The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Lune croissant book

Econprof's picture
Econprof

Lune croissant book

Anyone tried the croissant dough recipe from the Lune book? It’s a beautiful book and the instructions are very precise, but the dough was an abysmal failure for me. Way too dry to ever come together. The one Amazon review I see from someone who mentions attempting the recipe details the exact same problem. The book is very insistent about following the recipe exactly and does not mention any potential adjustments.

Yes, I followed the recipe carefully, including weighing everything properly. I have made croissants a few times before and have not seen anything like this.

I suppose it’s the US flour (book was written for a global audience, but author is Australian). But she does say to use a strong bread flour of at least 11.5% protein, and ideally around 12.5%. I used King Arthur bread flour.

albacore's picture
albacore

Yes, maybe it's the strength and thirstiness of US flour that is causing the problem - compounded by the difficulty in comparing flour protein content from different regions of the world.

I suspect that Australia, like Europe, calculates protein adjusted for 0% moisture, whereas the US figure is "as is" at 15% moisture. So maybe KA BF would be about 15% in Aussie terms?

Perhaps try AP or contact some flour suppliers for advice?

Lance

Econprof's picture
Econprof

I had forgotten that adjustments might need to be made when comparing flours. Thanks for pointing that out!

SueVT's picture
SueVT

Although I use a different croissant recipe, I am finding that I need to add more water to everything I am baking, to compensate for how dry the flour is.

I am also having to sift certain flours that I've had since last summer, as the summer moisture has now dried out completely, leaving a few hard lumps.

Econprof's picture
Econprof

I may have to add more liquid. It’s tough to figure out how much to add when trying an unfamiliar recipe, but something has to be done.

ricebunnie's picture
ricebunnie

I had the same experience as well and used KA's AP flour (11.7% protein). It's a bummer as I was really looking forward to adding a poolish/preferment step to my croissants.

TucsonKat's picture
TucsonKat

The Lune recipe uses baking temps of 210degC fan (410 degF) for 5 minutes, and 160 degC fan (320degF) for 16 min.

I'm baking in two kitchens in the US - one with a Bosch convection oven, one with a Frigidaire Gallery conventional oven.

The Bosch convection oven - when I set it to 410 degF convection bake, it displays a lower temp.  Is this correct or do I compensate to get the display temp to 410?

The conventional oven - do I set it to 410 deg F or higher, say 435, since it is not baking with convection?

This is my first lamination experience.  The Lune recipe makes four packets, and I'm baking the last packet right now in the conventional oven.  Eight ham and cheese croissants and they smell heavenly.

I didn't have a problem with the dough recipe.  I used King Arthur APF and a mix of high fat unsalted butters (Pulgrà, Cabot Extra-Creamy and Kerrygold).

I've started comparing Reid's recipe to others and will probably try a few different recipes before I settle on one that works best for me.

pwassbaker's picture
pwassbaker

I am a professional baker and have made croissants by hand the past three years.  I’m not bragging but I know what I’m doing.  I made the Lune recipe to the letter using King Arthur AP flour.  It was very dry and next to impossible to roll out even before attempting to laminate.  It was like leather. No exaggeration.  But I was determined to get a result.   Pro: nice crunch, lots of flaky layers, good flavor  Con: dense, heavy final product that didn’t brown evenly. 
I will probably attempt again but most likely will reduce flour considerably.

if you want a recipe that works, I recommend Cooks Illustrated.  The methodology is easy to follow.  King Arthur AP flour is just fine. 

pwassbaker's picture
pwassbaker

If you do try to tweak this recipe, I would lower the flour percentage rather than increase moisture content.  This is already a sizable recipe to laminate by hand.  In fact, it’s pretty unmanageable in a home kitchen imho.  You’ll have an easier time scaling it in half once you get moisture content right.  You’ll just need to approximate dimensions of butter square for lamination step.