March 21, 2017 - 8:57am
Need Help with Croissants!
Hello! A week ago I started trying to learn croissant making. All was going fine until I got to the third fold and suddenly I saw hard butter bits in the dough, i decided to do a 4th fold and they turned out tiny but tasty. I then found out 4th folds is a big no no! And decided to try again. Again after the 2nd fold was chilled an hour, i went onto my third fold to find the big hard pieces on butter again. I decided to just keep going according to instructions and they obviously leaked butter, tasted nice but not good enough. Iwill point out that the butter wasnt leaking or too warm, they were cold pieces. Also that they hardly rose during the proofing time. Any advice would be lovely because i dont want to give up! Emilie
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How are you prepping the butter before it goes into the dough? That initial process of beating/rolling/smearing the butter to a smooth spreadable consistency is really important. I don't know what recipe you're using, but the 2nd volume of Child and Beck's _Mastering the Art of French Cooking_ is very good on method.
Once you wrap that rectangle of smoothed butter in dough, you face the main challenge of croissant-making, as you're discovering: too cold and the dough is too stiff to roll, too warm and you end up making buttery rolls. My take is that the first turn is key. You're basically rolling out that rectangle of butter inside its soft dough envelope. The butter layer should be *just* pliant enough that you can feel it gradually spreading out inside the dough as you roll it. Patience is key here. Roll gently and firmly, prod with a finger every now and then to track temperature and the status of the butter layer, put it in the fridge for a bit if it feels like it's getting too warm or slack.
Once a good first turn is done the rest should be straightforward. The advice above is excellent!
Thanks for your advice i shall follow it on my next attempt on Monday! I think my butter was too hard then to begin with and i was working too quickly trying to keep it cold rather than working it to the right consistency , thanks!
I find the brand of butter makes a difference in the laminating process. I prefer a butter that stays pliable when cold. So I use Kerrygold.
I normally use Plugra for baking, But it gets so hard when chilled, rolling and turning was too difficult. I kept stretching instead of rolling the dough.
With Kerrygold being pliable, i was able to roll the dough, so had better control over gluten development. And I didn't tear open my butter lock.
You have to work efficiently with Kerrygold because it will warm quickly. But I thing the pliability is worth the trade off.
The butter block and butter lock are key to proper lamination. I prepare my butter block the day before I start my dough.
There's a website called Weekend Bakery that has excellent, step by step instructions on making croissants. I found it extremely helpful when I decided to try laminated dough the first time. when I had a question, i left it in their comment section. It took a few days, but they answered me. it was nice to get the extra help.
they have both 3-day and 1-day croissant recipes on their site.
https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/classic-french-croissant-recipe/
this was my result using Weekend Bakery's recipe and instructions. First time I had made a laminated dough; first croissant. They really provide excellent information.