I finally figured out why my croissants weren't getting that honeycomb interior

For about 8 months I kept getting dense layers that were still tasty but nothing like the bakery photos. I tried everything - different butter brands, resting the dough longer, even a new rolling pin. Then last month at a workshop in Portland a retired French pastry chef watched me work and said "You're not letting the butter warm up enough between turns." I had been keeping it too cold because I was afraid of it melting into the dough. Now I leave it on the counter for 6 minutes between folds and the difference is night and day. Has anyone else had a small timing change that completely fixed their laminations?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason_webb541mo ago

Wait, did you try just reducing your fridge time between folds too? I had a similar issue with pie dough where I was being way too rigid about keeping everything ice cold. For me it was actually the opposite problem - I was letting it warm up too much during the rolling and it got greasy. Once I started doing shorter chill times but more of them, like 15 minutes in the fridge instead of an hour, the layers came out way cleaner. idk if that helps for croissants specifically but timing everything to the second really is a game changer.

wendysanchez1mo ago

Leaving it on the counter for 6 minutes" - that's actually not quite enough time if your kitchen is cold, you might need closer to 10.

the_kim1mo ago

You said "if your kitchen is cold, you might need closer to 10" and I read somewhere that butter temperature really matters for baking. I heard a pastry chef say that butter straight from the fridge needs at least 15 minutes on the counter to soften properly in a cool kitchen. So you're right, six minutes is cutting it too short.