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LAMINATING DOUGH: WHAT IS IT AND HOW TO DO IT

Laminating dough helps you create delicate, flaky pastries as you roll, fold and chill alternating layers of butter and pastry dough. This technique— which requires finesse and patience— can help refine the skills of any baker. Explore this guide to learn steps for laminating dough and discover types of dough that are typically used with this method.

WHAT IS LAMINATED DOUGH?

Laminating dough is a technique that requires gently folding and rolling chilled butter into dough, with a lot of chilling and resting time in between folds, to create dozens of flaky pastry layers. It typically requires more time and precision than recipes where butter is creamed or cut into sugar and flour. This technique is often used to achieve the delicate structure of pastries like danishes and croissants.

Laminated dough recipes leverage lots of time in the freezer or refrigerator to help strengthen the gluten in the dough and solidify the butter in the layers. Then, during the baking process, water in the butter turns into steam to create stretchy, delicate layers within the pastry.

HOW TO LAMINATE DOUGH

The lamination process can look a bit different from recipe to recipe but generally includes rolling, folding and chilling dough and butter, then repeating the process a handful of times to create dozens of delicate layers. Read on to learn six steps for laminating dough.

YIELDS

1 batch

INGREDIENTS

Cold butter
Prepared pastry dough

PREP TIME

4 hours 5 minutes

TOOLS

Parchment paper
Pencil
Rolling pin
Offset spatula or bench scraper

TOTAL TIME

4 hours 5 minutes

STEP 1: MAKE YOUR DOUGH BASE

Before the lamination process can begin, you’ll need to create a base dough. This can be done with a KitchenAid^® stand mixer per your dough recipe to ensure thorough ingredient incorporation while saving a bit of time. Once mixed, create a slightly flattened ball with your dough and wrap it in plastic wrap. Then, refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.

STEP 2: PREPARE MATERIALS

The specific dimensions of your butter block and pastry dough will differ from recipe to recipe, but you’ll need to prepare parchment paper to flatten and shape the butter. Reference your recipe for the specific dimensions, then use a pencil to draw them onto a piece of parchment paper and flip it over to prevent the butter from coming into contact with the markings. Soften the butter until it’s the consistency of cream cheese.

STEP 3: CREATE BUTTER BLOCK

Position the softened butter within the designated square on the parchment paper. Cover it with another piece of parchment, then spread the butter within the confines of the square using an offset spatula or bench scraper. Chill the block overnight or for a minimum of 45 minutes in the refrigerator. You’ll want to create a butter block that’s cold but still pliable.

STEP 4: ROLL OUT DOUGH

Pay attention to the directions in your recipe, which may call for chilling the dough in the refrigerator and/or freezer before rolling it out. Roll the dough out to your recipe’s dictated dimensions on a lightly floured surface, which should be a shape several inches taller and wider than the butter block’s dimensions. Place your chilled butter in the center of the rolled out dough.

STEP 5: FOLD, TURN AND ROLL BUTTER INSIDE THE DOUGH

With the butter block centered on top of the dough sheet, fold the corners of the dough over the butter and into a point in the center to create an envelope shape, then press it firmly with a rolling pin to seal the dough’s seams. Roll it back out to the shape and dimensions dictated in your recipe (likely a rectangle). Be sure to brush away excess flour between folding and rolling to help prevent the dough from drying out.

STEP 6: ROTATE, FOLD AND CHILL

Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold it into thirds, like a letter. Rotate it 90 degrees and fold it like a letter again. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour. This is called one turn of the paton (dough/butter package).

STEP 7: REPEAT THE PROCESS

To do another turn, remove the dough from the refrigerator at the end of the hour, then roll it back out into the dimensions dictated by your recipe. Fold the dough into a letter shape again, turn it 90 degrees and fold it into thirds one final time before refrigerating it for another hour. If your recipe specifies three turns of the paton, repeat this step a third and final time, refrigerating for an hour one final time before shaping and baking your dough according to your recipe.

SHOP KITCHENAID^® STAND MIXERS

Person using a biscuit cutter to cut biscuit shapes into bread dough

WHAT ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LAMINATED DOUGH?

Diverse laminated doughs form the basis for various sweet and savory pastries, each offering a unique flavor and texture. Learn more about three common laminated doughs below and find out what makes them unique.

1. LAMINATED PUFF PASTRY

Puff pastry is known for its paper-thin sheets of flaky pastry and features a slightly crispier exterior than other types of laminated doughs. It generally uses the simplest version of dough for laminated pastries— usually just flour, water, salt, and fat. Though creating puff pastry is a time-consuming process, recipes often provide a shortcut (known as a “rough puff”) where pieces of butter—rather than one large block of butter—are incorporated into the dough and then rolled out, folded, and chilled with turns as described above. You can use a KitchenAid® pastry beater to help streamline the process of making rough puff pastry. Puff pastry can lay the foundation for anything from seasonal vegetarian pot pie to Beef Wellington.

2. LAMINATED CROISSANTS

Croissants are made from a yeasted dough that’s laminated to create dozens of distinct layers. Unlike puff pastries, croissants are made from a yeasted dough which rises slightly more. Popular French croissants like ham and cheese, almond and chocolate variations require well-laminated dough.

Close-up of fresh pear and fig danish braid pastry

3. LAMINATED DANISHES

Traditional Danish pastries are also made from yeasted dough and, unlike croissants and puff pastry, this dough includes eggs. Danish pastries like a fresh pear and fig Danish braid usually include fruit jam or custard and come in various shapes and sizes. Traditional cinnamon rolls are a common type of Danish pastry.

EXPLORE KITCHENAID^® STAND MIXERS AND ATTACHMENTS

KitchenAid^® stand mixers and compatible attachments¹ can help you create laminated pastries of all kinds, no matter how advanced the technique. The KitchenAid^® Sifter + Scale Attachment can accurately measure, sift and add flour straight to your recipe for even more precision, or use the pastry beater to create a quick, rough puff pastry dough. Plus, the powerful motor on KitchenAid^® tilt-head and bowl-lift stand mixers can power through whatever dough you whip up.

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