Homemade Pistachio Croissants Recipe
Here’s how to make pistachio croissants from scratch, with step-by-step instructions. Made with REAL pistachios, these homemade pistachio croissants are flaky, perfectly buttery, and bursting with rich pistachio flavor.
Ingredients
Croissant Dough (Détrempe) Ingredients
- 600 g (4 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour
- 65 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
- 12 g (2 teaspoons) salt
- 60 g (¼ cup) active sourdough starter 100% hydration*
- 205 g (1 cup) water, room temperature
- 112 g (½ cup) whole milk, room temperature
- 56 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, chilled
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon almond extract you can use pistachio extract instead if you have that!
Optional Ingredients:
- 1.5 g (½ teaspoon) active dry yeast (0.2%)
- Olive green food coloring to make the top layer dark green and to color the main dough if desired. I use the all natural plant based food colorings from this brand.
- 1 - 2 tablespoons (10-20g) finely chopped pistachios for topping on the croissants.
Butter Block:
- 340 g 1 ½ cup unsalted butter 84-86% butterfat (I used Kerrygold)
Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 Tbsp heavy cream
Pistachio Pastry Cream,
- 500 g 2 cups whole milk
- 67 g ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 40 g 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoons salt
- 30 - 45 g 2 -3 tablespoons pistachio paste/pistachio butter.
Instructions
Day 1: Prepare the Croissant Dough (Détrempe)
- Make the dough (détrempe): In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar, salt, milk, sourdough starter, and optional active dry yeast. (Note: adding a tiny percentage of active dry yeast can help achieve a proper fermentation process without taking away any of the benefits of sourdough! If you do not have a sourdough starter but would still like to make these croissants with yeast, see the notes below). Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed for 1 minute. Add the butter, then continue mixing—scraping down the sides as needed—until the dough is smooth, about 3–4 minutes.600 g (4 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour, 65 g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar, 12 g (2 teaspoons) salt, 60 g (¼ cup) active sourdough starter 100% hydration*, 205 g (1 cup) water, room temperature , 112 g (½ cup) whole milk, room temperature , 56 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, chilled , ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon almond extract, 1.5 g (½ teaspoon) active dry yeast (0.2%)
- (Optional) Make the dark green dough: Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and cut off roughly 20% of it (about 225g). Place that smaller 225g portion back into the mixing bowl and add your preferred olive green food coloring to achieve an olive green color. Mix until the color is evenly incorporated.Olive green food coloring to make the top layer dark green and to color the main dough
- First rise: Place both doughs onto a lightly floured surface and shape each into a ball. Place each dough into a separate bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until they have increased in volume by roughly 1.5x (approximately 3 - 6 hours). Once your doughs are done rising, transfer both to the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight (~12 hours). This allows the dough time to relax before the lamination steps begin.
- Make the butter block: Begin by laying a large sheet of parchment paper flat on your work surface. Arrange the sticks of butter side by side in the center, then fold the parchment over the butter to fully enclose it. Flip the packet so the seams are facing down. Using a rolling pin, gently pound the butter into a ½-inch thick slab. Remove the butter from the parchment paper and re-wrap the butter, measuring the parchment paper so that it forms an 8’’ square. The ½’’ butter layer should be smaller than the 8’’ parchment paper square. Flip it over again, then continue pressing or rolling the butter until it fills the parchment and forms a neat 8-inch x 8-inch square. Chill the finished butter block in the fridge so that it firms up. Tip: Check out this helpful video from Claire Saffitz that walks you through making a butter block from scratch340 g 1 ½ cup unsalted butter 84-86% butterfat (I used Kerrygold)
Day 2: Laminating the Dough
- Prepare the dough for laminating: The following day, take the main dough out of the fridge and set it on a floured surface. Gently press it down with your hand to deflate, then shape it into a square. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then use a rolling pin to roll it into a flat 8’’ x 8’’ square. Transfer the wrapped dough to the freezer and chill for 20 minutes. Video: Preparing the Dough.
- Roll the dough: Take the butter block out of the refrigerator and the dough out of the freezer. Unwrap the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out—adding more flour as needed—until it’s 16 inches long, keeping the width at 8 inches.
- Lock in the butter: Place the butter block directly in the center of the rolled-out dough and carefully peel off the parchment paper. The butter should be aligned with the edges of the dough, leaving equal overhang at the top and bottom. Fold those overhanging sections over the butter so the ends meet in the middle—gently stretch the dough if needed to close the gap. Press the seam to seal, then pinch the open sides to fully enclose the butter in the dough. Video: Locking in the butter.
- First turn: Rotate the dough so the seam is facing vertically. Roll it out lengthwise into a 24-inch long sheet, about ¼ to ½ inch thick. Use a knife or dough cutter to trim the short ends, creating a neat rectangle with clean, straight edges on all four sides. Take the short edge farthest from you and fold it toward the center, aligning it carefully. Press down lightly so the dough adheres. Repeat with the opposite edge, leaving a small ⅛-inch gap between the two folded sides. Then, fold the entire dough in half along that gap, bringing the top section down over the bottom. You should now have a rectangular packet—often called a “book”—with four distinct layers. This method is known as the “first turn” or “book fold,” and it multiplies the butter layers by four. Video: First Turn - Book Fold.
- Rest the dough: Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Add the olive green layer: Remove the olive green dough from the fridge and place it on a floured work surface. Roll the dough out so that it’s the same size square as your main dough (about 8’’x8’’). Now, remove the main dough from the fridge and place on your floured work surface. Using a spray bottle or damp pastry brush, gently dampen the top of the main dough with a little bit of water. Add the dark dough on top and gently beat with your rolling pin to make sure it sticks. Video: Adding a colored dough layer for bicolor croissants.
- Preshape the dough: Flip the dough so the olive green layer is facing down against the work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a 14’’ x 17’’ rectangle. Wrap the dough and place it in the freezer for 20 minutes, then transfer it to the refrigerator to chill overnight for 8–12 hours.
Day 3: Shaping and Baking
- Slice the dough: Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. If necessary, re-roll the dough so that it’s a 14’’ x 17’’ rectangle. Carefully dust off any extra flour with a pastry brush. Use a knife or wheel cutter to trim any uneven edges so that you have a nice clean rectangle that’s exactly 14’’x16’’ now. Now slice the dough into four 4’’ x 14’’ rectangles. Starting with one rectangle, use a knife/wheel cutter and a ruler to slice a straight line from one corner of the rectangle to it’s opposite corner, creating two long equal triangles. Repeat the process with the remaining rectangles to create 8 triangles. Video: Shaping Croissants.
- Add pistachios: Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on the exposed layer of your triangles.1 - 2 tablespoons (10-20g) finely chopped pistachios for topping on the croissants.
- Roll the croissants: Using a knife or pastry wheel, trim the base of each triangle to create a clean, straight edge—just enough to tidy it up without removing too much. Working with one triangle at a time, gently stretch the two bottom corners outward to widen the base to about 3 inches. Then, lightly run your fingers along the length of the triangle, pulling gently to elongate it. To roll, place the triangle on the table with the green side facing down and the plain side facing up. Starting at the base, roll the dough toward the tip to form a crescent shape. Repeat with all 8 triangles. Once shaped, place the croissants on a parchment-lined baking tray and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
- Proof the croissants: There are two options for this step.Option 1 – Room temperature proof: Proof at room temperature for 4-6 hours until the croissants are jiggly and have roughly doubled in size.Option 2 – Faster proof with steam: Using a proofing box, countertop oven with a proof setting, or placing a pan filled with warm water in an oven to create steam, proof your croissants at 70F-75F for 2-3 hours until jiggly and doubled in size.
- (Optional) Make the pastry cream: If you’d like to pipe your croissants with a delicious pistachio pastry cream, now is a great time to prepare it because the pastry cream needs to sit for about 3 hours before it’s ready to pipe. Use the Pistachio pastry cream recipe outlined below.
- Preheat oven and chill croissants: Once your croissants are done proofing, preheat your oven to 375F. Transfer the croissants to the fridge to chill for 15-20 minutes.
- Egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and heavy cream. Remove your croissants from the fridge. Using a pastry brush, apply the egg wash to tops of the croissants on the olive green top layer of dough, not the exposed sides. Video: Egg Wash.1 egg yolk, 1 Tbsp heavy cream
- Bake the croissants: Bake the croissants for 15 minutes at 375F. Rotate the baking sheet and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until deep golden brown. Cool completely on baking sheets.
- (Optional) Fill croissants: Fill a piping bag with the pistachio pastry cream. Once the croissants have cooled completely, use a skewer to poke a hole in the bottom side of each croissant by inserting the skewer three-quarters of the way inside the croissant and rotating a few times to widen the opening. Insert the piping tip into the croissant and fill with pistachio pastry cream until the cream begins to poke out of the hole.
- Enjoy your delicious, homemade pistachio croissants!
Pistachio Pastry Cream
- Heat the milk: Pour 375g (1.5 cups) of the milk into a saucepan, and heat over medium heat to bring it to a simmer. Don’t bring to a full boil.
- Whisk the remaining ingredients: In a separate bowl, add the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, remaining milk, and salt and whisk it all together to form a mixture.67 g ⅓ cups granulated sugar, 2 large egg yolks, 40 g 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
- Pour in the milk: Once the milk reaches a simmer, remove it from the heat. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the steaming hot milk into the bowl with the mixture. This process is known as tempering eggs, and it prevents the eggs from curdling when combined with a hot liquid. Once the eggs have tempered, pour the mixture back into the saucepan.
- Heat the mixture: Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until the mixture starts to thicken and bubbles form. Lower the heat and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Cover: Allow the pastry cream to cool for a few minutes, then place plastic wrap directly on top to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Add the pistachio butter: Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and pour in the pistachio butter. Fold it into to create a marbled pistachio pastry cream or use an electric hand mixer to fully incorprate the pistachio butter.
Notes
- If you don't have sourdough starter or would prefer to make traditional croissants without sourdough starter, you'll need to make a few minor adjustments to the main dough recipe, but overall, the process is virtually the same.
- Replace the sourdough starter with 7g of Active Dry Yeast.
- Increase the water quantity to 212g (1 cup and 2 teaspoons).
- Increase the milk quantity to 120g (½ cup and 2 teaspoons).
- Reduce the First Rise time to roughly 1 hour.
- All other steps are the same!