My first attempt at laminated dough in a 90 degree kitchen taught me why pastry chefs swear by marble countertops

I was visiting my sister in Phoenix last July trying to make croissants and the butter kept melting into the dough before I even finished the first fold, so now I freeze my baking sheet for 15 minutes between every turn and I'm curious if anyone else has a weird trick for keeping things cold in a hot kitchen?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_julia24d ago

Freezing the sheet between folds is a lifesaver, I do that too but I also drop an ice pack under my mixing bowl to keep the dough cold while it rests. Another thing that helps me is using European style butter with a higher fat content since it softens slower than regular butter. Honestly though in a 90 degree kitchen you've basically got no choice but to run the AC or work in front of a fan.

kai_bennett24d ago

90 degrees? Man I'm sweating just thinking about that. @the_julia you must have the patience of a saint to even attempt croissant dough in that heat. I tried laminating once when my kitchen was like 78 and the butter started squishing out on the second fold, total disaster. European butter is the only way to go though, totally agree on that.