Flaky Gluten Free Croissants

I put off developing a recipe for gluten free croissants for way too long. After multiple requests, here it is! I used my new gluten free phyllo dough recipe. Though it calls for superfine rice flour, I will be experimenting in the future with non superfine gluten free flours. I baked them after my husband went to bed one night and left 5 out, loosely covered. with a note stating to have as many as he’d like. I made them with tapioca flour/starch, which I am allergic to. (I had a couple anyways. Oh my!) When I woke up the next morning they were all gone. That night be kept raving them about them. I have never heard him enjoy anything, gluten free, more than these. And he still eats gluten! Meanwhile, I will continue to improve upon this recipe each time I make them. I hope you enjoy them as much we have. Update: I used Julia Child’s croissant recipe and adjusted it to make it smaller. Next time, I will be using less butter, probably 1/4 less as I did in my Gluten Free Puffed Pastry Recipe, which turned out amazing!

Flaky Gluten Free Croissants

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Yield: Makes 8 - 16 croissants.

Flaky Gluten Free Croissants

A gluten free croissants recipe made the traditional way with homemade phyllo dough. A laborious intensive recipe that it worth every bite.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 or 1 recipe Gluten-Free Phyllo Dough, chilled
  • Plenty of cornstarch (or potato starch, if corn intolerant), for dusting
  • 3 large egg yolks (or cream for egg-free)
  • 1 Tablespoon water

Instructions:

    To Roll the Dough:
  1. Generously flour a smooth rolling surface, preferably a marble pastry board (keeps the dough cold and prevents it from softening) with cornstarch. Dust the dough with cornstarch and roll it into an 8 x 16-inch rectangle (If using the full recipe, roll to 8 x 32-inches and fold the top half of the dough down towards you.)
  2. To Cut the Dough:
  3. Line one or two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets, depending if you using half or the full recipe.
  4. On a well floured rolling surface roll out your dough to about 16 x 9-inches. If you desire, you can trim any uneven pieces off. Wrap any scraps in plastic wrap or store in a ziplock bag and refrigerate them. You will be using them later.
  5. Using a pizza cutter, smooth-sided pastry cutter, or a long knife, along with a tape measure or ruler, measure 3-inches from the top-left side, make a notch with the cutter, and using the ruler/tape measure to guide you, cut from the bottom-left corner to the top notch.
  6. Next, measure 4-inches from the bottom-left side and cut towards the top corner. Continue this way, alternating from top to bottom until all dough is cut. The ends will be smaller and not be as pretty as the others, but they still make delicious croissants. If making a full recipe, unfold piece and cut in half, making two croissants. You will end up with 7 - 14 triangles, depending upon if you are making a full or half recipe. Two of them will only be 3-inches wide.
  7. If needed, using a long spatula (I used a frosting spatula), loosen each triangle from the rolling surface.
  8. To Roll the Croissants:
  9. Moisten your hands with a clean wet paper towel or towel. Using the scrap pieces of dough, create a football shape about 1/3-inch of high and about 3/4-inch long. If you roll the scap piece it will add additional layers in the center of the croissant. Place it on the wide edge of the croissant dough, fold a small piece of the triangle over the football and press to make it adhere.
  10. Begin to loosely roll the triangle to the tip of the dough. If you roll them too tight, they will not have room to expand. Transfer the rolled dough to your baking sheet with the tip side facing down. Curve the croissant into the traditional croissant shapes or leave straight. Repeat with remaining triangles, spacing them about 2-inches apart.
  11. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for about 4 hours at room temperature, 75 - 80°F. They will not rise much, but will do so slowly.
  12. To Egg Wash the Croissants:
  13. While the croissants are rising, beat the egg yolks with the water, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. (If you desire darker croissants, replace the water with milk, or for even darker croissants, use whipping cream.)
  14. Once the croissants have risen for 4 hours, using a pastry brush, baste each croissant with the egg wash. Using a paper towel, absorb any egg wash the drips down to the baking sheet. This will prevent sticking. You won't be able to get it all, but take your time and get as close to the croissants as possible.
  15. Allow them to rise 1 more hour.
  16. Egg wash them one last time. If you desire slightly darker croissants than pictured above and you are using water in the egg wash, you may brush them a third time.
  17. To Bake the Croissants:
  18. During the last hour of rising, place one of your oven racks in the lower third shelf and the other in the upper third. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
  19. Bake them for 12 minutes, then rotate the bottom baking sheet to the top and vice versa. When rotating the baking sheets also turn them around. Bake for an additional 10 minutes and until golden brown.
  20. To Cool the Croissants:
  21. Using a spatula, immediately transfer the croissants to a wire rack to cool for approximately 45 - 90 minutes. This allows them to dry out, otherwise they may be chewy.

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14 Replies to “Flaky Gluten Free Croissants”

  1. I have been waiting for a croissant recipe for many years I’m excited to try It.
    thank you for your time and effort to make this gluten free world enjoyable again.

  2. Are there any subs that you think can be used besides cream. I am new to all of this as I found out my son can’t have soy, cows milk, peanuts, wheat or eggs. Trying to make the foods he used to eat has been quite a challenge. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

    1. Hi Michelle,

      This recipe lists a substitute already for the cream, “egg yolks”. However, the phyllo dough recipe calls for butter which is contains cow’s milk. Therefore this recipe is not a good choice for your son. It would not turn out anywhere near the same using dairy-free ingredients. Butter makes it flaky and tender. Sorry. Try this allergen-free version: http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/gluten-free-chocolate-croissants/ by gluten free and allergen-free cookbook author, Colette Martin. I hope this helps.

      Carla

      Carla

  3. Under the ingredients you said “3 large egg yolks (or cream for egg-free)”. How much cream should I use if going that route?

  4. Where do you find gluten free philo dough? The dough your working with sounds different than philo dough? Regular philo dough is so thin when you buy it that you can’t roll it any thiner. Is the one your useing similar to puff pastry dough? Do you know of a gluten free puff pastry dough?
    Can’t wait to try what you are using.
    Thanks for all the great gluten free recipes.
    Heidi

  5. Thanks so much for developing and posting a croissant recipe! One small quibble is that phyllo dough is a non-yeasted sheet dough, rolled thin enough (by a loving grandmother back in the day) to see through. This is what is stacked in layers to make baklava. It would be fantastic to have a gluten-free recipe for that, too. http://greekfood.about.com/od/greekbreadspitas/r/phyllo.htm Perhaps “gluten-free puff pastry dough”? Best wishes — Lily

    1. Hi Lily,

      Thanks for your comment. You would use this dough in place of several sheet of phyllo dough. This is how gluten containing croissants are made. You are not going to get anything much thinner that is gluten free and still have it turn out somewhat flaky.

      I have gluten free baklava on my list of recipes to develop, however, it will use the same dough as used for these gluten free croissants.

      Again, thanks for your feedback.

      Carla

  6. This is awesome. I can’t wait to try this in my newfound quest for baked goods that maintain gluten freedom :) Thanks for sharing!

    1. Hi Mary,

      I mention in the gluten free phyllo dough recipe how you can refrigerate the dough at any point, and that I have frozen the other half of my dough. I will update that recipe soon once I make croissants at that dough – possibly this weekend. As for freezing once baked, I find that you can freeze any gluten-free baked good. I suggest freezing them as soon as they are cooled, no later. Just make sure they are thoroughly cooled.

      Let us all know how it goes for you.

      Carla

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