Whole Wheat Croissant Recipe - A Red Spatula (2024)

Do you feel too intimidated to try and make homemade croissants? Let me say, that they are time-consuming to make but well worth any effort you put into them. That flaky goodness is everything! You really need to give this Whole Wheat Croissant Recipe a try! Learning to make a fresh croissant is not nearly as hard as you might think.

I made croissants for the first time in culinary school and fell in love with the time-consuming process. After that, I made them in a bakery I worked at many times as well. However, making whole grain croissant is very different from one with only refined flour.

If you want to try more whole wheat baked goods- let me suggest a few I know you will love.

• Yeasted bread recipes
• Whole wheat bread recipe
• Soft whole wheat burger buns
• Whole wheat focaccia bread

What Makes This Recipe Work?

Laminated dough (creating layers of dough with fat in between) can feel tricky, but I promise it is not nearly as hard as you might think. This croissant recipe is totally doable by the home baker.

The nutty flavor and texture of the whole wheat add a whole new element to the croissants. I love an all-white croissant but really love the whole wheat addition.

Fresh croissants are so good on so many levels. They are flaky, buttery, light, and delicious. I love to eat them on their own, but they are really delicious as sandwiches or spread with your favorite preserves.

Ingredients

• Whole wheat flour- I used white wheat flour for this recipe. This isn't the only flour you can use though, red winter wheat, rye, or even kamut will work well.
• All purpose flour- Some day I will make a 100% whole wheat recipe, but for now I used a blend of wheat flour and all-purpose flour.
• Warm milk- You will need this at about 100 degrees, or just warm to the touch. I used whole milk, but certainly 1-2% will work as well. I cannot vouch for plant-based milk as I have not tried them yet.
• Active dry yeast- Make sure and check the expiration date on the yeast to ensure it is still good.
• Honey- You can use any other sweetener you like, but I went with honey.
• Salt- Salt is really important in any baking good, but especially in croissants. It adds flavor but also keeps the yeast in check.
• Butter- European butter is always suggested in laminated dough and I could not agree more. I used Kerrygold for mine, it is a great butter with a higher fat content.
• Egg- this will be used in the egg wash for the top. The egg wash gives them that beautiful deep golden brown color.

Croissant Making- The Basics

Let's go over a few steps before we get started. Hopefully, a quick overview will keep the croissant-making from feeling overwhelming.

1. Mix your dough. You don't need to mix it for long, as the gluten will develop through the folding steps. Cover and chill the dough.
2. Pound out chilled butter into a rectangle.
3. Roll your chilled dough into a rectangle. Put the butter in the center and fold the dough over the butter.
4. Roll into a rectangle again, then trifold the dough.
5. Chill the dough, and repeat this trifold process 3-4 more times. Chilling between each fold.
6. Chill dough for several hours after the last fold.
7. Roll the dough, cut, and form.
8. Let the croissants rise.
9. Brush with egg wash and bake.

The Details

• Now that you have an overview, let's get down to the details. I want to give you all the steps you will need to make successful croissants the first time!
• Start by activating your yeast. Do this by adding it to the warm milk and honey. Mix it in gently then let it sit for about 5 minutes. You will notice the yeast will start to foam just a bit.
• Add the flour and salt to this mixture. Then mix it together for about 1-2 minutes on medium speed.
• Place in a greased bowl, cover with saran wrap, and place in the fridge to chill overnight.

• The next day, take out your chilled butter. Place it between 2 pieces of saran wrap or parchment paper. Pound it out, then roll it out to a rectangle that is about 4x6 inches.
• Put it in the fridge, you ALWAYS want the butter to stay chilled until you are ready to bake.
• Now, remove your chilled dough and roll it out to about 10x14 inches. Place your butter rectangle in the center of this as shown in the photo below.
• Fold the top over the butter, then the bottom over this. Creating a tri-fold. Roll this out lengthwise creating a rectangle that is about 8x20 inches.
• Again, we will do the tri-fold. You will wind up with an 8x6-inch rectangle.
• Wrap this in saran wrap and place it in the fridge. Let this chill for at least an hour.

• Remove it and roll it again to an 8x20-inch rectangle. Then repeat the tri-fold method.
• Cover with saran wrap. Then repeat the process 3 more times. Chill, roll, fold, chill...etc.
• Once you have finished with the lamination folds, wrap the dough again. This time chilling for at least 4-6 hours. I prefer to chill overnight.

• On the day of baking, roll the dough out to a rectangle about ¼-inch thick. Then cut the dough into rectangles. Mine was about 3x6 inches. Then cut each rectangle diagonally to form triangles.
• Roll the triangles from the widest end to the narrow end, forming your croissants.
• Place them on a baking sheet, I like to line it with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Make sure to leave a few inches between them as they will rise. I baked 8 per baking sheet.
• Cover them lightly and let them rise at room temp for about 1 ½ hours. At the end of the proofing time, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Notes

I would say one of the most important things to note about making croissants is to keep the dough and butter chilled until baking time. This is what will give you the distinctive layers you are looking for.

I used white wheat in this recipe, but there are so many great wheat flours to try. Rye is also really good in croissants, as are kamut and red wheat.

European butter is expensive, if that is not in your budget, use whatever butter you can find to use. European butter typically is higher in butterfat, which makes for the best croissants.

I know you might feel like the croissants are baking a little dark, don't stress, this is the way they should be.

• Yeasted Breads
• Baked
• White Whole Wheat Flour