Revisiting croissants. Help needed :)
Hello,
Its been awhile since I’ve been on here, but I’ve recently delved back into the world of croissant making and wanted to get some opinions and advice.
I followed Bruno Albouze’s croissant recipe which asks to follow 1 double fold and 1 single fold in the lamination process.
I have 3 questions:
1. Is the honeycomb structure supposed to look like this?
2. When I ate it (admittedly I ate it 10mins after it got out of the oven), it was light but a little chewy. Not sure if this is because of the lamination style. Should I try another folding process to get it to be lighter?
3. Even though I eggwashed the croissants (using egg with salt) and baked for 21mins at 190C (fan), I still didn’t achieve a darker more golden shade. How do I achieve this?
Thank you for your time and knowledge!
Here’s another croissant I sliced the next day:
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H
I think your honeycomb is looking great! The one in your hand looks huge or maybe your hands are small. I figure 825-875 g of laminated dough to a dozen croissants, so maybe you target differently?
The one you cut in half looks a little flat in the picture. I’m thinking you might try letting final proof go a little longer. I proof mine for 90-120 minutes, but am able to maintain a controlled 75° F (24° C).
Hot bread has a different texture from fully cooled bread. You don’t mention how the one you ate next day seemed. You also don’t mention how flaky the croissants seem. I judge my croissants by how many crumbs the deposit on my plate and my shirt…more is always better. :-)
I now bake mine at 375° F (190° C) for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350° F (175° C) for 10-15 minutes. And I always use convection. I had trouble with butter leakage and burnt bottoms before I modified the bake.
Your rolls are looking good from here. Keep doing what you’re doing!
Phil
Maybe you should check the ratio of ingredients, like the amount of oil, flour, and water, to achieve the optimal balance between lightness and tenderness. Also, pay attention to the lamination process - perhaps some adjustments need to be made when folding and layering the dough.