How Many Calories in a Croissant
How many calories in a croissant? The average medium croissant contains around 230 calories. This number can change drastically according to the size of the pastry, as well as depending on how buttery and flaky it is. There are additional calories if the croissant is stuffed with any type of substance, like cream cheese or chocolate.
How Many Calories in a Croissant – Nutrition Facts
Like many other versions of our favorite foods, there’s no solid story of how the beloved croissant came to be. It’s thought to have its memorable shape due to an important battle that was waged in history and may have been first baked in the 19th century, but there’s no real story to draw facts from.
However, it’s known that it’s one in a line of many different pastries that had a similar shape, and is thought to have originated in the city of Vienna in Austria.
A croissant is a crescent or C-shaped pastry whose dough is made much like bread dough, but is then folded a number of times with butter, so that it reaches its flaky consistency.
They often also have a shiny outer layer, due to the fact that they’re often brushed with an egg wash. This butter and egg lend many of the calories to this tasty bread, and make it delicious and memorable.
When questioning how many calories are in a croissant, the number varies substantially, depending on how big the pastry is. They may also be different, depending on who made it or where you bought it.
However, generally speaking, a mini croissant (28 g) has around 115 calories, a small (42 g) has 170 calories, a medium (57 g) has 230 calories, and a large (67 g) has 270 calories.
These are the average amount of calories found in a croissant that you would purchase in a grocery store or bakery.
Furthermore, there are croissants that are filled or are used as a sandwich. Those types of pastries will most likely have a greater number of calories, especially if there’s added cheese and meat.
A medium size cheese croissant has around 235 calories, as does a medium-sized chocolate croissant.
Croissants that are made into breakfast sandwiches can have up to 600 calories, which is the equivalent of the calories you need to eat in an entire meal.
For instance, an egg, cheese, and sausage croissant has about 540 calories, and varieties with bacon or ham have slightly less calories.
Of course, many of the versions purchased today are made from dough that has been previously frozen, so the calorie counts may be a bit higher due to the fact that the dough needs to be preserved a bit, although there are no solid calorie counts available for croissants made at home or by hand.
However, if you only eat one at a time whenever you’re really craving one, there’s no need to feel bad about croissant calories. They’re a delicious and special treat if you love pastries, and can be enjoyed with a tasty cup of coffee or drinking chocolate when the weather is cool.
The calorie count is a bit high, especially if you’re eating a large or medium croissant, but eaten occasionally in moderation, this is no big deal.
If you plan on eating them every day, there may be a problem, or you may have to spend more time in the gym.
Croissant Recipe
The recipe for croissants is rather complicated but it doesn’t take an expert to be able to pull off a professional result.
To make the dough, you’ll need:
- 1 ½ cups of warm whole milk
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 ¼ yeast
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 3 sticks of butter
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp cream.
First, stir the sugar and milk into a bowl with the yeast. Let the yeast activate for about 4 minutes. After that time, add 3 ½ cups of flour and salt to the mixture and place in mixer. Use the dough hook on your mixer to thoroughly combine these ingredients for about 5-7 minutes. If the dough is too wet, add more of the flour you have left over.
You will now need to get the gluten forming in the dough. Place it on a floured board and knead for a couple of minutes, until it’s cohesive and easy to work with.
Then let it sit aside for an hour in a bowl, covered with a towel. This will allow for further expanding of the dough. You may let it rise again after that time, but you don’t have to.
After it has risen to your satisfaction, you need to roll it out into the shape of a rectangle. The size of the rectangle isn’t as important as the overall uniformity of thickness in the dough.
In the meantime, you’ll want to get the butter right. It needs to be smashed and flattened, so that it’s roughly the same shape as the dough you’ve created.
Next, take your dough and roll it out even farther until it’s roughly 12 inches by 10 inches. Rub the butter onto the upper and middle areas of the dough, but not the bottom. Also, keep it away from the sides. Then fold the bottom section to up to cover the butter, and the top section to cover that, much like you may fold something to put in an envelope.
You will need to repeat this type of folding at least 3 more times, with at least an hour of chilling in between each episode.
After folding a total for 4 different times, the hard work is complete. Roll out the dough on a work surface and cut in half. Then cut into long triangles like the letter V. Roll the small end of the triangle towards the small end and make the ends into a letter C.
It’s now time to make the egg wash. Place egg yolk and cream in a bowl and mix.
Brush this mixture over the tops of the croissants, and then bake them at about 475 degrees for 15 minutes.
