Laminated dough: the secret to flaky croissants

Great croissants start with lamination: folding cold butter into dough again and again until you have dozens of paper-thin layers. In the oven, the water in each layer of butter turns to steam and pushes the dough apart. That’s where the flaky, honeycomb crumb comes from.

You don’t need special equipment, just patience and a cool kitchen. Here’s the method we use every morning at the bakery, from the first fold to the final bake.