Heard a bakery owner say 'stop using cold butter for croissants' and it clicked

Was at a coffee shop in Portland last Tuesday and overheard this old baker talking to a new hire. He said cold butter makes layers snap instead of stretch, and I realized that's why my croissants always came out with those big air pockets. I been keeping my butter in the fridge right up until I roll it. Tried it his way with room temp butter that's still firm and the lamination came out way better. Anyone else have a simple fix like that change your whole bake?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley1392mo ago

Kinda makes you wonder how many other things we've been doing "right" that are actually backwards, doesn't it? Goes way beyond baking once you start looking for it.

mark6762mo ago

Started counting calories differently and it blew my mind how wrong I was.

grant.jason23d ago

Man, that reminds me of when I switched from running on pavement to trail running. I always thought pavement was easier because it's flat and smooth. Turns out, the soft dirt and uneven ground actually works my muscles way differently and I ended up way less sore. I started seeing way better results in like two weeks. Makes you wonder what else we're overcomplicating.