Croissants are delicious baked goodies from France that have gained popularity all over the world and rightfully so!
Croissants are not only a favorite breakfast pastry but are eaten as a snack with tea too. These flaky, buttery treats are super versatile too: you can have so many savory and sweet varieties!
If you have baked a batch too much or went bananas on a store sale, you probably have too many croissants to finish in a day. So what to do with them? Don’t worry, we are here to answer that question for you!
Contents
Can you freeze baked croissants
Yes, you absolutely can! You can freeze both homemade and store-bought croissants. You can safely freeze baked croissants in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can thaw and reheat them to eat anytime you want till then!
The steps to freezing croissants are pretty simple. That doesn’t mean you should underestimate any of them. It is essential to correctly follow how to freeze and thaw croissants to ensure they freeze safely. Continue reading this article to understand more about properly storing your croissants!
How to Freeze Baked Croissants
As we mentioned above, freezing baked croissants is like a walk in the park. It’s like preparing to keep any other kind of patisserie in your freezer. Let us walk you through a step-by-step guide to make it easier for you!
Step 1: Cooling
The first step is to cool the croissants. If you’ve just baked the croissants or heated them to eat after bringing them home, please wait for them to cool down.
It is never a good idea to take warm croissants straight to the freezer as this will change the taste and texture considerably.
So, keep in mind to bring these croissants down to room temperature before you start preparing them to freeze.
You can evenly space out the croissants on a baking tray as this allows more air circulation resulting in the cooling down faster.
Step 2: Wrapping them
Once you’ve cooled them, the next step is wrapping them. Wrap each croissant separately with either aluminum foil or cling film.
Remember to wrap each one individually. You can also go around them twice to ensure that all the air is kept out.
If necessary, you can use freezer tape to secure the foil or film around each croissant.
Step 3: Packing them
Once you’ve nicely wrapped each croissant, it is time to store them in either airtight containers or sealable freezer bags.
Leave enough space between the croissants. Don’t overfill the containers or bags or you may end up squishing these delicate treats!
Please remember to get rid of all the air before you seal them. You surely don’t want any air getting through to your croissants and causing freezer burns!
Step 4: Freeze!
The last step is to simply freeze. Pop the containers or bags in the freezer and let them sit until the next time you have the craving!
If you’ve used freezer bags, please make sure not to place one on top of the other to keep them from getting crushed.
We also recommend you label the containers or bags along with the date of freezing. This way, you can keep track of how much longer your croissants are safe to reheat and eat.
Croissants stay fresh for up to 2 months of freezing.
Another tip you could use is to place the containers or bags towards the wall or the freezer so that they start freezing fast initially.
You can then move them around after a day to make space for more food.
Typically, croissants have a pretty low moisture content. So, you don’t have to worry about them expanding too much during their time in the freezer.
Since they also don’t have too much water content, they retain their taste and texture to the maximum.
The only change you may observe is that your croissants might become slightly softer, but this just comes from being stored in the freezer. Nevertheless, it is always best to pay a little extra attention to your croissants before you eat them.
End of the day, croissants are baked goods. They have just as good of a chance of going bad. So, please check for any peculiar smells or mold formation on your croissants to ensure that they’re still okay to eat.
You can always keep these risks at a minimum by following all the steps to freeze them correctly.
Recommended further reading:
How to Thaw Baked Croissants
Croissants being light, flakey food items, don’t require too long to thaw. They take a couple of hours on average which is relatively less than a lot of other frozen foods.
First, take the croissants out of the freezer. Take each one out from the airtight containers or freezable bags. You can then start unwrapping each croissant.
Soggy croissants are pretty unpleasant to eat, don’t you agree? To avoid such a situation, you can use paper towels or other suitable materials to place the croissants in. This will take up any moisture around the croissants and prevent them from turning soggy.
Now, those of you that have planned can leave the croissants in the refrigerator overnight to let them thaw. This is the most recommended way of defrosting croissants or any food item for that matter.
On the other hand, if you’re tight on time and want to have them ready earlier, you can simply leave them on your kitchen top. Keep in mind this is only safest to do if you had frozen them the same day you bought or baked them.
The reason we don’t want to speed up the thawing process is that it may tamper with its quality by a lot. So, while we understand croissant cravings can be sudden, it is best to plan to really enjoy the original taste!
Just transfer it to the refrigerator the morning before you want them ready. They’ll be defrosted and ready to be heated by then.
Reheating Baked Croissants
Once your croissants have fully thawed in the refrigerator, it is time to reheat them. You can retain the original taste and texture of your croissants by baking them in your oven.
Set the oven to 200 degrees F to 250 degrees F and pop them right in. It will take about 3-4 minutes for your croissants to heat up nicely and fresh.
If you hadn’t had the time to leave your croissants in the fridge overnight and want them ready as soon as possible, you can take the frozen croissants straight to the oven. While it is not advised to do this, you can try this way if you are short on time.
You can set your oven to an average temperature of 350 degrees F. We recommend you wrap the croissants in aluminum foil initially.
Once they feel softer when you touch them, you can go ahead and take the foil off. You can then continue baking them for the desired amount of time until they are warm and crispy again!
Here’s a tip for baking them in the oven again: Grease the surface of the baking tray or sheet with ingredients like butter.
This way, your croissants won’t stick to the surface, which may result in their layers tearing off while removing them from the oven.
You can also brush your croissants with egg wash before popping them in the oven. Doing this will give you a nice golden color once they’re done heating up.
Another quick way you can try if you using an oven is not an option is to simply heat it in a microwave.
You can set your microwave to a high temperature and heat them for 30 seconds. This method of heating works fine too.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you freeze croissant dough?
Yes, you can freeze croissant dough. If you have some extra croissant dough that you don’t feel like baking right then, you can safely store them in the freezer. Here’s a tip that you could use: shape the dough and flash freeze them. This technique will be of great help when you choose to bake them.
Can you freeze almond croissants?
Yes, you can freeze almond croissants. The method of freezing almond croissants is the same as regular ones. One thing you should keep in mind is that there might be a slight risk while freezing almond croissants: the texture of the almond filing could change or may even split.
Can croissants be refrozen?
We don’t recommend refreezing croissants. Freezing croissants again can hurt their flaky texture. You can freeze them once but freezing them again will make you notice an observable change in their quality.
Interesting further reading:
Conclusion
We have reached the end of the article! It’s always nice to have some croissants around that you can instantly heat up when you feel like it.
It’s quite rewarding to treat yourself once in a while! You can eat them with sweet sides like chocolate and jelly or savory condiments like cheese dip; you can get pretty creative with these!
Croissants freeze very well and you can eat them any time for up to 2 months of freezing them.
Nevertheless, don’t forget to keep an eye out for any mold formation or other signs of staleness. You can greatly reduce the chances of this ever happening if you follow the right steps to freeze and thaw croissants!