Hi all, I'm new to reddit and all but I've seen some posts about croissants and people giving feedback, so I'd like to add my own experiments and get some feedback if possible too.
This is the latest batch of croissants I've made. They seemed to proof nicely and had a good oven spring but it seems they look kinda raw in the middle, as if the layers got stuck one with another. The last time this happened it was because of lack of fermentation, so I used a turned off oven and placed the trays inside, with a bowl of hot water inside with an empty tray hovering over it so the steam wouldn't react directly the croissant dough since I feared the butter might start melting.
Now then, regarding process I usually go for a 2½ days; I tend to prepare the dough on day 1 and let it bulk proof for 3 hours give or take (I use about 0.8% yeast) and then I degass the dough to form a rectangle and keep on the chilled for the night. On day 2 I defrost the croissant dough on the fridge (takes about 5 to 6 hours to reach 15°C) and then chill it for 20 to 30 minutes to reach 2-5°C. I plastify and form a rectangle out of the butter the same day I'll laminate the dough so I can control it's temperature better (I tend to use it between 12 to 17°C) and to make it easier to use as well. Regarding the lamination, I make a double and simple fold with 30' rest + 10-15' on the chiller between each fold, and roll the dough until about 5mm before cutting and shaping. Each piece is about 10x25cm (give or take, the dough sheeter works funny sometimes, but never rips off the dough or breaks it at all) and they weight from 85 to 95gr per unit. While shaping the triangles, I used to stretch them a lot to the point they'd go from 25 to 33 or 35cm in some cases (the dough would allow me to do so, I was not applying too much force to stretch them), then roll them not super tight but enough for them to keep it's shape. After that, I'd let them proof for about 8 hours if fresh, 10 if frozen (2 hours to let them defrost). They used to come out fine, with a nice honey comb crumb, but the weather has been getting colder and humidity has been decreasing as well, and now it looks like the picture in the middle. It's worth noting that it used to be worse, but increasing proofing time helped a lot. I preheat the oven at 190°C and bake them at 160°C for 18 minutes give or take, which is the time and temperature I've been using so far (the oven is a 10-tray convection oven ZMMAG with very powerful fans that can't be programmed, so I've been using that baking profile. We follow a rule of "if it's meant to be baked at 180, do 20 less").
Anybody have any idea why are they coming out like this? Worthy to note that at the beginning the croissants would come out just fine, with a nice honeycomb crumb; the only factor that has changed has been the weather and humidity (we went from 20°C to 18°C in a month, but the yeast was adjusted accordingly. I think we're at 16°C from 12am to 5am)
Also, worthy noting that I haven't seen this issue on the pain au chocolat (I've added a picture of one cut in half too) and I've even proofed them for 2 hours less, but they do come out great (it is the same recipe; that one was a scrap I figured I'd save for breakfast haha)
About the recipe now…
Bread flour (12-13% protein) 100%
Salt 2%
Sugar 10%
Milk 33.6%
Water 16.3%
Honey 3%
Yeast 1.1% (used to be 0.8)
Butter 10%
Butter for tourage 3 to 1 dough to butter
With all said and done, any tips? Any recommendations on how to achieve a better shape and crumb? Any information or tip would be much apreciated.
P.d.: if you're wondering why I'm using such a low amount of yeast, it's because I work a split shift (5pm to 10pm and 4:30am to 7:30am) for which I've been trying to eyeball the amount of yeast needed for each product to have them proofed by 5am so I can bake everything on time. I'm obsessed with croissants btw.
by Particular_Pea_698
35 Comments
Great lamination
Beautiful
Gorgeous croissants
Looks perfect to me.
Would happily gorge 🐷🥐
I’m sorry I’m not seeing the issue you’re describing.
I don’t see the issue. Isn’t it the goal that there is a bit of a hollow inside a croissant?
If they were here, that middle crumb (ok the whole thing) would be consumed. Sorry Op.
Those are perfect and you know it! Ha
shiii it looks better than mine so i got no other comments than great job
No, they look so good
Random question, how tightly are you rolling the plain croissants? Do you press down at the wide end of the triangle before you continue rolling? If so, you could be gluing those layers together.
Sexy❤️❤️
Any time I have had this problem it’s due to rushing the final proof. You said that in the past, increasing proof time had helped too. Maybe swap the yeast back to 0.8% and see if it’s any better?
I think that this is way above our collective level here, maybe try on one of the professional subreddits? I see the issue you’re pointing out, but beyond wondering if the cooler temp means that the flour has a higher WA, no idea.
I guess while uploading photos something got messed up. These look delicious and wonderful. Would gladly take 12 if I could!
I’m so glad you added that PS! Was going to ask about the yeast.
My only guesses:
1. The low yeast + long fermentation produces a false proof, where it looks like it’s right, but is technically overproofed
2. Shaping issue of pulling that point too much right before the roll and then rolling tight, so you end up with a thin dough in the middle rolled tightly + thicker dough on the outside
Have you noticed any changes in the fermentation of your detrempe before you go on to laminating? I could see I situation where the weather changes lead to more fermentation, or over-correction cutting it short, which can have a pretty considerable impact on dough strength, balance between extensibility and elasticity (especially important in croissants), and final proofing/baking conditions
These look perfect.
Another “flex” post disguised as an “I need help” post.
A couple of things that usually solve this in my bakery:
1. You’re letting the croissants freeze and not letting them defrost properly before proofing. To prevent a restricted interior you need to defrost them overnight in a chilled cabinet before you start a proofing cycle. If you defrost them straight in a fridge/chilled environment before pushing them to proof then the internal part of the croissant will still be colder and therefore not proof at the same rate. [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIlX4RqyDr4/?igsh=MWV4eWkwcjFnaGhodw==](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIlX4RqyDr4/?igsh=MWV4eWkwcjFnaGhodw==)Here’s a very brief video that might help.
2. The central part of your croissant is too heavy and is collapsing on itself when baking. This one is harder to diagnose with knowing the texture/mouthfeel of the pastry, but sometimes a longer proof at a lower temperature and humidity can alleviate the problem. For reference I shape all my croissants to 10x36cm before stretching on dough that is 4.5mm thick with a target weight of 125g before baking and they have a 2.5 hour proof at 27c, 83% humidity.
I’ll attach a photo if I can figure out how to use the reddit app properly 🫠
Edit: [Here’s a cross section of what my croissants look like](https://imgur.com/a/F9gPgGO). Feel free to send me a message and I’ll offer any advice when I’m free.
They look perfect… quit nit picking. That’s what we all wanna pack with butter and lord is there a lot of room for it.
They don’t look raw at all. I live in France and these look on par if not better than what you see in boulangeries here.
I urge you to take a step back and recognize that you’re doing a fantastic job. I understand the quest for near-perfection, but if your pastries taste as beautifully as they look, you’re doing a great job. Sorry OP, but I have no notes for you. This looks incredible
I’m confused m, what’s the problem 🤷🏾♀️
I love the look, the lamination and your very detailed description!
Looking at the crumb shot, I’d say these are in fact overproofed – the interior structure is not a result of the lamination and shaping (ie a spiral), but entirely a result of fermentation.
As such, you might get compression in the lower part of the bake, simply due to gravity.
Counterintuitively, more yeast followed by a shorter proof might solve these issues.
I’d also guess that freezing the raw croissants isn’t conducive to predictable results (the outside of the croissant will have fermentation start before the insides).
With all of that said, these are gorgeous, please keep posting experimental results here!
r/humblebrag
You are forgetting the little love tap. Each croissant needs a little kiss after forming. I know it’s a little detail, but somehow the dough knows
I would kill someone for a crumb like this lol
You didn’t say what type of yeast you’re using. Each type reacts differently to freezing. The ideal yeast to use for frozen dough is Osmotolerant yeast. SAF Gold or something equivalent to that. And I believe a 3 hour ferment is longer than it should be if you’re freezing the dough. This allows for too much yeast activity so when you freeze the dough more yeast cells die off. I would reduce the time to 60-90 minutes to see if that makes a difference.
Your croissants look great as they are but I see the issue you’re referring to. It’s possible the dough has reduced yeast activity due to over fermentation before freezing and possibly the type of yeast being used.
I’ll help eat them.
i see what you’re talking about in the middle, if it’s a different texture than the rest which it looks to be, then i’d say it’s butter leakage during proofing
I’d be super embarrassed to post those here tbh, I’ll dm my address so you have a place where you can offload those disgraceful abominations
??? 🤷♀️
This looks like perfection!
troll is obvious.
I wish I could get croissants anywhere near this level in my city. There used to be a legendary baker who only made croissants and they were magical. He had to retire because of cancer and no one in his shop can even come close. Hope you the best Albert, no one can replace you.