Fault 01Butter leaked
Why your croissants leaked butter
Butter on the tray means the butter melted before the layers set. Here is the temperature that caused it and the numbers that fix it.
A flat coil sitting in a set ring of yellow fat, with the bottom layers pressed together and greasy.
A lifted coil on a dry tray, its cut face showing open cells and separate leaves to the base.
Cross-section, drawn to the tolerances Edible Jig holds. Not a photograph.
Fault 02Streaky, few layers
Why your croissant crumb came out streaky, not honeycomb
Streaky crumb means the butter merged into the dough during rolling. Usually it is too many folds or a block worked too warm.
A cut face with 3 thick bready bands and dense dough between them, the band edges waxy and closed.
Open honeycomb
in toleranceA cut face with dozens of irregular cells spiralling from the centre, walls thin and dry to the touch.
Cross-section, drawn to the tolerances Edible Jig holds. Not a photograph.
Fault 03Butter broke through
Why your dough tore during the second fold
A tear in lamination is a temperature mismatch: a hard butter block inside a softer dough. Here are the numbers that keep both stretching together.
A rolled slab with grey butter patches showing at the surface and a split running from one squared corner.
Butter stretched
in toleranceA rolled slab with an even matte surface, square edges, and a faint uniform shadow of butter beneath the skin.
Cross-section, drawn to the tolerances Edible Jig holds. Not a photograph.
Fault 04Tight, even crumb
Why your croissants came out like bread rolls
A dense, even crumb means the layers never separated. The usual causes are an overmixed detrempe, a thick sheet, and a short proof.
A cut face of uniform small cells with no spiral visible, springy under a fingertip like a bread roll.
Layers standing apart
in toleranceA cut face where the spiral is visible as separate leaves, with irregular cells that crush and stay crushed.
Cross-section, drawn to the tolerances Edible Jig holds. Not a photograph.
Fault 05Collapsed flat
Why your croissants collapsed flat in the oven
Croissants that rise and then sink are overproofed. The gluten reached the end of its hold before the oven could set the layers.
A wide, low coil with a pale base and a single coarse cavity where the merged cells gave way.
Held its lift
in toleranceA tall coil with a defined spiral and a fine open honeycomb that reaches the base without a cavity.
Cross-section, drawn to the tolerances Edible Jig holds. Not a photograph.
Fault 06Warm-kitchen leak
How to make croissants in a warm kitchen
A warm kitchen does not stop you laminating. It changes four numbers: block temperature, fold speed, fridge rests and proof time.
A slack coil in a ring of set fat, its outer layers merged by softened butter.
Cold work, held
in toleranceA lifted coil on a dry tray, laminated at 54°F (12°C) with 85-minute rests, showing separate leaves throughout.
Cross-section, drawn to the tolerances Edible Jig holds. Not a photograph.