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Croissant dough is tough and dimmpled.
I’m having lots of trouble with making the croissant dough. Can anyone help me? When making the dough I get this tough, uneven mess. Nothing like the course and nothing like a good bread dough (smooth and silky) I’ve tried making it with T45 french pastry flour, exactly as the recipe says and then I tried bread flour to see if the problem is with the flour, same issue. It’s more like playdough than pastry dough.
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2 Replies
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Scoolinary Team
Hi Megan, thanks for sharing what you’re going through.
You’re definitely not alone,most of us have ended up with croissant dough that feels more like Play-Doh at some point!
From what you describe (tough, uneven, and dimpled), a few things could be going on. The T45 flour the chef mentions is fine, as long as it has 12–13% protein and a PL value between 0.4 and 0.7 (that just tells you how elastic and extensible the dough will be).
Sometimes even if the protein is right, if the PL is off, the dough won’t behave as expected.
How you’re mixing also makes a big difference,did you knead it by hand or use a professional mixer? That can really affect the outcome.
When kneading by hand, overworking the dough without breaks can cause the gluten to get too tight. And with a machine, if the dough gets too warm or overmixed, it can become rubbery and tough.
And one really important thing: this kind of dough is hard. If it’s your first time, don’t get discouraged.
Making good croissants takes practice and lots of trial and error before you really get the feel for the lamination, the mixing, the chilling, the baking,everything! You’re already on the right track just by trying and asking for help.
Hope this helps!
All the best!
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Scoolinary Team
Hi Chef Megan
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Stay tuned—this one’s going to be seriously tempting 😏
Have a great weekend!
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