Homemade Croissant Bread Recipe | The Recipe Critic

Croissant Bread is beautiful and fluffy with crispy, flaky layers on the outside. It’s also one of the most delicious breads you’ll ever taste – it will be love at first bite!  Add it to your next brunch spread and use it to make French toast, sandwiches, and breakfast casseroles!

Homemade bread is one of my favorite things to bake! I used to be intimated to make yeast bread but it’s actually not bad at all! Check out my beginner’s guide to baking bread, if you’re just getting started. And this simple no-knead bread or my grandma’s perfect homemade bread are great recipes for any beginner!

What is Croissant Bread?

Get ready to be blown away by this irresistibly delicious croissant bread! It’s made with a simple croissant dough baked in a loaf pan. The taste and texture are just like something you would find in a French bakery. One bite and you will be obsessed with the layers of butter and the hint of sweetness. The inside is melt-in-your-mouth soft and fluffy, with a crispy, flaky crust.

As an added plus, it’s super versatile! It’s wonderful on its own or toasted and smeared with cinnamon butter or jam, but it also cooks up fabulously as a grilled cheese, in bread pudding, or used to make a BLT sandwich! No matter how you enjoy it, you’re sure to love it so much!

Ingredients You’ll Need

This croissant bread uses adding honey for sweetness and plenty of butter for laminating the dough. Laminating dough (or folding in butter) will help create the many layers of airy flakiness. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all of the exact measurements.

• Milk: For extra richness, this recipe uses milk instead of water to activate the yeast.
• Yeast: 1 packet of active dry yeast is enough for one loaf of this bread.
• Honey: Adds just enough sweetness.
• Butter: For buttery flavor.
• Flour: All-purpose flour will work the best for maximum tenderness.
• Salt: To bring out all of the flavors.
• Butter: Cold butter is folded into the dough during the lamination process. When it bakes, the butter melts, resulting in warm, delicious buttery layers.
• Egg and Milk: We mix one large egg and a small amount of milk together to create an egg wash, which is brushed over the loaf to give it a golden brown sheen.

How to Make Croissant Bread

There are quite a few steps for making homemade croissant bread, but they’re all really easy and so worth it. Scroll through to learn how to make the best homemade bread!

Make, Rise, and Chill the Dough

1. Proof the Yeast: Add the milk, instant yeast, and honey to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together and cover for 5 minutes. The mixture should foam up.
2. Mix in Butter, Flour, and Salt: Add the softened butter, 2 cups of flour, and salt. Using the dough hook attachment, mix the ingredients at low speed. Add in additional flour if needed. The dough should pull away from the bowl of the mixer but not be too dry. Knead the dough for 5 minutes in the mixer on medium speed or on a lightly floured surface using your hands.
3. Rise the Dough: Add the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it. Let the dough rest at room temperature for about an hour. The dough should double in size.
4. Chill the Dough: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Once the dough has risen, dump it out onto the lined baking sheet and pound it flat with your hand or a rolling pin into a 9×14-inch rectangle. Cover the dough and place it in the fridge for 20 minutes. Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge.

Laminating the Dough

5. Arrange the Pads of Butter: Slice the slightly softened butter into ⅛ inch-thick slices, then lay half of the slices in the center ⅓ of the slab of dough,
6. Fold One Side and Layer on the Remaining Butter: Fold one side of the center of the slab on top of the butter. Lay the other half of the butter slices on top of the dough and fold over the other side.
7. Roll and Fold: Roll this slab out into another 9×14-inch rectangle. Fold it again one side over the center and the remaining side on top of that, like a letter fold.
8. Roll Out the Dough and Chill: Roll it into another 9×14-inch slab, place it back on the pan, cover it, and refrigerate for another 20 minutes.

Shape and Raise the Croissant Bread Dough

9. Roll Into a Log Shape: Working from the short side, roll the dough into a log about 9 inches in length.
10. Cover and Raise the Loaf: Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and place the loaf into the pan. Cover the loaf and let it rest at room temperature to rise. While the loaf is rising, preheat an oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

11. Score and Bake: Once the loaf raises, score it horizontally a few times with a knife. Make the egg wash and brush it on the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 10 minutes, uncovered. Lightly place foil over the top to keep it from getting too dark. Continue baking for 20 minutes until the crust is golden brown. The inside temperature should be 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Take the loaf out of the oven and let it rest in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan to finish cooling.