Croissants - what's wrong this time?

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alaia on 16 Dec 2020 at 06:17

I've been in this croissant journey from quite some time, and I've managed to get to this point where the croissants look like croissants and taste like croissants. However, for some reason i am still not getting the honeycomb yet. As you can see i've been very careful in the laminating process. I included a picture of the folded croissant and you can see the layers clearly, but when i bake them still no honeycomb. 

Here's the recipe that i use:

- 200gr Bread flour + 100 AP 

- 170gr milk 

- 8gr instant yeast 

- 20gr sugar 

- 8gr salt 

- 30 gt butter 

- laminating butter: 155gr 

I live in a very warm climate (27oC), but refrigerate back and forth during laminating. I let the croissants rise for 2.5 hrs in 22-25oC temp and bake them at 180oC. I don't understand why there are no honeycomb because the pre-risen picture looks like it shows even layers. could it be that they are underproofed? I was sure to give them the jiggle test before baking and they passed.  

What I did: 

- did the final shaping and proofed them for 1 hr at room temp.

- transferred to fridge for an overnight retard 

- 3 more hrs at room temp the next morning 

The results show more open air pockets, however no honeycomb. There's an issue with the dough being slightly on the wet side. Any advice?

Should i still increase proofing time?

Maybe try avoid that bit and bake them after hr retard.  I know there are may recipes advising to chill them and even freeze them overnight.  I think you get better results just proflofing and baking.  good luck ! 

Your lamination looks fantastic.  Another suggestion - try water instead of milk and bump the butter to 60-70g amd oh yeah - strong bread flour plz.  I never had much luck with milk ;) 

I also think the lamination looks fine. Usually brioche-like crumb is a result of bad lamination… but not here.

I’m starting to blame milk, too. Often when I see very open honeycomb crumbs, it’s without milk.

But I’m happy to learn otherwise. Regardless: I like the richness and taste when milk is added. So not sure if I would favour aesthetics over taste.

Also: When did you add the butter? I always add it early to the dough but many suggested that this might be a problem and I should really first mix and knead the dough without butter and only add it after that.

How many layers do your croissants have? I've gotten good results with 25-36 layers (depending on how you count) so I think the problem might be too many layers. Too many layers doesn't give room for the layers to properly spread out, which is what looks like happened to your croissants from the pictures.

How many layers do your croissants have? I've gotten good results with 25-36 layers (depending on how you count) so I think the problem might be too many layers. Too many layers doesn't give room for the layers to properly spread out, which is what looks like happened to your croissants from the pictures.

Along the lines others have posted and some additional insights:

  1. Flour mix 50/50 Bread /AP. Use premium flours and throw away any supermarket-quality stuff you might be using.
  2. Reduce salt to 5gr and increase butter to 60 gr. 
  3. Use fresh yeast, not instant yeast (not critical, salt content MUCH more critical). 
  4. Knead all-in, including BUTTER. The amount of butter is small compared to brioche, don't even worry a second about that. 
  5. Make sure your gluten development is great AND your dough temperature is 24-25 Celsius when you're done kneading. Spiral or oblique much better than KA. Don't martyrise your dough for more than 3+8 minutes in a KA. Should be enough if flours are what they should be. KAs (planetary mixers in general) are the biggest known enemy to open crumbs. This is true both for bread and pastry. 
  6. Pre-shape as whatever rectangle size you need, and film. Put on tray.
  7. Overnight in fridge @ 4 Celsius compulsory. Don't take any shortcuts here, dough has to relax. No freezing, no nothing, just 4 Celsius. 
  8. Day after, butter lock, double fold FIRST followed straight away by single fold, then fridge for at least one hour, ideally 2 or 3. No further folds are necessary. Don't spend time on that.
  9. Final lamination to between 3.5 and 4mm. NOT thinner, not thicker.
  10. Cut your triangles, stretch them a bit in your hands before rolling. Triangles should be around 8 cm base to 28-30 cm tall. Straight to proofer. 
  11. Final proofing 2.5 hours @ 26 Celsius.
  12. Brush eggs.
  13. Bake 17 minutes @ 160 Celsius.
  14. From reading your post, your issue is (1) recipe, (2)proofing (salt!, maybe temperature) (3) dough rest and (4) lamination. Dough seems stressed and lamination a bit harsh. Are you doing lamination by hand?

One final friendly note, it's almost impossible to get the honeycomb crumb you're seeking without a sheeter and a proofer. Temperature, even pressure when sheeting and thickness control are essential.

PM if you'd like further detailed discussions. 

Hope this helps.