Laminated Dough: Croissant

Mixing Dough, Lamination, Make-Up, Proofing, and Baking

Croissant Dough Recipe- pg 331
Bread flour 100%
Water 38%
Milk 23%
Sugar 3%
Salt 2%
Instant yeast 1.2%
Malt .5%
Butter 4%
Butter for lamination 25%

Using Bakers % to scale Croissant recipe for 15 kilo/15,000 g for class
Bread flour 100%
Water 38%
Milk 23%
Sugar 3%
Salt 2%
Instant yeast 1.2%
Malt .5%
Butter 4%
171.7%

15000/ 171.7= 87.36= Conversion Factor

8736 g Bread flour
3319.7 g Water
2009 3 g Milk
262 g Sugar
174.7 g Salt
104.8 g Instant yeast
43.7 g Malt
349.4 g Butter
15000 g total

Butter for lamination is a separate percentage of the total dough, not the flour
25% X 15,000= 3750 g Butter
Croissant Recipe for 1000 g dough
1000 g/ 171.7= 5.82= Conversion Factor

582 g Bread Flour
221.2 g Water
133.9 g Milk
17.5 g Sugar
11.6 g Salt
6.9 g Yeast
2.9 g Malt
23.3 g Butter
250 g Butter for Beurrage
12.5 g Flour for Beurrage


Croissant Dough Mixing
-Add liquids and dry ingredients first, and then add the salt and butter.
-Similar to the method used for making baguettes, we knead the dough on speed 1 for a little bit, then at speed 2 until a window pane forms, followed by bulk fermentation.
-With brioche dough, a modified straight dough method is used. The sugar and fat are withheld until the gluten is developed. Depending on how much sugar is in the recipe; you would withhold it if it is above 10% until the gluten develops or would kill the yeast.
-The yeast differs from that used in a baguette; it can take extra sugar. It’s called Gold yeast or Osmotolerant yeast.
-We are using the dough hook.
-Most croissant recipes contain no eggs, Danish dough contains egg.

-Mix the dough on speed 1 for 3 minutes until it comes together.
-It has less hydration than the baguette. Milk does not hydrate as much as water, but adds flavor and color.


-Add the salt and then the butter. The butter should be soft and malleable.
-The total mixing time is 7 min= 3 min on speed 1, 5 min speed 2.
-Because it has yeast it needs fermentation.

Détrempe (dough)
-check for temperature, bulk fermentation for 1 hr.
>72 degrees ferment in proofer
72- 78 degrees ferment at room temp
<79 degrees ferment in cooler

We are using Spring Wheat flour- the protein is not as heavy as some other bread flours, making the croissant not as chewy. You want a lot of structure but no chew; so we use this low protein bread flour.
-The dough looks tacky and that is ok.
-Round it out in a ball on the counter, cover with plastic wrap, and bench ferment it for an hour.

Beurrage

Beurrage- butter for roll-in
-Butter is not the most plastic fat, adding flour helps make it more plastic.
-In the same mixing bowl take 5% bread flour (12.5-13 g) and mix with the butter. The butter used is European style with 82% fat; the flour absorbs some of the extra moisture.
-The butter will be soft but still holds its shape. Flatten it on parchment.
-You want a rectangle; roll it even with a rolling pin.
-Put in cooler for the same amount of time as détrempe.
-Use the hook instead of the paddle when mixing the beurrage because we don’t want to incorporate air. That would make the butter brittle.

European style butter has a higher fat content, less moisture, and has been fermented which means it has lactic acid that helps tenderize the gluten and gives a nicer mouth feel.

Lock-In

Enveloping butter
-Bread flour dusted surface.
-Butter should be soft but not too cold. It should be able to bend.
-Punch out the excess air that forms because of the yeast.
-Try and keep the square shape.
-Roll out the dough in a square shape, the dough is relaxed.

-Fold the corners in; you have a lot of extra dough on top.
-Keep the table well dusted, fold the dough across.
-Roll out to ¾” thick, keeping the seam on top.
-Brush off the excess flour with a pastry brush.

-Single fold/ letter fold- fold in thirds
-Double fold/ book fold- more layers
-Roll out some, wrap in plastic, and rest for 30 min in cooler, keep rectangle shape.
-2 folds in croissant dough today, last fold tomorrow before shaping.

-Croissant dough should have expanded 2x’s while retarding overnight in cooler.
-unwrap, roll in opposite of last direction of previous fold with seam on top.
-punch out any air, break up butter with rolling pin.

-roll out; plasticity of dough is important, try to keep rectangular shape.

-brush excess flour, fold in thirds.

-now that has all folds dough is called Pâton.
-put back in cooler.

Shaping

-Roll to ¼” thick, 3mm.

-Make sure the dough is relaxed, the gluten is developed but is done shrinking.
-should be around 3 oz before baking, loose 10% weight in baking.
-When rolling out to cut croissants, dough should measure 8” height. Using a croissant cutter, roll along the length of the dough to cut them evenly. Use metal wheel slicer if any edges not clearly cut.

-For Chocolate croissant roll dough to 5 ¼” tall, and cut each piece to be 3 inches wide.
-Dust off excess flour.

-Stretch out a little bit, pull thumb down center, the edges have lamination in tact.
-want 7 ridges when rolled.
-spread V at top and roll.
-Pulling thumb down prevents center from being too thick.
-Roll the dough over, don’t press down.
-The seam should be at the bottom.

-Eggwash before proof, and again after. A slow proof is best. Proof for one hour.
-Brush very light egg wash on before baking.
-Bake 385 convection oven, steam for 2 seconds. Around 15 minutes.
-The steam delays the formation of a crust and gives the inside a chance to rise.

Baked Croissants
-see more layers when there is no egg wash on the sides of the ridges.
-chocolate croissant can be dusted with powdered sugar
-should be honey comb texture inside, lot of pockets.
-want to see each and every layer.
-looking for 7 ridges, uniform size and shaping.

-top and sides don’t feel or look greasy, not too sweet, slight acidity.

-retarding can be done in bulk or after shaped
-freeze dough in bulk, in pâton, or shaped un proofed