Sourdough Croissants – Lamination Experiment

I’ve been struggling with my results for my honeycomb structure.

The results I’m getting aren’t quite what I picture in my mind.

That said, I know that many factors are at play and any one (or combination of them) can affect the end result.

I have previously experimented with my technique for lock-in/lamination, length of proving and flour brand.

Admittedly, my technique for lock-in/lamination has much improved. My last batches of laminated dough have been the best I’ve ever made (IMHO). My proving time is 2X+ of what I’d originally used. In fact, in the pic above I feel I could have proved it another 30-45 minutes.

This time I used two “book folds” vice my habit of a “book fold” and a “letter fold”.

There are so many different ways to describe the number of layers. I just count the layers of butter. The total number of layers of both butter and dough would be 25 (12 of butter plus an equivalent + 1 for dough). Therefore, when I do my “book fold” I end up with 4 layers of butter. When I do a subsequent Tri/Letter fold I have 3X of the four layers resulting in 12 layers of butter.

This time I used a book fold twice so I had 16 layers of butter.

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I’ll need to see some other cross-sections to get a better sense of my results. I certainly pleased with the overall outcome.

BTW The 16 layer tasted GREAT with my Cherry Preserves!!

New photo