So happy by how this batch turned out! I've made above 20 batches of hand-laminated pain Suisse up to this point, and this is my absolute best so far!
This batch was the tidiest pain Suisse dough I've ever worked with. Usually laminating pain Suisse means greasy working table (the stripes leave butter 'fingerprints' on the table). It wasn't as messy.
I feel I have improved so much, and I'm proud of it. I think I just found the right place where I want to specialize as a baker. I always feel I'm more of a technician and less of an analyst. That being said, viennoiserie is the perfect fit for me.
Change log:
- Did 3+4 lamination instead of 4+4 (pain Suisse specific. Still will do 4+4 for other viennoiserie makeups)
- The last roll before adding decorative stripes, I froze the dough for 40 minutes, then cut some stripes, put them on the black rice dough side, then proceed the remaining rollings with the usual in-between 20 minutes freezing. The longer freezing time was to counteract the longer duration spent at room temperature during stripes makeup
- I was after extra toastiness, hence the intentional darker color
- Thinner and smaller cake slices. The previous batch was too filling.
- Changed the order of dough layers, from stripes-main dough-black rice dough, to stripes-black rice dough-main dough
Thicker jam glaze with thinner strokes, to make the end product less sweet
Important pointer:
- The less the dough is laminated, the thinner the final roll should be. Too thick, butter will spill out during baking, and texture too bready. That being said, Aim for usual croissant thickness, which is 0.3-0.5 cm thick, eventhough there are basically 3 doughs stacking up against each other
Note:
The current state of my starter is 7:4:4 bran:skim milk powder:water
Be ready for the next trial! 😆
Best regards,
Jay
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They look so crispy! Love the extra toastiness. I think the filling-pastry ratio looks great. And kudos to you for managing this in such a warm and humid climate.
What would your next trial entail? I quitely simply cannot see what else you might want to improve on!
Thanks Lin, appreciate it!
They are a lot lighter, a lot flakier, a lot more balanced. I think my lamination skill got improved a lot by the fact there was so little butter spill during baking!
Pain Suisse is such a milestone for me. While I can mess up croissants and still be able to get away with it, pain Suisse is all-or-none situation. Either I nail it or I don't.
I'm moving away from black rice, I consider it acceptable enough. I will do interesting twist on the classic ham and cheese croissants on the next trial!
Jay