The simple layered cafe croissants are amazing, I had wanted to try making them for a while, but the classic lamination method wasn’t appealing to me. I was looking for a simpler method, so I tried the disk lamination. I did several tests to achieve what I consider a great result, and even my mother-in-law liked them, so you can be sure they are good! Now, roll up your sleeves and let’s try these croissants! At the end of the article, you will also find the step-by-step photos!
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 20 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 16 croissants
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for the dough
- 3 3/4 cups Manitoba Flour
- 3/4 cup All-purpose Flour
- 3 Eggs (small)
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Dry Yeast (or 7 g fresh)
- 7 tbsp Milk
- 6 tbsp Water
- 5 oz Softened Butter
- 3 1/2 oz Melted Butter
- 1/3 cup Sugar
Tools
- Bowl
- Cling film
- Food scale
- Parchment paper
- Pastry cutter
- Baking tray
- Pastry board
- Rolling pin
- Stand mixer
- Brush
Preparation of Simple Layered Cafe Croissants
Whether you use a machine or your hands to knead, use the ingredients in the following order: in the stand mixer’s bowl: add water, milk, eggs, flours, butter, sugar, and yeast.
Set the stand mixer to speed 2 for 10 minutes until the dough is nicely formed (if kneading by hand, it will take a bit longer, but they will be equally good!).
Once the dough is ready, smooth and well-formed, make a ball, place it in a bowl (preferably glass), cover with cling film, and refrigerate overnight. I kneaded it in the evening after dinner.
The following morning, take the dough out and let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
After 2 hours, work the dough on the pastry board, dividing it into 6 equally weighted parts.
Shape each part into a ball, place the 6 balls to rise on a baking tray covered with cling film, and let rise in the turned-off oven until they triple in volume.
Once the 6 dough balls have tripled, roll them out thinly to approximately the same diameter.
Place one disc in front of you, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar, place another disc on top, and continue with melted butter and sugar until you reach the last disc (don’t put butter or sugar on top of the last disc).
Now use the rolling pin to press and widen the stack of dough discs, bringing it to about a half-centimeter thickness.
Cut into 16 triangles with a cutter (this will yield medium-sized croissants), roll from the wide part to the tip, and place the croissants on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Let the tray (or trays, depending on how many you make) with the croissants rise in the turned-off oven until they triple in volume.
Once the croissants have tripled in volume, remove them from the oven, preheat it to 356°F (static oven), and when it’s at temperature, brush the croissants with a bit of melted butter (you’ll have some left from the lamination) and sprinkle with sugar (also left from the lamination) and bake, cooking for 30 minutes.
Here you will find the step-by-step photos up to just before baking: the dough in the bowl after a night in the fridge, the formed balls, the risen balls, the rolled-out discs with butter and sugar between each layer, the croissants set to rise, and the croissants tripled in volume and ready to bake.
The inside of the croissants.
You can fill the croissants either before or after baking, and before baking, you can brush them with milk or beaten egg instead of butter. They stay soft for days, but if you want to preserve them longer, you can freeze them once cooked and cooled. I recommend baking only one tray at a time.
