Talk about High Maintenance... Laminated Dough. I wonder how many people know just how many hours and complicated steps go into making their buttery little croissant or danish breakfast treats. Scale, Mix, Laminate, Fold, Rest, Fold again, Rest, Roll, Shape, Bake. It's a seemingly never-ending cycle of giving the dough tons of attention and muscle, rolling it out and folding it in on itself, and then leaving it alone in the cooler to "rest and relax."Who knew that croissant dough basically requires spa-like treatment? Apparently the gluten needs just the right amount of handling to develop... but then gets nervous and shrinks when you over-work it, necessitating a little "massage" of sorts to calm it down. And the butter in the dough is so temperamental that it gets all heated up and requires a "cooling, resting period" of about an hour in the refrigerator every time you try to roll it out. Give me a break, laminated dough. You are too much!
