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Sourdough Croissant Recipe

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This sourdough croissant recipe is fun to make, and yields delicate flakey layers with a slight sourdough taste. You won’t want to stop making and eating them!

These sourdough croissants are fun to make, and yield delicate flakey layers with a slight sourdough taste.
three croissants in a vertical row
sourdough croisant in foreground with two more on white plate in background
These rolls are so delicious. Everyone always thinks that croissants are super hard to make. But I think mostly people end up confusing time consuming with difficult.
And that is not the case. If you can use a stand mixer and a rolling pin, you can make these. And, all the rolling totally counts as an arm workout.
croissant cut in half to show inside layers with more croissants on plate behind

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use a sourdough starter for this recipe?

Yes, this recipe was developed for use with a sourdough starer. If you don’t have one, you can easily make on at my post “How to make a sourdough starter“. Then learn all about how to take care of it at my post “Feeding sourdough starter“.

New to sourdough? Read my Ultimate Guide to Sourdough for Beginners to answer all the questions you have!

Does the butter really matter?

Yes! The butter you use does affect the end result of your croissants. You want to make sure you use unsalted butter here. The salt in the salted butter will pull extra moisture from the dough, making the layers less defined.

You also want to make sure you use a high quality butter with a higher fat content. Go ahead and splurge for the best butter you can buy here.

I didn’t get good layers! What could have happened?

The best way to get nice flakey layers is to keep your butter and dough cool. By handling the dough too much, or by working in a warm environment, you risk the butter softening too much, which will prevent the flakey layers from forming.

How do you store sourdough croissants?

These are best the day they are made, but after they have cooled slightly. Leftover croissants can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them for up to three months.

four sourdough croissants piled on white plate

Sourdough Croissants Baking Schedule

Knowing how this bread recipe fits into your schedule is an important step for knowing when you should start to have it be done on time. I like to work backwards from when I want the bread to be done baking and figure out when I should feed my starter.

  • Forming the levain – 12 hours
  • Mixing the dough – 20 minutes
  • Proofing – 3 to 4 hours, and then an overnight in the fridge
  • Laminating the dough – 4 hours for folding and chilling
  • Forming the croissants – 20 minutes with a 2-3 hour final proof
  • Baking – 25 minutes

*NOTE: The timing of this schedule is dependent on the temperature of your house. Dough will proof faster in a warmer house, and slower in a colder house. Watch the dough here, not the clock! For reference, the temperature of my house is 70 F. 

three croissants in a vertical row

How to make sourdough croissants

This recipe is very simple to make! Here is a brief overview of the recipe to give you an idea of how it works. For the full set of directions and measurements, please make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below!

Make the levain

  1. In a large glass bowl, mix together the starter, water, and bread flour for the levain. It does not matter if you use sourdough discard or fed and active starter.
  2. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature overnight.
mixing levain in glass bowl

Mix the dough

  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the bread flour, milk, beaten egg, sugar, salt, and the 41 grams of room temperature butter. Mix to combine.
  2. Add in all of the levain from the night before.
  3. Knead the dough with the dough hook on low speed for 3 minutes, until gluten formation starts, and then on medium speed for 3 minutes. The dough should be slightly elastic, tacky to the touch, and fairly smooth.
  4. Cover the bowl and allow it to sit and proof on the counter at room temperature for 3-4 hours, until it is slightly puffier.
  5. Place the dough in the fridge overnight.
mixing dough for croissants

Prepare the butter

  1. While the dough chills, prepare the butter block. Between two pieces of parchment paper, tap and roll the dough to shape it into a 7.5″ square.
  2. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour, or overnight.

Laminating the dough

  1. Take the chilled dough out of the fridge and roll in on a lightly floured surface to an 11″ square. Place the butter in the middle of the dough so that it forms a diamond.
  2. Fold the corners of the dough over so it encloses the butter.
  3. Roll the dough out into an 8″x16″ rectangle – make sure you always roll from the middle out to evenly disperse the butter.
adding butter to dough
  1. Trim the short edges of the dough to expose the butter layer and even the sides (the neater your edges the better your layers will be in the final dough).
  2. Fold the bottom third of the dough up and the top third down, like a letter, keeping the edges even together.
  3. Wrap the dough in plastic and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
  4. Roll the dough out to an 8″x16″ rectangle. Trim the short edges so they are even. Fold the dough into thirds (bottom up and top down). Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.
  5. Roll the dough into an 8″x16″ rectangle. Trim the short edges even. Fold the dough into thirds, bottom up and top down). Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.

Forming the croissants

  1. Roll the dough out to a 10″x16″ rectangle.
  2. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise.
  3. Roll each half to a 9″x18″ rectangle.
  4. Trim all the edges neatly to expose the butter layers, then cut each half into 3 smaller rectangles.
  5. Cut each rectangle diagonally to get 6 triangles.
cutting croissants
  1. Roll each triangle as tightly as you can (starting with the wide edge and ending with the point).
  2. Place each roll on a cookie sheet (with the point underneath), cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 2-3 hours. They are done proofing if they jiggle a little when you wiggle the tray.

Recipe note: You can also place them in the fridge overnight, this will increase the sourdough flavor.

rolling croissants

Baking the croissants

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
  2. Take the reserved portion of beaten egg and brush over the tops of the rolls.
  3. Bake the rolls for 10 minutes.
  4. Turn the oven temperature down to 375 and bake for another 15 minutes.

Now that you have made sourdough croissants, you also have to try your hand at sourdough danish pastries!!!

graphic for sourdough course - reads "new to sourdough? learn the skills to impress your family and friends with your sourdough baking. Click here".

Food tastes better when its shared! If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and rate below! Love and links are always appreciated! If you’d like to share this post, please link to this post directly for the recipe, please do not copy and paste or screenshot. Thanks so much for supporting me! xoxo

three croissants in a vertical row

Sourdough Croissant Recipe

These sourdough croissants are fun to make, and yield delicate flakey layers with a slight sourdough taste.
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 1 day
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 day 25 minutes
Servings: 12 rolls
Calories: 430kcal
Author: Jenni – The Gingered Whisk

Ingredients

Levain

  • 44 grams sourdough starter at 100% hydration
  • 100 grams water
  • 100 grams bread flour

Final Dough

  • 426 grams bread flour
  • 135 grams milk
  • 77 grams beaten egg this is about 1.5 eggs, save the rest of the egg for the egg wash before baking
  • 60 grams granulated sugar
  • 5 grams salt
  • 41 grams unsalted butter room temperature
  • 361 grams good quality unsalted butter for laminating

Instructions

Levain

  • In a large glass bowl, mix together the ingredients for the levain.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature overnight (or for 12 hours).

Final Dough

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the bread four, milk, egg, sugar, salt, and the 41 grams of room temperature butter.
  • Add in the levain from the night before.
  • Knead the dough with the dough hook on low speed for 3 minutes, until gluten formation starts, and then on medium speed for 3 minutes.
  • The dough should be slightly elastic, tacky to the touch, and fairly smooth.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to proof for 3-4 hours, until puffy.
  • Place the dough in the fridge overnight.
  • Prepare the butter block. Between two pieces of parchment paper, tap and roll the dough to shape it into a 7.5" square.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or overnight.

Laminating

  • Take the chilled dough out of the fridge and roll in on a lightly floured surface to an 11" square.
  • Place the butter in the middle of the dough so that it forms a diamond.
  • Fold the corners of the dough over so it encloses the butter.
  • Roll the dough out into an 8"x16" rectangle – make sure you always roll from the middle out to evenly disperse the butter.
  • Trim the short edges of the dough to expose the butter layer and even the sides (the neater your edges the better your layers will be in the final dough).
  • Fold the bottom third of the dough up and the top third down, like a letter, keeping the edges even together.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
  • Roll the dough out to an 8"x16" rectangle.
  • Trim the short edges so they are even.
  • Fold the dough into thirds (bottom up and top down).
  • Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.
  • Roll the dough into an 8"x16" rectangle.
  • Trim the short edges even.
  • Fold the dough into thirds, bottom up and top down).
  • Wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour.

Forming Rolls

  • Roll the dough out to an 10"x16" rectangle.
  • Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise.
  • Roll each half to a 9"x18" rectangle.
  • Trim all the edges neatly to expose the butter layers, then cut each half into 3 smaller rectangles.
  • Cut each rectangle diagonally to get 6 triangles.
  • Roll each triangle as tightly as you can (starting with the wide edge and ending with the point).
  • Place each roll on a cookie sheet (with the point underneath), cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 2-3 hours. They are fully proofed when they jiggle a little when you gently bump the pan.

Baking

  • Preheat the oven to 425F.
  • Take the reserved portion of beaten egg and brush over the tops of the rolls.
  • Bake the rolls for 10 minutes.
  • Turn the oven temperature down to 375 and bake for another 15 minutes.

Notes

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 430kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 181mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g
croissants on plate

13 Comments

  1. Great challenge this month! It's made me very popular amongst my neighbors. 🙂 I'm impressed that you were able to do this with kids to distract you. I agree – it's not too hard, just time consuming. As long as I write down what dough turn I'm on, I do ok!

  2. I feel ya – life certainly gets crazy!! But those croissant look amazing, and I bet biting into one of those is the perfect "mini break" in the craziness 🙂

  3. Wow! you found time to tackle laminated dough, juggle the demands of family life and keep your sense of humor while whipping out this SS challenge. Betcha the croissants were delicious.

  4. I left mine in a bit too long too and I don't have children to blame. It was probably the TV that distracted me. I am now craving a Nutella slathered croissant.

  5. I used to have scary thoughts about croissants! I however made them while I was having all afternoon for myself. Hats down to you – your determination in hectic time was rewarded with a great batch of croissants!

  6. This was a great challenge! Good for you for juggling all of that and still making those delicious croissants. Happy Baking!

  7. korenainthekitchen.com says:

    Honestly Jenni, I don't know how you have time to have a food blog in the first place with two kidlets running around, let alone make sourdough croissants!! Amazing. You have a lucky family 🙂

  8. Lea Gemmell says:

    I’m supper bummed this recipe is only written in grams. I tried converting it to cups with an online conversion calculator; it seems too complicated. Your other recipes are given in cup measurements. Any chance this one could be converted too?

    1. Hi Lea! Yes, this recipe works best in grams. Its a more technical recipe and the weights of each ingredient are important to get the desired result. For easier recipes with sourdough, especially discard recipes, I do give the ingredients by volume because they are a little more forgiving. These croissants need to be specific!

  9. Is the butter block simply the 361g of butter rolled out into a square, or do you add something to the butter?

    1. Just the butter rolled out!

  10. What do you do with the trim pieces each time you roll out the dough?

    1. You can just toss them. You only need to trim off a tiny bit to make your edges nice and even so that you create really nice layers with the butter and dough.

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