (herryway) · CC0

History

Croissants arrived in Paris from Vienna in the 19th century, via the city's Austrian-bakery wave that brought the kipferl shape to French laminated-dough technique. The modern butter-laminated form was canonised by Parisian boulangers in the 1920s. The annual concours de la meilleure baguette tradition pushed quality across the city's 1,500-plus boulangeries; the croissant followed. Du Pain et des Idées in the 10e plates a Sunday-only croissant; Poilâne sells a copper-coloured version from its Cherche-Midi shop opened 1932; modern bakeries like Mamiche and Boulangerie BO run weekday croissants that sell out by 11:00.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 1 hr 30 minTotal 16 hrDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 500g strong T55 bread flour
  • 10g fine sea salt
  • 55g caster sugar
  • 10g instant yeast
  • 300ml whole milk (cold)
  • 300g unsalted French butter (high-fat, 82%+; the laminating block)
  • 1 large egg plus 1 tbsp milk, beaten, for the egg wash

Method

  1. Combine flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Pour in the cold milk; mix to a shaggy dough. Knead 5 minutes by hand or 3 minutes in a stand mixer to a smooth ball.
  2. Shape into a flat rectangle 20cm by 15cm; wrap and chill 1 hour.
  3. Prepare the butter block: pound the 300g butter between two sheets of baking paper into a 15cm square. Chill until firm but still pliable.
  4. Roll the chilled dough into a rectangle twice the size of the butter block (about 30cm by 15cm). Lay the butter on one half; fold the dough over to enclose. Pinch the edges shut.
  5. Roll out to a 45cm by 20cm rectangle, keeping the butter inside an even sheet. Fold in thirds (a letter fold). Wrap; chill 1 hour.
  6. Repeat the roll-and-letter-fold twice more, chilling 1 hour between each turn. You have done three turns total.
  7. Roll the laminated dough into a long 50cm by 25cm rectangle, 5mm thick. Trim the edges square.
  8. Cut into 8 long isosceles triangles (12cm base, 25cm tall). Roll each triangle from base to tip, stretching the tip gently as you roll. Curve the ends into a crescent.
  9. Place the croissants on a lined baking sheet, point underneath. Cover loosely; proof at room temperature 2 to 3 hours until visibly puffed and jiggly. They should grow by half again.
  10. Brush with egg wash twice (once at the start of proofing, again before baking).
  11. Heat oven to 210°C. Bake 16 to 18 minutes until deeply amber and the bottom is crisp.
  12. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before eating; the crumb sets as it cools.

Tip from the editors. Cold dough, cold butter, cold bench. If butter softens during lamination, chill the sheet 30 minutes before continuing. Marble holds cold longer than wood.

Where to eat croissant

Croissant in Paris

Du Pain et des Idées ★ 4.8

€ BakeryLevain breads and laminated pastriesWalk-in only

Christophe Vasseur's Du Pain et des Idées in Paris's 10e remains the boulangerie every other counter measures itself against. At 34 Rue Yves Toudic.

Worth the queueEscargot pistache-chocolat

TipClosed weekends. Arrive before 09:00 for the pain des amis; escargots sell out by 13:00.

Poilâne ★ 4.7

€ BakerySourdough micheWalk-in only

Poilâne in Paris has baked a signature sourdough miche from a wood-fired oven on Rue du Cherche-Midi since 1932. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.

Worth the queuePain Poilâne miche

TipThe half-miche feeds two for a week. Ask for the cocktail-size punitions at the till.

Mamiche ★ 4.5

€ BakerySourdough breads and babkaWalk-in only

Mamiche in Paris's 9e is the Cécile Khayat and Victoria Effantin counter that brought New York-Israeli babka to Pigalle. Open tue-sat 07:30-20:00.

Worth the queueCinnamon babka

TipClosed Sunday and Monday. Order ahead by phone for a whole babka loaf to take home.

Boulangerie BO ★ 4.4

€ BakeryOrganic levain breads and Japanese-inflected viennoiserieWalk-in only

Boulangerie BO in Paris's 12e is Olivier Haustraete's listed-monument boulangerie by Marché d'Aligre, baking organic baguette tradition and Tokyo-honed.

Worth the queueBaguette tradition

TipThe cherry-blossom Mont Blanc in spring is the seasonal pick; the baguette tradition is the everyday order.

Stohrer ★ 4.4

€ BakeryHistoric patisserieWalk-in only

Stohrer in Paris is the city's oldest patisserie, founded in 1730 by Nicolas Stohrer who served Marie Leszczyńska at Versailles. Open daily 07:30-20:30.

Worth the queueBaba au rhum

TipThe original puits d'amour and the baba travel well. The whipped-cream cake is best in shop.

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