I love baking fresh pies and croissants and other butter-based pastries for my friends and family. But if there is any element that can ruin pastry dough it is heat. I remember speaking with a fellow “kitchen-sister” friend of mine once who declared, it is impossible to make croissants on the island without having an air-conditioned kitchen! She said, “You can do it, but the texture will not be as light as you can find in the colder States or from a cool kitchen.”
A kitchen in the tropics can be a very warm place. It can be very difficult to keep the dough at the necessary temperature to keep the fats from melting too quickly into the flour. It’s the magical combination of fats and flour and the sudden burst of heat from the oven that give pastries their characteristic flakiness.
The best solution to overcome this kitchen challenge is to keep everything SUPER cold for as long as possible; and to work as quickly as possible with the pastry dough. I would suggest refrigerating everything that is going to come into contact with the dough for at least an hour– including the bowl and all the utensils. Also, pre-measure and refrigerate the ingredients– yes, even the flour!
However, do not measure the flour after you have refrigerated it. Cold flour measurements are different than warm/room temperature measurements, and will give you a much different outcome. Then refrigerate the finished dough itself for another hour or so before attempting to roll it out. If you find that the dough is melting too quickly, put it back in the refrigerator for a few more minutes to firm up.
Perfect, tender, flaky pies and pastries guaranteed!
Wow! I’m learning so much. I never knew that a warm kitchen could affect the outcome so much.
Oh, definitely! Refrigeration is key!
Love the blog, its wonderful! I have never tried croissants because I have such issues with sugar cookies, but then again, I never thought of refrigerating the bowls, flours, etc. Thanks for the great tip! I’m inspired to go make a mess tomorrow morning for breakfast now 🙂
Go, Alexandra!! A mistake in the kitchen is usually only the cost of a bag of flour. But if it works, the outcome is amazing and a great memory for friends and family! 🙂