Hawk's Golden GF Butter Croissants
Updated: May 27
I didn’t want to make you wait too long for my croissant recipe, so I started working immediately on formatting it for our website. In my last post, I tried to set a realistic expectation for this undertaking. With patience and perseverance, you’ll eventually get great results, even with conventional store-brand unsalted butter.
Ingredients are precious, so I wrote a half recipe that will make approximately 6 medium-sized croissants. When I develop recipes I like keep things scaled down so that I don’t waste food. Like I said before, I never really waste the scraps. I always store them in the freezer to use for bread crumbs, croutons, or bread pudding. The scraps taste great, so that really takes some of the sting out of the learning curve.
This recipe has been tested using my flour blend at least 20 times. I recently had great success testing this recipe with Namaste 1:1 flour blend. They came out soft and tasty and they browned nicely.
Your success at this recipe will be a combination of having the right ingredients, confidence, and precision. Now that I've said all of that, Happy Baking! I'd love to hear your experiences with this recipe, so please feel free to message me!
Here's the recipe:
Hawk’s Gluten-Free Butter Croissants
(Half-Recipe; makes 6 medium croissants)
Detrempe (dough)
1 ¾ cups 1:1 gluten-free flour (I recommend Namaste or Cup4Cup.)
2 g xanthan gum (1 g xanthan gum if using Namaste flour)
50 mL tangzhong (See my Tangzhong video for the recipe.)
7 g honey
17 g sugar
5 g sea salt
6 g instant yeast
11 g whole milk powder
22 g unsalted butter, softened
95 g whole milk, room temperature (137 g whole milk if using Namaste flour)
90 g water, room temperature (128 g water if using Namaste flour)
Beurre de tourrage (butter block)
128 g unsalted butter, slightly softened
Egg Wash
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
To make the detrempe:
Add the flour, xanthan gum, milk powder, sugar, salt, and instant yeast to a large mixing bowl.
Mix the dry ingredients at low speed until combined
Add softened butter and honey. Mix for 2 minutes on low speed.
Drizzle in water and milk while mixing on low speed
Add the tangzhong.
Mix for 5 minutes on medium speed. Dough will be smooth with a wet, sticky consistency. This is perfect.
7. Turn dough out onto a well floured half sized silicone mat. Use your floured hands or a rubber spatula to turn the dough and lightly coat it on all sides to make it easier to handle.
8. Using a non-stick rolling pin and a dough scraper, roll the soft dough into a 19 cm x 24 cm rectangle on the well-floured mat.
9. Place the dough with the mat into the refrigerator to rest for 30 minutes.
10. While the dough rectangle is refrigerating, put 128 g of slightly softened butter in a new mixing bowl. Beat it with the paddle attachment on medium high speed until there are no lumps. Do not overbeat.
11. Scrape the butter out of the mixing bowl on to a half-size silicon mat. Using an offset metal spatula, shape the butter into a 10 cm x 17 cm rectangle.
12. Refrigerate the butter block for 20 minutes. Do not refrigerate the butter longer than 25 minutes.
13. After the butter has been refrigerating for 20 minutes, remove the butter block and dough rectangle from the refrigerator.
14. Leaving the dough rectangle in the sheet pan, pick up the butter block by the silicone mat. The butter will not fall off of the mat. Position the butter block onto the center of the dough rectangle, leaving 7 cm of dough above and below the butter block. Slightly press the butter onto the dough rectangle to secure it, then gently peel the silicone mat from the butter block.
15. Using a dough scraper to help lift the dough, fold the dough over the butter block, like a letter.
16. Use the dough scraper to gently release the “butter-filled envelope” from the silicone mat. Be careful not to break open the envelope with the scraper.
17. Using additional flour as needed, gently rotate the seam side up envelop 90 degrees. Then use the nonstick rolling pin to roll the envelop into a 19 cm x 24 cm rectangle. Take care not to break open the dough as you roll.
18. Brush excess flour from the dough, and fold it once more into thirds, like a letter. This process is called lamination. You will do it for a total of 4 “turns”.
19. Return it to the refrigerator for 22 minutes.
20. Laminate it in thirds two more times. This makes 4 turns.
21. Return the dough block to the refrigerator for 8 and up to 12 hours. The longer the better. This will allow a slow fermentation and enhance both the texture and the flavor of the croissants.
22. 8 to 12 hours later, remove the laminated dough block from the refrigerator.
23. Flour a half-size silicone mat.
24. Gently roll the dough out until it is a rectangle that is the same size as the silicone mat.
26. Carefully invert the dough onto the new silicone mat, then very carefully peel the mat from the dough.
28. Gently brush away excess flour.
29. Gently roll the croissants from the wide end of the triangle to the tip. Carefully place each croissant on a fresh silicone mat lined baking sheet so that the croissant firmly rests on its tip. Do not press down on the croissant to slightly flatten.
30. Allow the croissants to proof at room temperature for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
31. Carefully egg wash the croissants with a pastry brush, taking care not to egg wash the cut ends of the croissants.
32. Bake the croissants in a 380°F oven for 25 to 28 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
33. Allow them to cool slightly, the place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
I've always been a geek when it comes to cooking equipment. I used to save of my allowance to buy pot, pans, utensils, cookbooks, and ingredients! Tiger loves to extol the virtues of having the right equipment for every job. So between Tiger and me, we have a lot of really cool kitchen equipment. Not cheap, frivolous stuff, but really high quality useful equipment that really make my job easier and even more fun. As you can see in this recipe, silicone mats (sometimes known as Silpats) will make a huge difference in your success here. I'd even venture to say not to try this project until you can get them. I'm not just trying to sell you silicone mats. I'm being completely honest and saying that if you choose not to use them, you will probably regret it. I'm speaking from experience. So I'll provide Amazon affiliate links below for the mats, and the other equipment I use.
This equipment will make your baking a lot easier. The pictures contain our affiliate links that will take you to Amazon:
Zulay Kitchen 2-Pack Silicone Baking Mat Sheet - Reusable Silicone Baking Sheet - Easy & Convenient Nonstick Baking Supplies - 16.5"x11.6"
OXO Good Grips Non-stick Rolling Pin
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