Laminating croissants
Hi, all. I created an account just to ask this question.
I make croissants at my bakery. Recently, I started making them with 99.9% butter blocks from Corman. I thought it'd make rolling out easier and give me better lift.
However, once I started using it, the butter started to crack when rolling out. Here's my usual procedure.
1. Mix dough to low gluten development stage. Wrap in plastic, freeze overnight in freezer.
2. Defrost dough in refrigerator the next day.
3. In the evening, do the lock in with the traditional diamond technique (dough about 3/8 in thick, butter about 1/4 in), then give it a three fold. Refrigerate for 30 min to an hour. Then remove from fridge, do second three fold, refrigerate, then remove again for final three fold. Remove to fridge.
4. The next day, remove in the evening for rolling and shaping, proof, then hold at 2 degrees celsius, 70% humidity in retarder.
My problem is that usually by the second turn, the butter begins to crack. It seems to me that the Corman butter is too hard when I take it out of the fridge, so when I put pressure on it, it cracks against the softened dough. I don't have a dough sheeter, by the way.
I have considered leaving the dough out to allow it to come to room temp, but I'm afraid that that will speed up dough fermentation too quickly. What are my options here?
Do not freeze the dough or the butter. Refrigeration is enough. Check your email; I'll send you my recipe for the boulangerie croissants.
Ford (polymer@aol.com)
Thanks for the recipe! And I'll definitely try what you suggested next time. I actually only started freezing the dough this year, because it was especially hot this summer and the kitchen was much worse. Just one question though, what difference does not freezing the dough make? Does it change the dough and the butter in any way that bringing it back to refrigeration temp over a day doesn't?
Freezing will harden the butter so that it will take a long while to bring it up to a malleable temperature.
Ford
Laminate your butter at 9 degree Celcius. This will not failed. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or use your freezer for 8 minutes to speed up process but make sure your butter is not colder or warmer than 9 celcius. In order to do this, have a small piece of butter on the side that you can take the temp from.
Happy Baking
Dan