April 15, 2021 - 11:07pm
Please help! My croissants are struggling!
I need help! I've been trying the Dominique Ansel method for croissants, and am unable to solve the issue with the crumb that you can see in the above picture, specifically:
- Crumb layers aren't well defined and are quite thick
- A large hole in the top
I've followed all the advice I can find, including working with cold dough / butter, increasing hydration etc, but I'm still not getting the elusive honeycomb. Below is a photo of their exteriors.
Can anyone help diagnose what are the likely causes of a crumb that looks like this? Any help would be hugely appreciated!
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Hmm, I've had similar issues before, it can be frustrating. Three things I would suggest:
(1) proof longer (30-60 minutes more)
(2) roll the dough out thinner or increase the number of layers with a different lamination scheme. If the butter layers are too thick they don't allow the soft, interior layers to contact each other and provide structural support. If the dough layers are too thick they won't be able to support their own weight. A good honeycomb requires moderately interconnected layers of very light dough.
(3) Decrease your oven temp by 25-50 degrees. The exteriors are getting color before the internals can reach temp and properly set <== (another structural issue)
Good luck!
I agree with the bread guy. My number one suggestion is the same as his: proof longer. Croissants should increase by a lot in volume during the final proof and should be very swollen and noticeably jiggly before going in the oven. Your lamination seems fine. Oven temp could also contribute: I've never been successful baking at the suggested temps of 425 or so. I found 350 to be much better, albeit in commercial ovens as I do not bake croissants at home.
Thanks guys! I tried a few different things and now have a result I'm fairly happy with. Here's what worked:
- As The Bread Guy suggested above, I changed my lamination scheme and now at ~54 layers.
- I suspected my kitchen (marble) counter was getting too warm, and therefore the butter absorbed into the dough. So I took a large bag full of ice, added a few cups of water, and left it on the counter for ~25 minutes in between laminations (while in the fridge). That took my counter temperature down to mid fifties, which kept my dough very cold (but pliable) while I was working with it. I also refrigerated during lamination whenever I felt the dough was resisting being stretched.
- I decreased oven temperature to 375F and baked for 22 minutes.
Thanks again for the advice!
Looks much better! Happy to see your success!