Are Cédric Grolet’s Croissants Worth All The Hype? Here’s How to Make Them at Home!

The recipes for the best croissants in the world: those of the French pastry chef Cédric Grolet. Already famous on social media, what we offer you is the original recipe for these soft and flaky croissants, considered the best in the world.

Cédric Grolet is a top-level pastry chef: many got to know him in recent times, thanks to his social posts where he shows how he prepares his delicacies. Chef pâtissier of the two-starred restaurant Le Meurice by Alain Ducasse, he is one of the most famous pastry chefs in the world, also thanks to his pastry shops in London and Paris and the slew of awards in recent years. But what has made him really famous even among those who are not very interested in fine pastry are his videos on Instagram where he shows his recipes in a spectacular way, with a jaunty and attractive look.

The recipe is a bit complex, as always in the case of croissants, preparation that has some obligatory steps: but you just need to follow our explanations to make truly delicious and inviting French croissants, almost like those of Grolet.

How to Make Croissants With Cédric Grolet's Recipe

Follow the recipe step by step without skipping any steps and you will get excellent croissants.

Ingredients

For The Dough

• 1 kg of 00 flour
• 420 gr of water
• 400 g of dry butter for puff pastry
• 100 g of granulated sugar
• 70 g of butter
• 50 g of eggs (about 3 yolks)
• 45 g of fresh yeast
• 20 g of honey
• 18 g of salt

For Finishing Touch

• 300 g of egg yolks (about 12 egg yolks)
• 30 g whipping cream

Preparation

Set the mixer to medium-low speed and, with the hook inserted, mix the flour, water, eggs, yeast, salt, sugar and honey until the mixture is smooth. At this point, increase the speed and work the dough until the dough comes away from the sides. Add the softened butter (softened at room temperature and then worked with a spatula until it reaches the soft and fatty consistency of an ointment) and incorporate it into the dough. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rise at room temperature (75 – 77°F/24 – 25°C) for an hour.

Once it has risen, lightly press the dough to expel the air, then make a rectangle as wide as the butter for puff pastry and twice as long. Place the rectangle in the freezer for 5 minutes and in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Place the butter in the middle of the sheet of dough and cover with the flaps.

Turn the side with the visible butter facing forward. Make a double fold with a rolling pin: using movements from the bottom up, roll out the dough to a thickness of 7 mm. Make a small mark in the middle, fold the top and bottom, then fold in half again, like a wallet. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Finally, you will need to make a single fold: roll out the dough again to a thickness of 1 cm, using movements from the bottom up, so as to obtain a long rectangle. Fold the top part up to a third of the dough and cover with the bottom part.

Immediately roll out the dough to a thickness of 3.5 mm, then start cutting and shaping the croissants. Cut out triangles with a base of 7 cm and a height of 35 cm, roll them up starting from the end. Leave to rise for 2 hours: the temperature should be approximately 78°F/26°C.

Preheat the oven to 347°F/175 °C. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and cream; place the croissants on baking sheets lined with baking paper and brush them with a thin layer of the mixture. Bake for 15 minutes.

When the croissants are golden brown, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool on a wire rack.