Tried the cold butter trick for laminated dough, total believer now

Been doing croissants off and on for 2 years. Always got okay layers but nothing great. Read about freezing the butter block before rolling. Thought it was overkill. Tried it last Sunday. Big difference. The butter stayed in clean sheets instead of smearing into the dough. Layers actually separated when baked. First time I got that real flaky crunch. Used 4 sticks of butter from Costco. Anyone else do this or am I late to the party?

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blake_kelly197h ago

Wait, is that the secret I've been missing this whole time? I mean, I always thought freezing the butter was just gonna make it crack and shatter when I rolled it out, so I never tried it. But honestly, your post makes total sense now, the butter staying in clean sheets instead of melting into the dough is exactly what I struggle with. My croissants always came out kinda dense and greasy in the middle, and I just figured that was my technique being off. I'm gonna try this next weekend for sure, and honestly I'm kinda mad I didn't think of it sooner.