Summary: The problem of density estimation is addressed by minimization of the \(L^{2}\)-risk for both histogram and kernel estimators. This quadratic risk is estimated by leave-\(p\)-out cross-validation (LPO), which is made possible thanks to closed formulas, contrary to common belief. The potential gain in the use of LPO with respect to V-fold cross-validation (V-fold) in terms of the bias-variance trade-off is highlighted. An exact quantification of this extra variability, induced by the preliminary random partition of the data in the V-fold, is proposed. Furthermore, exact expressions are derived for both the bias and the variance of the risk estimator with histograms. Plug-in estimates of these quantities are provided, while their accuracy is assessed thanks to concentration inequalities. An adaptive selection procedure for \(p\) in the case of histograms is subsequently presented. This relies on minimization of the mean square error of the LPO risk estimator. Finally a simulation study is carried out which first illustrates the higher reliability of the LPO with respect to the V-fold, and then assesses the behavior of the selection procedure. For instance optimality of leave-one-out (LOO) is shown, at least empirically, in the context of regular histograms.