Croissant frustration!
Hi guys!
This is my first post, so forgive me if it has ever been discussed. I couldn't find a specific post about it, and honestly I can't really get a straight answer on the why of it from anyone at work. I've been working in the industry for 6 years now, mainly in American pastry including pies and cake decoration. This is my first job with bread, and I'm about 3 1/2 months in, now.
Anyway, we hand laminate our croissants. The mixing and turns are done the first day, and the shaping is done the next. Occasionally I've noticed my doughs are puffy the next day. The butter isn't broken, and I just roll the air out while I'm shaping, but it feels like poor laminating and not like something that I would blame on temperature or something beyond my control. I'm laminating the same way every time, with the exception of a longer rest in the walk-in between turns.
Has anyone ever experienced this problem? My boss has a lot of experience but rarely is interested in the whys. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Whether your fridge is warmer or the dough is not spaced out enough or is just in the fridge longer on the days the plaque is puffy, it's hard to tell. But it's more fermented. I get it every once in a while, and it's when the plaques don't get cold enough fast enough, or when shaping is delayed an extra day.
If puffiness is a measure of yeast activity, and yeast activity is directly correlated to temperature and time, and the dough is spending longer in the walk-in, and the walk-in is used by multiple people - my guess is that it's getting just warm enough to be more active, and/or sitting long enough to develop.
If it's 'ballooning' like you say, I'm assuming the air is all building up on the outside layer, not the dough as a whole rising up. That would imply that it's a temperature thing, where the outside edge of the dough is getting warmer from contact with the rollers.
If there's a thermometer in the walk-in, keep an eye on it, and the temperature of the equipment used to roll out the dough. If there isn't a clear part of the process that's warming the dough surface, then reducing the yeast a little bit may help. Yeast reduction will slow the whole process down, though, and that's dangerous to getting it done on time - boss might not go for that drastic a move. I'd look at process first.
Keep in mind that I am crap at laminated doughs, so all this is guesswork.