I worked on croissants from the first Tartine book yesterday. They came out very pretty, but the interiors are not really layered - more like normal bread.
I'm thinking that I rolled too soon after removal from the fridge / rolled too hard and the butter layers broke up. My solution would be to let the chilled dough warm up longer when taking it out of the fridge... Sound likely?
It's my first time really doing croissants, so feedback helps a lot.
Never even tried to make them but very interested in your question and what the answer might be. Sorry about not being able to help you but wish to comment and hopefully we'll see an answer before long.
Best of luck! And keep trying :)
I'm using 83% butter - but not keeping it cold enough. I thought I was, but nope. Thank you for the advice - I'll try again.
It takes a few tries to get a feel for croissant dough.
Also, while rolling hard is not a problem, you shouldn't have to roll too hard. Ideally it should come out of the fridge after each rest just pliant enough to roll out again fairly easily. If it starts fighting you, put it back in the fridge for a bit. I'm assuming the recipe gives you good advice on making a relatively low-gluten dough to start with, because that's the other part of it.
Another trick is to chill the board in the fridge along with the dough, so that you are rolling on a cold surface. You can chill the rolling pin too.
I realized I froze part of the dough I made, to use later. It's probably going to turn out the same. Maybe I'll just make buns out of it.
The bread like texture is a result of the butter being incorporated in to the dough. In lamination you need to create separate layers of fat and dough. Butter temperature, a secure butter lock, and proper rolling are key.
Here's a few things I learned along the way.
1. butter that's pliable when cold is essential. I prefer Kerrygold for laminated dough. If the butter is too hard, you will overwork the dough, overheat the butter, and stretch and tear the layers as you roll.
2. You have to lock the butter in between the dough layers every securely before you beging rolling and folding. The dough should completely envelope the butter block, and be securely sealed on all open sides.
3. Roll, do NOT, stretch the dough. If the dough retracts when you roll over it, you have too much gluten development. You end up stretching the dough and tearing layers. Butter will ooze through and fuse the layers. As soon as the dough resists rolling, stop. Wrap and refrigerate. Let the dough relax for 30-40 minutes.
4. Another cause of tearing and fusing the layers is rolling the dough when it's stuck to the counter. Check the underside after each pass of the rolling pin to ensure the dough is moves freely With each pass of the pin.
5. Light pressure when rolling will give better results. The heavier the pressure, the tougher the croissant. You want that croissant flaky and so light it shatters when you bite into it.
I can't recommend the Weekend Bakery blog enough for croissant basics. I used their recipe and instructions before trying my hand at Tartine's croissants.
https://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/classic-french-croissant-recipe/
This was tremendously helpful. The video helped improve shaping; I was already partway through another recipe before I saw it. I'm going to keep trying, as this last batch wasn't there yet.