Croissant
A crescent-shaped French pastry made from laminated yeast dough, with crisp, flaky layers and a soft, buttery inside.
- Cakes, cookies, pastries and baked goods
- France, from the Austrian kipferl
Also called: butter croissant
Croissant dough is made like puff pastry, with a block of butter folded and rolled into the dough to build thin layers, but it also contains yeast. After shaping, the croissants are proofed until puffy, then baked hot so steam and the yeast's gas lift the layers apart. Keeping the butter cool but pliable during lamination is the hardest part.
The same dough makes pain au chocolat and almond croissants. The croissant is the best-known example of viennoiserie, the family of rich yeasted pastries.
Bake it at VanillaGoods
- RecipeClassic butter croissants
- RecipeAlmond croissants
- Baking Academy lessonCroissant school 1 croissant dough and the butter block
Tools for this
Fox Run 16 x 20-Inch Marble Pastry BoardStays cool for laminated dough and tabling chocolate.See it on Amazon
J.K. Adams French Tapered Rolling PinA long tapered pin that rolls pastry thin and even.See it on Amazon
Brod & Taylor Folding ProoferKeeps dough at a steady warm temperature for even proofing.See it on Amazon
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Related entries
Sources
Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.
- Impact of Butterfat Content and Composition on the Quality of Laminated Pastries (Sebastian Ramirez, 2020), Oregon State University (M.S. thesis, Food Science and Technology)
- Is the Croissant Really French?, Smithsonian Magazine
- Croissant, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Croissant (Q207832), Wikidata