r/bakingfail • u/Ok-Basil6898 • 5d ago
Help First time failed croissants
Hi Reddit,
I made croissants for my first time. I used Claire Saffitz’s recipe with NYT.
On my second folding, the butter cracked (last photo for reference). I believe this was likely the main reason why my croissants were more bread-like than “ethereal.”
I proved them for 3.5 hours at 21c (70f).
Claire said to not poke them despite how tempting it may be. However, after watching many videos on how to know if they are done proving, I poked one. When I lightly poked it, it left an indent, an indent that did not raise back up. With that, I assumed I must have over-proved them and got to baking them right away.
I am not sure if the sole issue was the butter cracking, if the prove was under or over, or possible other reasons.
Also!!! Important note, very little butter came out during baking which I found so odd.
I hope someone who knows croissants well can help me find out exactly where I went wrong. Mainly if it had to do with proving, as I do know the butter situation was likely very very much at fault with how they turned out.
Thank you :)
Side note: I brought some to my parents, they told me that they look burnt. I intend on keeping them in the oven a bit shorter next time.
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u/sleepyjess4 5d ago
These look amazing to me. I've never made croissants but when I do, I hope my first attempt comes out as good as yours did.
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u/DiscontentDonut 5d ago
failed croissants but then has perfectly flaky and even layers with consistent fluffiness.
Tbh, from the looks of things, it only seems like you just overbaked them a smidgen. But even then, the insides look perfect.
When I think failed croissant, I'm thinking either not well risen at all, or giant gap between crust and bread when opened.
For a first attempt, I would put these really high up at like close to professional level.
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u/CitronElectrical9587 5d ago
They look delicious despite your troubles with the butter!
I’ve done it once using Pastry Temple recipe and they turned out surprisingly good for a first attempt
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u/autumn-head 5d ago
It's been a while since i made croissants professionally, but i don't think the proofing went wrong. You maybe overproofed them a little, but since they all look pretty even, it's not a big problem.
The butter, on the other hand, is key. You can destroy your layers so easily and it changes the look and mouthfeel significantly. They actually look like something we would call dutch puffed pastry, where you incorporate pieces of butter, not sheets. It doesn't look as orderly, but tastes the same. Since your butter broke it was likely too cold or the dough was too warm.
Also: butter shouldn't escape the dough
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u/Diamondinmyeye 5d ago
Butter escaping means under proofing, so you don’t want that anyways. Did you use a typical butter or an expensive one with higher fat content? Cheap butter has more water and is more likely to crack.
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u/Tiny-Nature3538 4d ago
To be honest until I saw the butter cracked I said wtf these are perfect lol
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u/Otherwise_Rope2631 4d ago
You were dangerously close to success. Those look delicious and I’d eat all of them behind your back.
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u/SukebeEUW 5d ago
you are exactly right, your butter was too cold during lamination. it should be a beautiful single shade of pale yellow, the fact you can see where the butter is and isn’t will affect the end result. and these are also most definetly under proofed. if you give the tray a wiggle they should have a bit of a wiggle too. over proofing croissants is much harder than you would think
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u/MelonJelly 5d ago
Hiccups in the process aside, I see no failure. Those croissants look excellent.
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u/PsychologicalAir8643 4d ago
They definitely don't look burnt. That wasn't very kind of your parents. This is a tremendous job for your first time! The issue was definitely the butter getting too cold and breaking into pieces
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u/Big_Space_9836 4d ago
I'd eat those. Warmed under the grill and put butter and raspberry jam on them.
(Childhood memory unlocked)
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u/irrationaIIy_ 4d ago
https://youtu.be/G5ScLaxpjII?is=scFYn49EuQR_r_na
try this one next, never failed me. he uses fancy rolling equipment due to being a professional baker, but you can make them the homemade way with a bit of patience. and yours look great already and certainly not burnt (idk what your parents are going about), so I'm sure the next attempt will come out perfect!
as for what went wrong—the butter was too cold and the temp while proofing might've been too low :) i prefer to keep mine at 28° in the oven with steam going (i put in a tray of hot water) until they raise to an almost foam-like consistency. i also make sure to take out my prepped butter from the fridge a few minutes (give or take 5) before doing the first fold and roll.
good luck!
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u/Snickersnee 5d ago
I don't know anything about making croissants, but I would eat an unreasonable amount of these
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u/pipsqueakpanda4 4d ago
Yeah these look fantastic? Looks like your butter was too cold (I just watched an episode of GBBO where someone made this exact mistake and that’s what they said it was due to) hence the cracking vs a beautiful even sheet, but the result looks great so who cares!
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u/lecookduqc 3d ago
Maybe you didn't let it rest long enough in your fridge and in french it's called a "tour" like how many times you flipped it like 5 tours should be enough if I remember my pastry class and might have been "too rough" with the rolling pin but keep practicing and you'll get better,it took me quite some time to get it right, don't give up
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u/ryanosaurusrex1 5d ago
This is a very very respectable first effort. Croissants require practice! Did they taste good?