Croissant Flattie Recipe

Make the dough

Warm the milk so it's lukewarm (about 95°F / 35°C). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine milk, water, sugar and yeast. Let sit 3–5 minutes until slightly foamy. Add flour, salt and softened butter. Mix on low until ingredients come together, then increase to medium-low and knead 4–5 minutes until a smooth, slightly tacky dough forms. The dough should hold shape but still be soft. If too sticky, add up to 1 tablespoon flour; if too dry, add up to 1 tablespoon water.

First rest

Shape the dough into a disk, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30–45 minutes. Chilling relaxes gluten and firms the fat for lamination.

Prepare butter block

While the dough chills, trim the cold butter block into a 6 x 6-inch square: place the chilled butter between two sheets of parchment and bash/roll with a rolling pin until pliable but still cold and approximately an even 6 x 6" square about 1/2" thick. Keep cold in fridge until needed.

Roll and enclose butter

On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 10 x 10-inch square. Place the butter block centered on the dough so the butter is a diamond shape relative to the dough square (corners pointing to sides). Fold the dough corners over the butter to fully enclose it, pinching seams to seal. Chill seam-side down for 15–20 minutes until firm.

Turns and lamination

Lightly flour your work surface and roll the dough into a rectangle about 8 x 20 inches (longer on one axis). Perform a letter fold (fold one third over middle, then fold the remaining third over like a business letter). Rotate the dough 90°, chill on a tray for 20 minutes. Repeat this roll-fold-chill process two more times for a total of 3 turns. After the final fold, chill at least 30 minutes (can refrigerate up to 2 hours) to relax the dough and firm the butter.

Final roll for flat shape

Remove dough from fridge and place on floured surface. Roll into an approximately 10 x 14-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick. The objective is to create a flat, layered sheet suitable for a 'flattie' rather than tight crescent shaping.

Cut and shape

Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut the sheet into four equal rectangles (roughly 5 x 7 inches). Option A (plain flattie): transfer rectangles to a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down, leaving space between. Option B (pain au chocolat style): place a chocolate baton near one short edge of each rectangle, roll once to seal, then place seam side down. For a classic flattie appearance, you can slightly flatten each piece with the palm of your hand to emphasize layers.

Proof

Cover the shaped flatties loosely with lightly oiled plastic or a cotton cloth and proof at room temperature (ideally 75°F/24°C) for 60–90 minutes, until puffy and approximately 1.5x in size. Alternatively, proof in a slightly warm oven (light on) for 45–60 minutes. Do not overproof — the layers should remain distinct.

Egg wash and optional glaze

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) with a rack in the middle. Whisk the egg with 1 tsp cold water to make an egg wash. Gently brush the tops of the flatties with egg wash, taking care not to deflate them. If using jam glaze, warm the jam with 1 tablespoon water, strain and brush on hot pastries immediately after baking.

Bake

Bake the flatties on the parchment-lined sheet for 15–20 minutes, rotating once halfway through, until deep golden brown and crisp on top (internal temperature around 200°F / 93°C if measured). If using chocolate, check that chocolate is melted and pastry is cooked through.

Finish

If using the apricot jam glaze, brush it on right away to give a shiny finish. Sprinkle a tiny pinch of coarse sea salt over chocolate-filled flatties if desired. Cool on a wire rack for 10–15 minutes before serving (croissant layers continue to set as they cool).