This cool winter in Florida I have made several batches of laminated dough for croissants. So far, Nick Magliere/Calvel (used scalded milk), S. Corriher (didn't scald milk, used touch of oil of board and ice water brushed on dough when rolling, did 6 turns), Thomas Keller ( did pre-ferment, used only water - best flavor so far), and RL Beranbaum (I did kouigns amann for a change). Each of these used slightly different ingredients, enclosed the butter block in a different manner and shaped/divided dough differently. It was like high school geometry all over. I have Ciril Hitz (adds eggs - danish dough) and Sherry Yard yet to go. Then I can assemble my personal procedure. Learning through a lot of trial and error. When making yeast doughs with butter (brioche, panettone, stollen) I rely heavily on sheets of re-freezable ice cubes. House temps in FL are rarely cool. When kneading in the Kitchen Aide mixer, I stuff them under but in contact with the bowl on a folded kitchen towel and monitor the dough temperature with trusty Thermapen. When doing the lamination, I put the sheets under a marble pastry block to keep dough cool. Ice cube sheets can be removed/replaced to maintain desired temperatures. I hope this encourages others to try lamination. I told the baker at our local grocery and he told me that next I have to do strudel dough.

• Reply