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I made some croissants yesterday. I proved and baked some of them immediately after shaping, and put the rest in the fridge overnight to bake in the morning.

The first batch came out pretty well, by my standards at least!

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But the overnight batch didn't seem to prove so well. The dough seemed pockmarked on the surface and didn't hold a nice round shape as it rose. The end result was slightly flatter croissants with a less aerated crumb:

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What happened to the dough?

Some information that may or may not be relevant:

  • I misted the lid of the proving container with water before putting it in the fridge, to keep the dough from drying out.
  • The dough rose a fair bit in the fridge before lamination as I couldn’t cook it down fast enough
  • The proved overnight croissants look kind of “soggy” in the photos, while the others look drier. Could this be because I made the proving environment too humid?
Will Vousden
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2 Answers2

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I think this was simply over-proofing. By the time the croissants got cold enough to halt fermentation, the dough had been stretched out by CO2 production and then collapsed a bit as the gas bubbles escaped. So you baked looser, less elastic dough the second time around.

Sneftel
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Assuming that you hit a comparable proofing stage (as per your description of the volume, although I would agree with Sneftel, that they may have been a bit over the point), there are two elements that can be different when comparing a direct bake vs. overnight proofing:

  1. A longer rest time will give the gluten time to relax. This reduces the overall tension. Yes, the rise counteracts this to a degree, but at least some of the tautness will be lost after a few hours.
  2. The cold dough is prone to condensation when taken out of the fridge and left out on the counter. This condensation can show as spots or pockmarks on the surface. It’s not related to quality, it’s purely a cosmetic issue. Misting in the oven can have the same effect, if the dough goes into the oven cold.
Stephie
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