Easy Croffles / Croissant Waffles (from scratch)

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 40

Proof the dough twice:: 2

Total Time: 3 10

Servings: pieces

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Marvellina

What not to love when you have flaky layers like croissants and the crispness of waffles all in one bite! You can make croffles from scratch using an easier method.

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US Customary - Metric

Ingredients

300 g all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
30 g sugar Plus more for dipping
1 tsp instant yeast
160 g whole milk
20 g unsalted butter

For layering:

150 g unsalted butter

For baking

sugar

Instructions

Prepare the dough:

I suggest that the room temperature you are at be around 70 F (21 C) or a bit lower, when you prepare croissant dough. Turn on the A/C if needed. This is important so the butter doesn't melt. When it melts, you won't get nice flaky layers
Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. You can also knead by hand of course. Stir the dry ingredients to combine. Add the milk and the softened butter
Knead the dough on the lowest speed to combine and then increase the speed to 2 and continue to knead until the dough comes together and smooth. You don't need to reach a windowpane stage here. If you knead by hands, knead for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is smooth

Rest the dough:

Put the dough in a bowl, lightly sprayed with non-stick spray or brush with some oil to prevent sticking. Rest the dough at room temperature for 30 minutes. It's a short proofing and the dough will not double in size. It's easier to layer the dough with butter when the dough is not full of air

Applying butter:

After 30 minutes, dust your work surface with some flour, dust off any excess flour. Roll the dough out into about 8 x 24 inches rectangle using a rolling pin and try to deflate any air bubbles at the same time while you are rolling if any. If the dough tears, you can dust with a bit of flour to prevent stickiness
I suggest wearing a glove so our hands do not touch the butter directly. The butter for the filling should be soft but not melting. Use your hand to apply the softened butter all over the surface of the dough evenly. Use a dough scraper to help you spread it if needed.
Make sure it's an even layer all over the surface. You want to apply quickly so the butter won't melt
Roll the dough up tightly from the short side, like a Swiss roll.
Wrap with a plastic wrap so the dough doesn't dry out and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes

Shaping:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust your work surface with some flour. Take the chilled dough out, the long side near you and use a rolling pin to gently flatten the dough a little bit. You don't want to break the dough and the butter leaks out later. If the dough tears, you can sprinkle with a bit of flour to patch it up so it won't be sticky
Then start rolling out into a rectangle again, about 8 x 24 inches (just roughly), and about 4 mm in thickness. Use a dough scraper to help you make the edge of the dough as neat as possible
If at any point during this time you notice the butter starts to melt, put the dough back in the fridge for a few minutes to let the butter hardens and then continue rolling it out again
Make a mark on the edge of the dough near you using a dough scraper or a knife, about 4 cm apart. Then use a dough scraper or pizza cutter to cut the dough into triangles. You can combine the last two half triangles together from the edge of the dough, it won't be a perfect shape, but you can get 9 croissants
Work with one triangle at a time, stretch the wide part a bit
Then roll it up to form a croissant shape. Make sure the tip of the triangle is facing down on the baking sheet.
Gently press on the tip to seal so it won't "uncurl" later. Give them some space so they don't stick together when they double in size. If you use a half sheet pan (18 x 13 inches) , they will all fit in there without being too crowded

Proof the dough

Proof the croissant at around 75-77 F (21-25 C). You do not want to proof them at a warm place because we don't want the butter to melt (you will lose the flaky layers inside if it melts!). I just cover them with a clean cloth and put them inside the oven with the light on. This may take 2-3 hours for them to double in size
When you gently press on the dough, it will bounce back very slowly. That's one of the signs that the dough is done proofing. They feel light and puffy too

Bake in the waffle maker:

Preheat your electric waffle maker. Gently pick up one dough and roll them in sugar all over
Bake one at a time. Place the dough in the center of the waffle maker or you can do 2 or 3, depending on how big your waffle maker is
Close the lid and let it bake until the croffle is golden brown and the sugar is nicely caramelized. Remove from the waffle maker and place on a cooling rack. The sugar coated outer crust will crisp up further
You may notice that your waffle maker may have a pool of melted butter (or browned butter I should say). I wear an oven mitten and carefully pour the butter out and save it for other use (to brush on bread, toast, etc)

To serve:

Serve them as soon as possible as is

Store:

The baked croffles freeze well too. Let them cool down completely and then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let them flash freeze in the freezer for about an hour and then transfer to a freezer bag and they won't stick to each other. They can be kept frozen this way for about a month
When ready to serve, simply reheat in the oven at 350 F (180 C) for 5-8 minutes or until warm through or in the air fryer at 320 F (160 C) for 3-5 minutes. They will crisp back up again

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