How to Make Fresh Homemade Whole Wheat Croissants
If you have not ventured into the wonderful world of homemade croissants, but have always wanted to learn, let me help! This whole wheat recipe has the perfect nutty flavor.
Servings: 12
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 2 baking sheet
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour I used spelt flour, but you can use any high protein whole wheat flour.
- 1 ⅓ cup warm milk about 100 degrees.
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 8 ounces chilled unsalted butter European butter is better here as it is a higher fat butter. I used Kerry gold.
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Make sure and read all the instructions through before starting! This recipe isn't necessarily hard, but it is a little tedious.
- Start by mixing your warm milk, yeast, and honey together. Let the yeast activate. This will take 5-10 minutes and the yeast will start to foam slightly.
- Add in the flour and salt, then mix on medium speed until the dough comes together. Mine took about 3 minutes to form the dough. The dough will be a little stiff, don't stress. Once the butter is laminated in, it will be perfect.
- Remove the dough, add it to a greased bowl. Then cover the bowl and set it in the fridge for about 6-8 hours. You can also let this go overnight, which I did.
- While the dough is chilling, take your butter between pieces of saran wrap. Flatten it slightly into a 4x6-inch rectangle. Place this in the fridge to keep it chilled until you are ready to use it. The butter has got to stay chilled until the croissants are baked.
- When the dough is chilled properly and the butter is too, it is time to start the work.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it into a 10x14 inch rectangle. Place your butter in the center, then fold over the top of the dough. Then fold the bottom over the top. I pinch the edges gently to close.
- Roll this to about 8x20 inches. After it is rolled, fold in thirds again. The dough will be warming up, which you don't want, so wrap it in saran wrap and get it in the fridge.
- Let this chill for at least 45 minutes, or up to 2 hours. Remove and repeat the rolling process 3 more times. Be sure to chill each time you roll.
- When it has been rolled the last time, move the dough back to the fridge to chill again. I like to chill for at least 12 hours. Now it is time to shape. Roll the dough out into a rectangle. The dough should be pretty thin, about ¼ of an inch.
- Cut the dough into rectangles, then cut in half to make the triangles. Starting at the wide end, roll to the thin end.
- Place them on a baking sheet several inches apart as they will rise during baking.
- Let them rise at room temp for about an hour and a half. While they are rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Also, make your egg wash by mixing the egg and milk together. Once the oven is preheated and the croissants have risen, brush gently with the egg wash.
- Place in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes. They should be a beautiful golden brown.
- Remove them from the oven. They are delicious eaten warm or cool. I promise you will love them either way!