Flaky and Buttery 3-Day Croissants

A good croissant is like a Chanel bag- It’s comforting and worth the effort! Even a bad croissant is worth the hassle. Pair it with a good cup of coffee and your day is just bound to start off on the right foot. 

While this 3-day recipe seems complicated, but it’s actually pretty straightforward with all the “hard work” being on Day 2. Day 3 only requires baking and a good cup of coffee!

When making croissants, it’s important to keep in mind a few things:

• When in doubt, BUTTER
• A cold surface is the best surface
• Patience is definitely required
• Maybe skip arm day at the gym before making these bad boys

3-Day Croissant Recipe
Makes 24 croissants
Total Cooking time: 40 hours

Poolish

• 2 ¼ tbs dry active yeast
• ½ cup lukewarm water
• 1 cup + 2 tbs All-Purpose unbleached flour

Dough

• 3 tbs unsalted butter, slightly melted
• ¾ cup whole milk
• 3 cups All-Purpose unbleached flour
• ½ cup + 2 tbs sugar
• 2 tps salt
• 330 g unsalted butter (for butter block)

Egg Wash

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp whole milk

Directions

Day 1 – Evening

• Mix active dry yeast in lukewarm water, until bubbly. If granules continue to float, the yeast is dead and will not help the dough rise. 
• Once bubbly, add the mixture to the flour and combine. Poolish should be sticky and slightly wet. Let sit at room temp in a large mixing bowl for 30 mins, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight. Air bubbles should start to appear, this is good!

Day 2 – Afternoon

• Remove poolish from the fridge for an hour, until reaching room temp. 
• While poolish is sitting out, sift your flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer, add in milk and slightly melted butter. If your flour is too crumbly add in a little more milk. 
• Once mixed, add the poolish to the dough, and combine.

• When finished, knead the dough on a cool surface for 8-10 mins (marble is ideal). The dough should be sticky and slightly wet. Be sure you don’t overmix!!
• Line a 9×9 baking dish with plastic wrap, and place your dough in the dish then cover and place in the fridge for 4+ hours.
• While the dough is cooling, take out your 330g of butter to make the block. Place the butter between 2 pieces of parchment paper, and roll out with a rolling pin. Be careful of your fingers!
• Roll the butter out until 12×8, and evenly leveled.  Keep covered with parchment paper, and place in the fridge until the dough is finished cooling. 
• After 4 hours (or more), remove your dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll out until 20×12, and place the butter block in the center. Cover the block with the dough, and roll out to 24 inches in length. 
  1. Fold over, into a ⅓ and roll out to 24 inches. Fold over again and wrap in Plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15-20 mins. *This keeps your butter from melting throughout the process
  2. Repeat Step 1 (5) more times. 
• Once you place the dough in the fridge for the final time, take out the dough and place it on a floured surface. Roll out into a 45×8 rectangle, and use a pizza cutter to cut the dough in half (2 45×4 sheets). Cut each sheet into 9 pieces, and create triangles using a pizza cutter.

• Starting at the base, roll the dough to form a croissant so the tip is on top. Press tip into croissant roll.
• Once ready, place croissants in lined containers, cover them, and place them in the fridge. Make sure there is enough room between croissants in the containers, as they will rise overnight. 
• Keep covered in the fridge overnight, or for 12 hrs. 

Day 3 – Baking Day!

• It’s time to wake and bake! 
• Preheat oven to 390°F and remove your croissants from the fridge and place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets. Place in a draft-free environment for 1 hr, to allow to proof. This is an extremely important part of the process, as it allows the dough to expand. 
• After an hour, you should start to see the layers appear on the croissants as the dough continues to expand. Be sure to keep an eye on these, to avoid flat croissants!
• Once proofed, place croissants in oven for 9 mins until golden brown. Lower heat to 375°F for 5-7 more mins. 
• Remove from oven and set aside to cool (try not to eat one before it’s cool!)