Laminating Dough - Butter Issues
So, I am getting the dreaded cracking, breaking butter while sheeting my dough. Now, I know the general consensus is that my butter is too cold and I tend to agree. However, at my old shop, we switched to Plugra and POOF!!! I took my dough out of the walk-in, from an overnight ferment. Along with my shaped butter block, locked it in and was immediately laminating and the Plugra just conforms, regardless of temp.
So, new shop, slightly new dough recipe (I'm making changes) and we have Plugra and cracky, cracky. I hate it!! This dough is much softer, more pillowy, less elastic and has too much yeast in it, in my opinion. Seems to move REALLY fast... So, could this also happen because of a differential in dough to butter texture/consistancy? I mean, my old dough was like silly putty. Just very strong, stiff and rarely did I get fermentation bubbles or any sign that it was heavily yeasted. We used cake yeast too. Versus Instant.
Thoughts? Other than just butter temp?
Maybe the formula and flour type, plus the dough and butter temps at lamination? Also the percent butter fat? Maybe also the temperature at which you're cold fermenting?
Thanks.
The general consensus is the dough and the butter block should be of the same consistency. If the dough is soft, the butter should be soft and vice-versa. Some recipes call for adding to flour to the butter to absorb some of the moisture and make it more pliable. My personal preference though is I'd rather have a croissant that tastes good but isn't perfectly laminated over one that looks picture perfect but doesn't taste as good. The recipe I use is a very soft dough. It's soft enough that for the initial rolling you can pat the dough with your hands. One time I added more flour to the dough to make it firmer. The lamination was better and the croissants had more distinct layers but the flavor wasn't as good. So now I don't worry about whether or not the butter stays in one smooth layer or shatters. Unless you really screw them up, most people aren't going to notice they're not perfect. Mine certainly aren't.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/23456/just-testing
The structure of a croissant (i.e. the crumb) seems to correlate very clearly with the firmness (hydration & gluten development) of the dough. I'm guessing here, since I haven't had time to test that many recipes yet, but a wetter dough might perhaps need a little more gluten development in order to stretch at the same rate as the butter block...? A wetter dough might translate to easier roll-outs to the point where the dough elongates faster than the butter possibly can - resulting in breaking butter. This seems logical to me, because several accomplished croissant bakers are saying that firmer dough = more defined crumb. Perhaps this is because the butter and the dough are more prone to elongate at the same rate.
Like I said, just an amateur thinking out loud here...
My old dough was 100% Special Patent bread flour and IIRC, 57% of the recipe was flour. The "new" one was a mixture of AP and Bread (50/50) and closer to 45%. Sorry, don't have specifics on me.
As far as beauty versus flavor, I tend to add flavor in the form of preferment and I prefer the texture of a firmer dough, versus the softer. However, the consistency of the dough may not correlate to flavor or texture, in my regard. I guess it really depends on specifics.
I like the "perfect" look mostly because I'm usually laminating 10 to 12 books at a time, shaping 5 to 6 variety and getting consistent weights/shapes is key, since these are being sold.
ANOTHER THEORY!!! I used to soften my butter in the mixer, with paddle. Not for very long but is it possible I am incorporating enough air into the butter making it more pliable after its been chilled? If so, I think I am onto something..