Flaky Buttery Cruffins (Printable)
Flaky, buttery croissant-muffin hybrids with golden layers, perfect for breakfast or an indulgent treat.
# What You'll Need:
→ Dough
01 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 packet (0.25 oz) instant yeast
03 - 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
04 - 1 ½ teaspoons salt
05 - ¾ cup lukewarm water
06 - ⅓ cup whole milk, lukewarm
07 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
→ Butter Layer
08 - 10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
→ Optional Cinnamon Sugar Topping
09 - ¼ cup granulated sugar
10 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
# How To Make:
01 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt. Pour in the lukewarm water, milk, and melted butter. Stir with a wooden spoon or dough whisk until a shaggy dough forms and no dry flour remains.
02 - Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 7 minutes until smooth, springy, and elastic. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour or until doubled in volume.
03 - While the dough rises, place the room-temperature butter between two sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, beat and roll it into a rectangle approximately 6 x 8 inches. Refrigerate until needed but remove about 10 minutes before laminating so it stays pliable, not hard.
04 - On a floured work surface, roll the risen dough into a large rectangle about 12 x 20 inches. Place the butter block on one half of the dough and fold the other half over to enclose it. Roll out again to 12 x 20 inches. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Rotate 90 degrees, roll back out to the same dimensions, and fold into thirds once more. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for 1 hour.
05 - Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out on a floured surface into a large rectangle about 12 x 20 inches. Using a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut the dough lengthwise into 12 even strips approximately 1 inch wide each.
06 - Working with one strip at a time, gently stretch it slightly if needed and roll it up tightly from end to end into a compact spiral. Using a sharp knife, cut the rolled strip straight down the center lengthwise to expose the buttery layers inside.
07 - Take each cut half and twist it into a loose spiral, then coil it up and nestle it into a greased muffin tin cavity with the cut layers facing outward. Repeat with all remaining halves to fill all 12 cups.
08 - Cover the muffin tin loosely with a damp towel or oiled plastic wrap. Let the shaped cruffins rest at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour until visibly puffed and nearly doubled in size.
09 - Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Bake the cruffins on the center rack for 18 to 22 minutes until deeply golden brown and well risen. Rotate the tin halfway through for even browning if needed.
10 - Cool the cruffins in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack. While still warm, roll each cruffin in the cinnamon sugar mixture if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- Once you nail the laminating technique, you will feel like you possess some kind of baking superpower that impresses absolutely everyone.
- The look on peoples faces when they pull apart those flaky layers is worth every minute of waiting for dough to chill.
02 -
- If the butter layer is too cold it will tear through the dough during folding, and if it is too warm it will leak out and leave you with greasy flat rolls instead of puffy layers.
- The one hour chill between folds is not negotiable because skipping it was exactly how I ended up with butter pooling on my countertop and a very sad dough on attempt number two.
03 -
- Marks on the butter where it cracked during rolling actually steam open during baking and create even more dramatic flaking, so imperfections are your ally here.
- The single biggest improvement I ever made was learning to let the shaped cruffins rest until they looked genuinely puffy rather than baking them on a strict timer, because underproofed cruffins stay dense no matter how perfect your lamination was.