Laminated Dough

About

Laminated dough is a sophisticated baking technique that involves creating multiple layers of dough and fat, typically butter, to achieve a flaky and tender texture. This process, also known as dough sheeting and folding, is crucial for producing pastries like croissants, puff pastry, and Danish. The lamination process begins with preparing a base dough, which is then rolled out and layered with butter. The dough is folded in various patterns, such as the envelope fold, single fold, or letter fold, to enclose the butter and create layers. Through repeated rolling and folding, the layers of dough and butter multiply, resulting in a delicate, layered structure. The number of layers can vary depending on the type of pastry, with croissants typically having 24 to 144 layers and Danish having 24 to 54 layers. Maintaining the right temperature and resting time between folds is essential to prevent the butter from melting and to ensure proper lamination. This technique requires patience and precision but yields pastries with a unique texture and flavor.