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A good chocolate croissant is simply irresistible. And it also takes a lot of time, work, and lamination – I know because I’ve been perfecting a sourdough croissant recipe and hope to have it ready soon. Enter these Chocolate Sourdough Croissant Rolls that are flaky, buttery, tender and have the same great flavor of a chocolate croissant but are so much easier!
Not quite the same as a true laminated sourdough croissant, but still delicious in its own way with flaky layers and melty chocolate. This recipe is based on my viral Flaky Sourdough Croissant Bread, but shaped into rolls instead of baked as a loaf and filled with chocolate. I can’t wait for you to try them!
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Why You’ll Love Chocolate Croissant Rolls
- Flaky & Buttery – These rolls have the same great taste as a traditional chocolate croissant – or try an almond frangipane filling like I used in my Sourdough Almond Croissant Loaf. You may also love my buttery Honey Butter Sourdough Focaccia for a unique twist on this viral recipe.
- Chocolatey Goodness – I like to use chocolate batons to give these croissant rolls a sweet chocolaty flavor – or chocolate chips or a chocolate bar. If you like this taste, then you’ll love my Nutella Sourdough Loaf and Nutella Sourdough Babka too!
- Sweet Rolls – Just like my Chocolate Chip Sourdough Brioche, these rolls are tender and make the perfect snack or treat.
- Easier than Traditional Pain au chocolat– While it’s hard to beat a good traditional sourdough croissant filled with chocolate, they do take time and have a high level of precision and difficulty. This recipe is so much easier with a similar flavor. Or try my chocolate sourdough croissant loaf – a rich chocolatey take on these croissant rolls.
Important Ingredients
- Levain – This recipe uses a levain that combines ripe and active sourdough starter, flour, and room temperature water and is left to rise before using.
- Bread Flour: I like the strength of bread flour in this recipe. You can also substitute all-purpose flour.
- Chocolate Batons – I love the flavor of using chocolate batons in this recipe. They are easy to include and melt well. See substitutions for other chocolate varities.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Substitutions
- Levain: Instead of levain, you can use active and bubbly sourdough starter in this recipe.
- Unsalted Butter: Substitute salted butter instead of unsalted butter if you prefer. The original croissant bread recipe calls for less butter. I’ve increased the butter in these croissant rolls for extra flaky-ness, but you can decrease to 1/2 cup or 113 grams butter if desired.
- Chocolate: Any good quality chocolate will work in this recipe. Use chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in place of the chocolate batons.
Sourdough Baker’s Timeline
A sample baking schedule helps me when baking with sourdough. Sourdough takes much longer to rise than commercial yeast bread. This schedule helps me plan my bake. This recipe is loosely based off my recipe for Sourdough Croissant Bread.
A few notes: This schedule assumes the dough temperature is 70-72°F throughout the process. If you’d like to make the bread all on the same day, skip the cold fermentation and let the dough rise for a few hours in a banneton before baking.
| Day 1 | Levain/Mixing/Bulk Fermentation/Shaping/Cold Fermentation |
| 8:00 PM – 8:00 AM | Mix Levain. Let sit at 78°F for about 10-12 hours until doubled/bubbly and ripe. |
| Day 2 | |
| 8:00 AM | Begin Bulk Fermentation Mix Dough. Let sit for 30 minutes before first set of stretch and folds. |
| 8:30 AM 9:00 AM 9:30 AM 10:00 AM | Stretch and Fold #1 Stretch and Fold #2 Add half butter Stretch and Fold #3 Add half butter Stretch and Fold #4 |
| 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Bulk Fermentation Continued |
| 5:00 PM | Shape, add chocolate, and Proof the Dough |
| 8:00 PM | Cold Fermentation or Bake right away |
| Day 3 | Bake |
| 9:00 AM | Egg Wash and Bake (straight from the refrigerator) |
How to Make Chocolate Croissant Rolls
Mix the Levain
Step 1: Mix Levain. Combine ripe sourdough starter with water and flour to prepare your levain (Image 1). Let rise until bubbly and active (Image 2).
Note: Ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter can be substituted for the levain in this recipe.
Mix dough & Bulk Fermentation
Step 2: Mix Dough. Combine ripe levain, water, salt, and bread flour to a large bowl and use a dough whisk to combine until a shaggy dough forms (Image 3). Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Stretch & Folds. Over a period of about 1 ½ hours, perform a series of “stretch and folds” by reaching to the bottom of the bowl (Image 4) and pulling the dough up to fold over on itself (Image 5). Continue turning the bowl and folding the dough about four times for each round of stretch and folds. Cover and wait 30 minutes between each set of stretch and folds, allowing the dough to become more cohesive and elastic over time (Image 6).
Before your second set of stretch and folds, grate cold butter (Image 7) and add half of it to the dough (Image 8). Allow the other half to chill in the refrigerator until you add it during the third round of stretch and folds. Check the temperature of the dough through the process with a thermometer to keep it in a 70-72ºF temperature range (Image 9). Cover and let the dough rise for 6-7 more hours until it has risen about 70% and has scattered bubbles on top (Image 10).
Note: Temperature is very important for these rolls! I’ve found a 70-72ºF temperature to work well. I wouldn’t go above 75ºF for this recipe or the butter will get too soft. To do this, use cooler water when mixing your dough and take the temperature with a thermometer throughout the process (Image 9).
Shaping the croissant rolls
Step 4: Shaping. Lift and pull the dough into a 12 by 24-inch rectangle (Image 11). Use a bench scraper to portion the dough into 12 pieces (Image 12). Place a chocolate baton (or chocolate chips/chopped chocolate) at the bottom and top ends of each rectangle of dough (Image 13&14).
Starting with one of the ends, roll the dough over (Image 15&16). Roll the other end to the middle (Image 17), creating a chocolate croissant shape (Image 18). Place croissant rolls on a pan lined with parchment paper, about 6-8 rolls to a pan. You may be able to fit all 12 rolls on one sheet pan, but you also want to leave room for them to rise.
Note: You can use any type of chocolate you want in these chocolate croissants. I’ve found I prefer a semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate. Chocolate batons are traditional, but also expensive and a large amount. Good quality chocolate chips and slices of a chocolate bar work well too. Use about 6-8 grams of chocolate per croissant roll.
Proofing the rolls
Step 5: Proof. Proof rolls for 3-4 hours until puffed and jiggly. The dough should be kept at about 75ºF. I like to use a dough-warming mat or find a warm appliance – the oven with the light on may work but it can also get hot fairly fast, so check frequently if you use this method.
Note: At this point, you can put these rolls in the refrigerator overnight for an optional cold ferment. Bake them straight from the fridge the next morning, making this an easy weekend breakfast!
Baking Sourdough Croissant rolls
Step 6: Bake. Once rolls have risen, brush an egg wash on top of sourdough croissant rolls and bake rolls for 10 minutes at 425ºF. Then reduce the temperature to 350ºF and bake for another 20 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack before enjoying.
How to Store Leftovers
Store cooled croissant rolls in a plastic bag or air-tight container, push air out and freeze. These croissants heat up well straight from the freezer.
AMY’S Recipe Tips
- Temperature is key to these sourdough croissant rolls! Keeping the dough cool enough for the butter to give it flaky layers, but warm enough for the dough to rise is key. I strongly recommend using a thermometer throughout the baking process. I’ve found a 70-72ºF temperature to work well. I wouldn’t go above 75ºF for this recipe or the butter will get too soft. Use cooler water when mixing your dough and take the temperature frequently.
- Proofing or allowing the croissant rolls to rise before baking them is another key step to these rolls. Let them rise until almost doubled. This will take time and you do need to carefully control the temperature (keep them around 70-75ºF if possible) so the butter doesn’t melt, leak, and make a denser croissant roll.
- If you want to bake these in the morning let them proof and then stick them in the refrigerator. Bake them straight from the fridge the next morning in a preheated oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
These are not traditional laminated pastry croissants. They are a shortcut method to get a croissant-style roll without having to make a traditional laminated pastry dough. They don’t completely take the place of a croissant, but I developed this dough to give a similar texture and flavor of a croissant using a method that is familiar to sourdough bakers. You should still try making regular croissants – they are delicious!
Use a thermometer throughout the process to make sure your temperature stays consistent. If your kitchen is warm, you may need to use the refrigerator to help keep the temperature consistent – pulling the dough in and out of the fridge during the fermentation to manage it. If your house is cold, you may need to find a warmer place, use a dough mat or a bread proofer to help keep your dough at a consistent temperature.
Yes! If you find grating cold butter difficult, you can use frozen butter instead. It will bring down the temperature of your dough a little bit and you may need to add some extra time for fermentation and proofing.
Sourdough is very temperature-dependent and typically performs best when kept in a 76-80ºF temperature range. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make it at lower temperatures. I keep the dough for these sourdough croissant rolls in the 70-75ºF range so the butter doesn’t melt. This temperature will make the rise take a little bit longer than my classic sourdough bread recipe.
Other Sourdough Recipes you’ll Love
If you tried these Chocolate Sourdough Croissant Rolls or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!
Chocolate Sourdough Croissant Rolls
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Equipment
- bench scraper
Ingredients
Levain (1:10:10 ratio, 10-12 hours peak at 78-80ºF)
- 6 grams sourdough starter ripe, bubbly and active about 1 teaspoon
- 60 grams all-purpose or bread flour about 6 Tablespoons, about 1/2 cup
- 60 grams water about 3 Tablespoons, about 1/4 cup
Chocolate Sourdough Croissant Rolls
- 120 grams levain, ripe, bubbly and active about ½ cup, see recipe notes
- 340 grams water , about 1 cup plus 6 Tablespoons
- 10 grams salt , about 1.5 teaspoons
- 500 grams bread flour , about 3.5 cups
- 170 grams unsalted butter , about 3/4 cup, see recipe notes
- 24 chocolate batons, see recipe notes for other options
Instructions
Levain (1:10:10 ratio, 10-12 hours peak at 78-80ºF)
- Mix together ripe/active sourdough starter with all-purpose or bread flour and water. Cover loosely and let sit 10-12 hours at 78-80°F until doubled, bubbly & peaked.Note: If you have a ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter that is fed equal parts flour and water – it can be substituted equally for the levain in this recipe.
Chocolate Sourdough Croissant Rolls
- Mix Dough: To a large bowl, mix together ripe levain with water. Add salt and bread flour. Mix together using a dough whisk or spoon until a wet and sticky dough forms and the ingredients are fully combined. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.Note: This dough is very sensitive to temperature. It's important to maintain a temperature where the dough will rise AND the butter stays chilled and flaky. I've found a 70-72ºF temperature to work well. I wouldn't go above 75ºF for this recipe or the butter will get too soft. To do this, use cooler water when mixing your dough and take the temperature with a thermometer throughout the process.
- Stretch and Folds: After the dough has rested, you will perform a series of “stretch and folds” over the next 1 ½ hours. The goal is to strengthen the dough through a gentle kneading process. You will also add cold butter into the dough during this process which will be evenly dispersed throughout the dough through the folds. To “stretch and fold,” wet your hand (so it doesn’t stick to the dough). Reach around the dough down to the bottom of the bowl, pull the dough up and over and place it on top of the dough. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Turn another quarter turn and repeat. Perform one more quarter turn, stretching and folding the dough. Cover and set aside. Take note of how the dough feels through this process. It will go from feeling a little shaggy to smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl and wait about 30 minutes in between stretch and folds.
- Stretch and fold #1: After 30 minutes, perform your first set of stretch and folds. Cover the dough and let rest for 30 minutes.Stretch and fold #2: After 30 minutes, grate the cold (or frozen) butter. Put half of the grated butter on top of the dough. The other half of the butter should be placed in the refrigerator to chill until the next set of folds. Stretch and fold the dough again, incorporating the flakes of butter into the dough. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.Stretch and fold #3: 30 minutes later, add the rest of the butter to the top of the dough. Stretch and fold again. The butter will continue dispersing throughout the dough. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.Stretch and fold #4: After 30 minutes do your final set of stretch and folds. You should notice the dough feeling more cohesive and strong. If your dough still feels loose, add in another couple stretch and folds to help strengthen and tighten the gluten strands.Note: If you find the butter is difficult to grate, freeze it and grate the butter frozen. You may need to add a little extra time ot the rest/bulk fermentation to compensate for a colder dough.
- Rest/Bulk Fermentation: Cover the dough and let rise for 6-7 more hours. You will know the dough is ready to shape when the dough has risen about 70%, jiggles when you shake the bowl and has scattered bubbles visible on the sides and top.
- Prepare 2 baking sheets and line them with parchment paper.
- Shape: Dump the dough out on the counter and use your hands to gently lift and pull it into a 12 by 24-inch rectangle. The dough should not rip during this if you work gently. If it does, just patch it up. Use a bench scraper to portion the dough into 12 pieces. Cut the dough into six 4 by 12-inch slices. Then cut those slices in half, giving you twelve 4 by 6-inch rolls.Take a chocolate baton (or slice of chocolate bar or chocolate chips) and place one at the bottom end of each rectangle of dough. Place the other piece of chocolate at the top of the rectangle. Roll the dough up once from the bottom and once from the top down – they will meet in the middle. Place the croissant roll on a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 6 croissant rolls on each baking sheet.
- Proof: Cover the pan of dough with plastic wrap or a baking sheet cover and proof for 2-3 hours until puffed up and jiggly. During this final proofing, I like to warm the dough up to 75ºF using a dough warming mat, or setting the dough on top of a warm appliance.Once the rolls have puffed up and almost doubled in size, you can either bake them right away or stick them in the refrigerator overnight to bake straight from the fridge in the morning.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Whisk together a simple egg wash by adding an egg with a splash of water to a small bowl and whisking together. Brush egg wash on top of croissant rolls. Bake rolls for 10 minutes at 425ºF. After 10 minutes, rotate the pan and reduce the temperature to 350ºF. Bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the croissant rolls to a cooling rack and let cool for 10-20 minutes before enjoying!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
hee,
we dont have bread flour here, can i use something else?
greats, Geanne
You can use all-purpose flour. You might need to add a few extra tablespoons of flour to compensate.
These turned out delicious!
Great! Thanks for the review.
What am I doing wrong. The butter just melted out and no fluffy dense. I tried your other recipe of croissants and they did the same thing. Ugh 😩
Butter leakage can definitely be frustrating. The biggest factor is temperature throughout the process. If the dough gets too warm during shaping or proofing, the butter can soften and melt out before baking. Did you do a cold ferment, and how warm was the dough while it was rising?
Croissants are especially technical and sensitive to temperature changes, which makes them tricky. These rolls are a little more forgiving, but keeping the dough cool while working with it usually helps prevent the butter from leaking out.
The dough was cold. No leakage during proofing fermenting. It was a puddle of butter while baking. The rolls were very dense. I think I’m done trying to make these. Second fail.
I’m sorry they didn’t turn out again – that is so frustrating. It sounds like the dough didn’t have enough structure to hold the butter during baking. Even if the dough is cold, if the gluten isn’t developed enough or the rolls are underproofed, the butter will just melt out instead of being trapped in layers—and that’s what leads to the puddle of butter and dense rolls. It’s a combination of temperature and strength + proofing working together.
Before giving up, a few things to check next time: make sure the dough is smooth and elastic before laminating, give the rolls enough time to proof until they’re noticeably puffy and jiggly, and avoid baking them while still tight or dense.
Turned out delicious! I made half of them with the almond filling from the almond sourdough loaf and they were SO good!
I’ve done that too and they are delicious! Enjoy.
So mine turned out too hard, but still tasted good. Two things could have caused it, I used less butter and the second proof they didnt really become fluffy or double per se! which do you think? I guess i should try again
Yeah, it sounds like the lack of butter and underproofing could have caused that. Hopefully your next round is better!
I wish I could upload photos with my review, because they came out so pretty!! This was a lot easier to do than I imagined it would be. Based on some of the other reviews of these being tough (though you have to remember these aren’t traditional laminated croissants, so they’re not going to be tender like that), I substituted AP flour for bread flour in hopes that would help. So, while I can’t say for sure – the bread flour might have been fine – they turned out beautifully and tasted wonderful!
You can share a picture and review here! I’m glad they turned out great. Enjoy!
These turned out PERFECTLY. Very flaky and light. Mine didn’t rise much at the last rise when I brought them up to 75 degrees, so I just put a couple of ice cubes underneath on a separate baking pan in the oven, and they rose just fine while baking. It’s so cool to see the layers once they’re bitten into! I couldn’t be happier with them and will definitely be making these again!
I’m glad they turned out great! Enjoy!
It’s 2 hrs of folding and 6-8 hrs bulk. That’s a long time to be watching dough. Haha. After stretching, filling with choc and rolling, Can I put the rolls in the refrigerator over night. Then the next day, take them out for a few hrs to double in size and then bake?
That should work!
Can you make the dough a few days ahead? and leave in the fridge before you shape them?
Or how long can you let them cold ferment for a few days?
Yes, the dough can cold ferment for a few days in the fridge before shaping, rising and baking.