Update: My laminated dough kept tearing for a solid month

I was trying to make croissants at home and my butter block kept breaking through the dough on the final fold. Every batch came out greasy and flat. I watched like 10 different videos, tried chilling it longer, using different flour, everything. It finally clicked when I realized my kitchen was way too warm, around 75 degrees. I started working at 5 AM when it's cooler and got it right on the first try. Anyone have other tricks for keeping butter cold in a warm house?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeth9001mo ago

But what if your butter was just too soft?

taylor6681mo ago

My friend Sarah had that EXACT butter disaster last Christmas. She left her butter block on the counter while she made the dough, and her kitchen was super warm from all the baking. By the time she went to roll, it was basically spreadable. The whole batch just MELTED together into a greasy mess. She was so mad. Now she only lets it sit out for like five minutes, just to take the fridge chill off.

julia_carter701mo ago

Wait, is 75 degrees really that warm for a kitchen? Mine's usually around that and I've never had butter burst through like that. I wonder if it's more about the butter temp matching the dough temp, not just the room. If your butter is too cold and hard when you start rolling, it can shatter and then melt faster into the dough layers. Maybe try taking the butter block out of the fridge 10 minutes before you laminate, so it's pliable but still cold. That worked for me when I had a similar problem.