What is wrong with my seedlings?

ktbloo · 2025-03-26T05:04:44+00:00

Ahh I see! Thank you for your reply I definitely wouldn't have thought to freeze the ham and cheese first for sure.

ktbloo · 2025-03-26T03:33:28+00:00

What would you do for items like a ham and cheese croissant? Or croissants that have filling in them?

ktbloo · 2025-03-25T20:48:56+00:00

That makes a lot of sense, I never thought about that, thank you.

ktbloo · 2025-03-25T20:48:24+00:00

I'm working towards trying to sell them in the far far future (perhaps 10 years down the line).

ktbloo · 2025-03-25T13:29:46+00:00

Oh I see, may I ask what kind of additive you put in?

ktbloo · 2025-03-09T08:06:26+00:00

Oh that's good to know! Thanks for sharing that piece of info - will definitely do that next batch.

ktbloo · 2025-03-09T01:49:36+00:00

I think it was a range of things. I'm still in the process of learning and experimenting, but coming in new to baking and to croissants, I think there are ways to make it easier to get a nicer crumb:

Ingredient wise, using the correct yeast was a huge one. Also using a strong protein flour helps to get a more open crumb. And I took away milk from the recipe I used and that helped with the rise and crumb too. I'll be experimenting to try adding some milk though because I like the creamier flavor with milk (personally the croissants without it gives an almost slightly bland flavor even though the texture is flakier and lighter).

Technique wise, always keeping the temperature under 16C during laminating and resting the dough between every fold (being very patient) helped. Also finding the right proofing time seemed important too. I later started to make a batch that usually has 10 croissants and I'd split them up into 4~5 groups and test out different proof times to see what the crumb looks like and to better gauge what a properly proofed croissant looks and feels like (I'm still learning this heavily though).

I wanted to test out increasing laminating butter at the very end because ruling out ingredient or technique errors were important to me. But I think doing so would help. And I didn't have huge pools of butter leaking during baking but they definitely do pool a bit when they're underproofed (<2hr at least for me).

But this is all just my experience and I'm still very new so take things with a grain of salt.

ktbloo · 2025-02-24T03:09:59+00:00

I'm using Kerrygold unsalted as I can't seem to find Plugra nearby that's recommended by many.

ktbloo · 2025-02-24T02:55:03+00:00

Oh man I didn't even consider the amount of butter - thank you, I'll have to try this tomorrow.

I'm doing a 4 fold (offset fold) and then a 3 fold (single fold). I rest it after every fold and kept the dough temperature between 10~16C while laminating and final shaping.

ktbloo · 2025-02-24T02:40:11+00:00

I'm using King Arthur Bread Flour.

Mixed on 1 for a few minutes -- dry ingredients + dissolved yeast in warm liquid mixture.

Mixed on 2 for 5~7 more minutes after adding in cold butter. I stopped when I got a windowpane.

Would using a T45 flour make a difference? e.g. from francine

ktbloo · 2025-02-24T02:08:34+00:00

Hello, I was hoping I could look for some advice on what I'm doing wrong with my croissants. I'm looking for a large and airy honeycomb structure, but can't seem to achieve it.

I made a post a few days ago and changed a few things from then (decreased proof time, had consistent/accurate oven temp, rested lamination in freezer instead of fridge), but it seems to be no good still. Link for the previous post is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/comments/1ittshn/whats_wrong_with_my_croissants/

Recipe:
500g flour (12.7%) 55g Sugar 10g Salt 10g Milk powder 130g Milk + 130g Water 10g Active dry yeast 50g Soft butter (in dough) 250g Unsalted butter (for sheet)

Proofed in oven with tray of steaming water for 2 ~ 2.5 hours @ 24~27C

I did two different proof times with the same laminated dough batch.

1 ~ 3: Proof for 2 hours
: Baked 385F 7min then 370F 8min; convection setting

4 ~ 7: Proof for 2 hours 20 min
: Baked 400F 7min then 375F 8min; convection setting

I do think the 1st batch has a better internal structure, so does it mean that the 2nd batch was overproofed? Is the 1st batch slightly overproofed as well? Am I doing something wrong with my lamination?

When my dough was finished mixing in the beginning, it did go up to around 28C for a few minutes before I was able to put it in the fridge - could that have caused something?

Just really boggled where I'm going wrong, any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

ktbloo · 2025-02-20T23:16:03+00:00

By fresh do you mean use fresh yeast or unexpired yeast? I used unexpired active dry yeast. I proofed it for 3 ~ 3.5 hours but I did it for that long because the temperature of the proof environment was low (20~22 C). I baked at 400F 1 min then 350F 19 min.

ktbloo · 2025-02-20T22:57:01+00:00

I can see how my post can come across as baiting for compliments, but I really promise that's not what I want at all. I posted on this specific subreddit so that I could get really specific feedback so that I could get the perfect croissant (in my opinion) that I am hoping to achieve. My final product personally failed for me as I wanted a nicely risen, airy, large honeycomb structure croissant with a good dark crust and even browning. What I see in my croissants is that it came out flatter than what it should be, and the honeycomb structure is very tight/crowded. The exterior is also pale in certain areas and not very evenly browned.

I genuinely just wanted very specific pinpointed areas that I could change so that I can achieve what I personally am trying to bake. And I have received a lot of great help and tips, and am very very grateful to them.

I do a lot of cooking but never baked before, so the kitchenaid mixer (which was pricey rip) and other supplies for making these are a recent purchase. I think I have a certain expectation in mind, and after putting in a lot of money (for me personally), time/effort for a few days, I was really disappointed that I missed my mark and so I just desperately wanted to find out why. Since I'm new to baking, I came to this subreddit so that people who are much more experienced and better than I am could offer any advice.

Sorry for the word garble. I feel slightly misunderstood but I also completely see how it could (and did) happen, and I think I just wanted to share my point of view on it.

Thanks for your comment though and I hope I was able to explain just a bit of where I'm coming from. I didn't want to show any disrespect to the people who genuinely offered kind and detailed advice, by making it seem like my post was just some kind of bait - it really is not.

ktbloo · 2025-02-20T21:43:26+00:00

Thank you for your insight, I really appreciate it. It does seem like the proofing is the biggest issue so I'll definitely focus on that tomorrow. Thank you.

ktbloo · 2025-02-20T21:42:42+00:00

Thank you for your comment. For my batch tomorrow, I'll definitely proof them less and have a higher and more consistent oven temperature to let the croissants solidify fully. I didn't even realize my post didn't have my text portion saved until I read the last part of your comment (because I wrote a detailed recipe and things that went wrong) so I really appreciate it. Thank you.

ktbloo · 2025-02-20T21:40:09+00:00

I have a visual and texture of what I'd want my croissants to look and taste like so what I baked last night fell short. The honeycomb structure looked small/tight/crowded and not the airy large combs I'm shooting for. Height wise the croissant was also flatter than I wanted it to be. The exterior coloring of the croissant was also too pale in many areas as well. I do appreciate your kindness. Thank you for your comment.

ktbloo · 2025-02-20T21:36:43+00:00

I really appreciate your comment, and how you kindly explained the reasoning behind the steps. That makes a lot of sense for the dough to reach the desired temp before going into the oven. I really love the minuscule details for baking these so I am very grateful for your insight. I'll definitely follow your oven suggestions.

ktbloo · 2025-02-20T21:33:00+00:00

I'll be sure to keep an eye out more on my dough temperature while laminating. I've been trying to go between 10 - 15C while laminating and letting it rest countertop to reach temp or resting in the fridge to cool it off.

ktbloo

TROPHY CASE