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These Gluten Free Croissants are delicious, buttery and flaky with beautiful layers. Because YES, making homemade gluten free croissants is possible and it’s not as hard as you might think! Don’t be put off my the amount of steps – I’ve included step-by-step photos and a video tutorial for this gluten free croissant recipe, so you can’t go wrong!
This gluten free croissant recipe is the perfect weekend baking project. I say that because most of the time is spent chilling or proving the dough.
And while these gluten free croissants aren’t actually isn’t that complicated to make, they do require a certain level of commitment.
But at the end? You’ll be rewarded with flaky, buttery pastry and gorgeous layers – the best gluten free croissants around, and even better for being homemade!
The actual hands-on part of this recipe is minimal and not at all complicated. But making those gorgeous layers in your gluten free croissants takes time.
So while these gluten free croissants may be a bit more complex than all my other bakes, trust me, they are SO worth it.
And with my handy step-by-step photo guide and tutorial video, I’ll be virtually holding your hand the whole way through the croissant-making process.
This blog post is a little more detailed than my usual recipe post because the recipe is a little more complex.
So please do take the time to read it through before making these gluten free croissants as I have tried to guide you through it as easily as possible.
Are gluten free croissants possible!?
Yes, gluten free croissants ARE possible to make at home!
When making croissants there are two crucial parts: the dough (détrempe) and the butter packet (beurrage).
The two are made separately then folded together – and it’s this repeated rolling and folding which creates the beautiful, flaky layers.
If you have made my gluten free puff pastry before, you’ll be familiar with a lot of this process. There’s a lot of rolling and folding – and most importantly, chilling – but the results are buttery, flaky, delicious gluten free croissants.
Freshly baked they make the most perfect gluten free breakfast or brunch treat and best enjoyed with lashings of butter and jam.
Because of the absolutely essential amount of chilling involved in this gluten free croissant recipe I do recommend making them over a leisurely weekend.
You can speed this up a little (I have ALL the tips down below so please make sure you read the whole post before you start!) but the slow process is part of the enjoyment for me.
Ingredients
There’s a printable recipe card below, but for the shopping list you’ll need the following ingredients for your gluten free croissants:
For the gluten free croissant dough:
- Quick Dried Yeast: I usually use the Allinson’s easy bake yeast or the FREEE gluten free yeast. Both are gluten free.
- Milk: Full-fat milk is best for this recipe.
- Caster Sugar: Or baker’s sugar in the US.
- FREEE Gluten Free White Bread Flour: This gluten free flour blend is a mixture of rice flour, potato flour and tapioca flour. I’d recommend using a similar blend. You can however use a gluten free plain or all purpose flour too.
- Xanthan Gum: This is essential for this recipe. Do not omit this even if your flour blend already contains this, it stops the mixture becoming too sticky or crumbly.
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter
For the butter packet:
- Unsalted Butter: I’d recommend using the best quality butter you can find. In the US, try to find a European butter as it has less water content in it.
- Plain Gluten Free Flour
How to make gluten free croissants
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method, but here are some step-by-step photos to show you how to make this gluten free croissant recipe:
To make the gluten free croissant dough (détrempe)
Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat over a low heat (or in the microwave in 10-second intervals) until it reaches 40’C.
Remove the milk from the heat, stir in 20g sugar and then add the dried yeast. Stir, cover with a tea towel and then leave in a warm spot for 5-10 minutes.
The yeast is active when it forms a lovely froth on top, a bit like the head on a beer.
Add the remaining caster sugar, gluten free flour, xanthan gum and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon.
Cut the cold butter into chunks and add to the flour mix. Using your fingers, rub the flour mixture into the butter pieces, until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Do this until there are no big lumps of butter left.
Once the yeast mixture is frothy, pour it into the flour/butter mix. Stir together using a wooden spoon until it becomes thick, then use your hands to form it into a smooth, slightly sticky dough.
Wrap the croissant dough in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and place in the fridge while you make the beurrage (butter packet).
To make the butter packet (beurrage)
Lay a sheet of baking paper out on the worktop and dust with 1/2 tbsp gluten free flour (plain or bread flour is fine).
Cut the cold block of butter into two rectangles and place down on the sheet next to each other.
Sprinkle another 1/2 tbsp gluten free flour over the top of the butter then cover with another sheet of baking paper.
Use a rolling pin to press – and then roll – the butter and flour out into a rectangle shape, approximately 18cm x 10cm. Use a dough scraper to help keep the edges nice and neat!
Once rolled, remove the top sheet of baking paper and wrap the butter packet in the bottom sheet.
Place in the fridge (on a flat surface so it keeps its shape) until both the dough and the butter are the same temperature – around 30-60 mins.
To test them, see if you can bend the butter a little – if it’s firm but still flexible, it’s good to go for the first fold!
To laminate your gluten free croissants:
Once you have created the dough and butter packet, the first stage is folding them together to create the first lot of layers.
To laminate your gluten free croissant dough:
- First, roll the chilled croissant dough out until it is around 6mm thick and in a long rectangular shape. The thickness is more important than the size of the rectangle, but mine was approximately 30cm x 20cm.
- Carefully unwrap the butter packet and place is towards one of the short ends of the rectangle of dough. It should have a small border around the edges and then a length of dough to one side of it.
- Roll the dough with no butter on towards the centre and over the dough. Then carefully roll the uncovered piece of dough and butter back over the top of the first fold.
- You should then have a nice rectangle of layers – dough, butter, dough, butter, dough. The pictures below demonstrate these folds, in case the above is hard to visualise!
- Now you have your nicely folded parcel of dough, it’s time to chill it again. First, mark the short end further away from your with a tiny X using a knife. This is because we need to turn the dough a quarter turn each time before rolling again. When you remove it from the fridge, the X will show you which way round the dough was – clever! Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Chill… and repeat!
Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge, unwrap it and place it back down on lightly floured clingfilm in exactly the same position it was before (using the X to guide you). Turn the dough 90 degrees clockwise, then cover with a piece of clingfilm.
Carefully roll the dough out in ONE DIRECTION so it forms a long rectangle, again around 6mm thick. Try to keep the edges as straight as possible.
Once you have a rectangle, repeat the exact same folding process as before. Mark the end further from you with an X and wrap and place back in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
Repeat this process a further two times, and then wrap the dough and place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes for a final chill.
Shaping the gluten free croissants
Once your dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and place it down onto a sheet of clingfilm. Place another sheet of clingfilm out on top then shape them as follows:
- Carefully roll the rectangle out, as before, into a rectangle around 6mm thick.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, trim the edges so that you have a rectangle of dough.
- Use a ruler to measure the longest side and then cut the dough into three, long rectangular pieces.
- Next place your ruler diagonally across each rectangle, from corner-to-corner, and cut each piece in half into two triangle shapes. Chill again if needed.
- Carefully lift each triangle up from the clingfilm and lay it back down onto a fresh, lightly floured surface. Roll the dough loosely from the larger end of the triangle in a swirl.
- Place the croissants onto a lined baking tray with plenty of space between them, with the smallest end of the roll on top. Repeat until you have rolled all of the dough.
Proving the croissants:
Once you have shaped all of the croissants it’s time to prove them. Loosely cover them with a lightly oiled piece of clingfilm and place in a warm spot to prove.
You want them to be room temperature – not too hot. If it looks like the butter is starting to leak out or melt, return them to the fridge to chill for a little while.
These croissants will need to prove for around 60-90 minutes. They will puff up a little and become marshmallow-y to the touch, and you may start to see some layers on the cut edges. Don’t expect them to grow a lot like bread though, it’s a small difference!
Baking your gluten free croissants
Once the croissants have proved, place the tray back in the fridge for an hour. DO NOT SKIP THIS STAGE.
It is super important to ensure they are nice and cold when they go in the oven! You can also leave them overnight at this point and then bake them fresh in the morning.
When the croissants have had at least an hour in the fridge, heat the oven to 200’C / Fan 180’C / Gas Mark 4.
Remove croissant tray from the fridge and gently brush the tops of each croissant with a beaten egg (egg wash). Try not to get too much on the edges or you’ll seal the layers.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until they puff up and become flaky and golden. Cool on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before tucking in – your work is complete!
Storing and Freezing
Once you’ve baked these gluten free croissants, they’ll keep for 2-3 days in airtight container. Just ensure you refresh in the oven before eating.
You can also freeze these gluten free croissants once baked. I’d recommend defrosting them before warming them through in the oven.
The golden rule for perfect gluten free croissants
I realise this is a lot of information to take in, but there is one key rule to remember when making gluten free croissants: Keep Them Cold.
Honestly, I cannot emphasise enough how vitally important it is to adequately chill the croissant dough between each folding stage.
If you skip the chilling stages, two things will happen.
Number one, you’re gonna end up with one big, sticky mess that just attaches itself to your hands, the clingfilm, EVERYTHING.
So you can pretty much kiss goodbye to all the layers you’ve been creating if that happens.
Second, if you skip the final chilling stage before cooking, all of the butter will just melt straight out of your croissants as soon as they go in the oven.
The butter layers is what makes it puff up – so if the butter jumps ship straight away, again, all the effort was for nothing.
If you’re really in a hurry you can use the freezer to speed up the chilling process. However, just be careful you don’t chill it too much and have to wait for it to defrost!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this gluten free croissants recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
I am based in the UK and there are several yeast products here which are gluten free and readily available. I always use either the Allinson’s Easy Bake Yeast or the Dove’s Farm Quick Yeast.
You can also use the Allinson’s Time Saver Yeast, though be aware that you may not need to prove the dough for as long if you use this.
The Dove’s Farm one is certified gluten free and found in the free from aisle. The Allinson’s yeasts are free from gluten and can be found with the ‘regular’ baking goods.
If you’re finding the croissant dough too sticky to handle, put it back in the fridge! This recipe is a fine balance when it comes to making it on a warm day. The dough needs to be as cool as possible so don’t add extra flour, just chill it.
I haven’t yet found a dairy free alternative to butter I’m happy with in this croissant recipe. It’s important to use a good quality butter that is firm – and most dairy free margarines are very soft. They simply won’t hold the layers properly.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Gluten Free Croissants
Equipment
Ingredients
For the dough (détrempe):
- 14 g dried quick yeast
- 120 ml milk
- 50 g caster sugar
- 250 g gluten free white bread flour, see notes
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- Pinch salt
- 50 g unsalted butter, cold
For the butter packet (beurrage):
- 125 g unsalted butter, cold
- 1-2 tbsp plain gluten free flour
Extras:
- 1 egg, for brushing
- Extra gluten free flour, for dusting
Instructions
First make the dough:
- Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat over a low heat (or in the microwave in 10-second intervals) until it reaches 40'C. If you don't have a food thermometer, you want it to be around the same temperature as your skin.
- Remove the milk from the heat, stir in 20g sugar and then add the dried yeast. Stir, cover with a tea towel and then leave in a warm spot for 5-10 minutes. It should form a lovely froth on top when it's ready.
- Add the remaining caster sugar, gluten free flour, xanthan gum and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir well with a wooden spoon.
- Cut the cold butter into chunks and add to the flour mix. Using your fingers, rub the flour mixture into the butter pieces, until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Do this until there are no big lumps of butter left.
- Once the yeast mixture is frothy, pour it into the flour/butter mix. Stir together using a wooden spoon until it becomes thick, then use your hands to form it into a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Wrap in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and place in the fridge while you make the beurrage (butter packet).
Next make the beurrage:
- Lay a sheet of baking paper out on the worktop and dust with 1/2 tbsp gluten free flour (plain or bread flour is fine). Cut the cold block of butter into two rectangles and place down on the sheet next to each other.
- Sprinkle another 1/2 tbsp gluten free flour over the top of the butter then cover with another sheet of baking paper. Use a rolling pin to press – and then roll – the butter and flour out into a rectangle shape, approximately 18cm x 10cm. Use a dough scraper to help keep the edges nice and neat!
- Once rolled, remove the top sheet of baking paper and wrap the butter packet in the bottom sheet. Place in the fridge (on a flat surface so it keeps its shape) until both the dough and the butter are the same temperature – around 30-60 mins.
Create the first fold:
- Now for the fun part! When the dough and butter are nicely chilled, remove the dough from the fridge. Place a large piece of clingfilm on the worktop and lightly dust with flour.
- Place the ball of dough onto the floured clingfilm then roll into a rectangle, approximately 30cm x 20cm in size and most importantly, around 6mm thick. Use your dough scraper to try to keep the edges as straight as possible.
- Remove the cold butter packet from the fridge and carefully unwrap it. Place is towards one of the short ends of the rectangle of dough. It should have a small border around the edges and then a length of dough to one side of it.
- Roll the dough with no butter on it towards the centre and over the dough.
- Then carefully roll the uncovered piece of dough and butter back over the top of the first fold.
- Now you have your nicely folded parcel of dough, it's time to chill it again. First, mark the short end further away from your with a tiny X using a knife. This is because we need to turn the dough a quarter turn each time before rolling again. When you remove it from the fridge, the X will show you which way round the dough was – clever! Wrap the dough in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Roll, fold, chill, repeat!
- Once the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge, unwrap it and place it back down on lightly floured clingfilm in exactly the same position it was before (using the X to guide you). Turn the dough 90 degrees clockwise, then cover with a piece of clingfilm.
- Carefully roll the dough out in ONE DIRECTION so it forms a long rectangle, again around 6mm thick. Try to keep the edges as straight as possible. You may find it helps to press the dough out a little with the rolling pin, before rolling.
- Once you have a rectangle, repeat the exact same folding process as before. Mark the end further from you with an X and wrap and place back in the fridge for another 30 minutes. When rolling, try to brush off any excess flour with a pastry brush so you don't end up adding a lot of extra flour to the mix.
- Repeat this process a further two times, and then wrap the dough and place in the fridge for 30-60 minutes for a final chill. If at any point you start to notice the dough splitting and exposing the butter, you can gently pat a tiny dusting of flour over the top then brush off any excess.
Shape the croissants:
- Once your dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge and place it down onto a sheet of clingfilm. Place another sheet of clingfilm out on top. Carefully roll the rectangle out, as before, into a rectangle around 6mm thick.
- Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, trim the edges so that you have a rectangle of dough.
- Use a ruler to measure the longest side and then cut the dough into three rectangular pieces.
- Next place your ruler diagonally across each rectangle, from corner-to-corner, and cut each piece in half into two triangle shapes.At this stage, if the dough has become too warm to handle, you can lift the clingfilm (with dough on top) onto a tray or chopping board and then pop it back in the fridge for 30 mins. Otherwise, continue!
- Carefully lift each triangle up from the clingfilm and lay it back down onto a fresh, lightly floured surface. Roll the dough loosely from the larger end of the triangle in a swirl.
- Place the croissants onto a lined baking tray with plenty of space between them, with the smallest end of the roll on top. Repeat until you have rolled all of the dough.
Proving the croissants:
- Once you have shaped all of the croissants, loosely cover them with a lightly oiled piece of clingfilm and place in a warm spot to prove. You want them to be room temperature – not too hot. If it looks like the butter is starting to leak out or melt, return them to the fridge to chill for a little while.
- These croissants will need to prove for around 60-90 minutes. They will puff up a little and become marshmallow-y to the touch, and you may start to see some layers on the cut edges. Don't expect them to grow a lot like bread though, it's a small difference!
Chill then bake!
- Once the croissants have proved, place the tray back in the fridge for an hour. DO NOT SKIP THIS STAGE. It is super important to ensure they are nice and cold when they go in the oven! You can also leave them overnight at this point and then bake them fresh in the morning.
- When the croissants have had at least an hour in the fridge, heat the oven to 200'C / Fan 180'C / Gas Mark 4.
- Once the oven had reached temperature, remove croissant tray from the fridge. Gently brush the tops of each croissant with a beaten egg (egg wash).
- Place the tray into the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they puff up and become flaky and golden. Keep an eye on them – if they turn brown too quickly turn the oven down a little, or place a little foil loosely on top.
- Once baked, remove from the oven. Cool on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before tucking in – your work is complete!
Video
Notes
- Weighing Scales vs Cups: You can toggle this recipe card to convert the ingredients into cups. However, I always recommend using weighing scales – these are cheap to buy and much more accurate. And in gluten free baking, a tiny variation can make a huge difference!
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through how this gluten free croissants recipe should look at each stage.
- Storing: Check out the post above this recipe card for more information on storing and freezing this gluten free croissants recipe.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and tell all your gluten free friends about these Gluten Free Croissants!
Nutrition
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Hi! Love this recipe but I cannot
Find the temperature for the oven, and I think it’s very important. Please let me know the oven temperature for the pastries and I will try it. Thank you for this, It seems easy.
The recipe says:
When the croissants have had at least an hour in the fridge, heat the oven to 200’C / Fan 180’C / Gas Mark 4.
and afterwards it says to bake them for 15 to 20 minutes.
Made these last night for a birthday treat today and celebrating one year of being gluten free. They looked and smelled like croissants but we found them a bit sweet for our tastes. Can the extra sugar in the dough be omitted? Thanks for the very comprehensive recipe, will definitely try then again.
I make these croissants! Your recipe is fantastic! Tried it twice now and perfect each time. Just a question…can you freeze them once proofed before baking? And how do you recommend thawing etc?
I made these at the weekend. They were fabulous. My non gf child loved them. You could put chocolate into the centres for an added treat. I was really impressed that they were light and flaky. It takes time (as good things do) but well worth the effort.
I have been wanting to learn how to make croissants for while and succeeded first time with this recipe! I ended up needing closer to 180ml milk – I know GF flours can be quite variable regarding the amount of liquid they hold and it did take two goes to get my dough the right consistency. Your video was very helpful. Thank you!
These were amazing! It has been 7 years since I have eaten a croissant due to being diagnosed with Celiac disease. I followed your recipe exactly and they came out perfectly except mine were tiny (but perfect) Not sure what I did wrong with the measurements but let me tell you it did not matter because they were little pieces of pastry, buttery, flaky perfections!! Thank you for sharing. I shared my experience and photos of them on my blog: https://bonniesgfbakery.com/2021/10/29/my-first-attempt-at-gluten-free-croissants/
Hi Sarah, great recipe! I tried to be a bit clever and use almond flour instead to get an almond croissant flavour… It did not work as I had planned but I wondered if there were flour alternatives that can be used to get a more nutty flavour or crisp texture? And if so, are the measurements the same as gluten-free flour? I found some gluten-free flour alternatives here but wondered what you would recommend. Thanks in advance. https://aroundmelbourne.com.au/flour-alternatives/
Been trying to find somewhere on the Gold Coast that has GF Croissants but haven’t been successful – doesn’t matter anymore cause now I can make them myself! yum
Hello, after the proving and final chill. Can you freeze these prior to cooking and then unfreeze and cook when you want them? Thanks
Are we able to use diary free substitute?
At the moment I haven’t tested this with a dairy free alternative but given the complex nature of the recipe I wouldn’t say you could just swap it for any vegan alternative, sorry
Hello! Since I’m lactose intolerant, I used the Stork Biscuit, Scones and Pastries Vegan Butter. I followed the exact same steps as Sarah’s recipe and they came out perfectly! They were flaky and crispy at the outside and you could see all the layers in the inside. The only negative point is that while I was baking them, a bit of the butter came out of the croissant, but it didn’t affect the final texture. Hope this helps!
Thank you for that bit of information. My daughter has been diagnosed with Celiac and a dairy allergy in the past 2 years. Since I grew up baking in a family restaurant I have been trying to find a way make most of her favorite foods.
Quite simply the best things that I have put into my mouth in over 10 years. Thank you
Yay!!!!!
My gluten free flour contains xantham gum. Should I add the 2tsp listed in the recipe?
So excited to try this recipe! Thank you