The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Croissant shape is weird!

Preu's picture
Preu

Croissant shape is weird!

Hello TFL community, I have been lurking here for quite a while without posting anything since at least one person have already asked the question I wanted to ask. But it seems that I’m the only one who has been having problems with croissant shaping. 

As you can see below, the croissant shape is too weird. What I don’t get is that they look fine after shaping, and I’ve used the same measurement for several different batches, they have only been looking weird for the past 2 batches or so. And they look okay before baking, they look worse after baking *sob. I normally do 8 cm width by 36 to 40 cm length with 3-4 mm thickness. I love the many level of rolls, which explains the extra length. 

Any advice, input, insights are greatly appreciated! I will try to post to shapes before proofing the next time I make croissants. Thank you!

Preu's picture
Preu


Top pictures are the exteriors with the crumb below it. I’m mostly happy with the crumb, but the exterior bothers me the most. What kind of problem is this?? I didn’t realise this could be a problem once you achieve desired crumb ??
Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Problems in the last bakes or the first bakes?  

How tight are the rolls rolled?   Does dough temp change, get warmer from tray to tray while shaping? Looks like dough is being stretched with more tension as the dough nears end of shaping. Any thoughts?

Is there a timed rest between rolling out the dough and cutting or cutting and shaping? Has this changed?

Any changes in:

     Rise time and temps?  

     Humidity?  Covered?  Details of wash, when, how often?

     Type, settings or temp of oven?  

What is oven temp?

Do you have a crumb shot with cut down the length of the croissant?  Top to bottom showing the side view. Would like to see how the layers are responding to heat. 

Another thing to consider is the overall shape of the croissant.  Croissants ? have a "C" shape with the points curved in.  This puts the visual accent on the higher middle section of the roll.  Handling may also deflate the points a little bit in the shaping and give the areas between the points and middle section some direction in expansion.  Anyway, thought I'd mention it.

 

Preu's picture
Preu

Hello Mini Oven,

Thank you for responding! And thank you for the detailed questions, I was not sure how detailed I should’ve gone.

I bake the croissants all at once, if that’s what you’re asking.

I’m not sure how to describe the tightness of the rolls. I press it down slightly as I’m rolling, so it’s like 80% gravity and 20% me pressing. The temp change is mostly from shaping to proofing, but i did the shaping in an aircon-ed room so i doubt there’s much temp change. Ah, do you mean i might stretch it more towards the pointy end? That’s probable, i thought i was being careful, but i might be pressing it down too much as the roll got bigger.

 

I normally leave the dough to rest after final folding before shaping for about an hour, but i don’t rest it between rolling out and cutting and shaping. I live in a tropical country, even with the aircon, it still gets too warm.

Unfortunately, I haven’t noticed anything changing in rise time, temps, and humidity, which is why I’m so confused. They look and feel exactly the same as the previous ones, rise time between 4-5 hours, temp about 28-30 C, and room normal room humidity ? What might change is the egg wash, I might not have been putting enough water, or I might’ve been egg washing the layers and therefore gluing them together. But I have no idea, will it cause this weird look? I normally keep the croissant rolls humid by spraying water when needed, and i egg wash it twice right before baking. Oven temp when baking is 190 C and I use convection oven.

I will take a picture of the cross section of the croissant first thing tomorrow morning.

About the shape, I’ve heard that then C shape croissant tends to be made with margarine, and the straight shape is with butter. I’m not sure how true this is, but I personally love the aesthetic of the straight croissant, so that might be a problem ?

I really appreciate your response, thank you!

 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Im hoping there is enough info for someone to jump in and help you more than I can.

one more Q from me.  

Are you cutting/ notching and spreading the front edge of the dough just a little bit before rolling up?

Amornthep's picture
Amornthep

I looked at your pics when proofing The color of croissants is NOT EVEN.

Some part looks dry and some part looks normally moist.

Maybe it’s the reason that your croissants is unevenly developed in the oven. 

Timothy Wilson's picture
Timothy Wilson

I also think that it's an oven problem. The middle ones have a better shape than others. You should try to heat oven better before baking. If it doesn't work you can look up to your heater they can be clogged up, I had this problem with my old oven.