Understanding Lamination: Precision Techniques for Laminated Doughs with Lauren Haas

If you’ve ever wondered why one croissant yields a beautiful honeycomb, texture, and flavor while another falls flat, then this course is for you!

This two-day intensive is for professional bakers or serious home enthusiasts who want to deeply understand and control their laminated doughs.

This course breaks down the hows and the whys of variables since as:

• hydration percentage
• ingredient selection and ratios
• fold sequences
• perferments
• and the many process decisions that shape a final croissant

You will take your own dough from lamination through bake, building hands-on repetition in lamination, shaping, proofing, and baking.

Day One covers the theory behind ingredient selection, fermentation approaches, and mixing methods. In the lab, you will process and laminate your own dough with an assigned variable.

Day Two focuses on proofing, baking, and evaluating. We will compare each croissant side by side, tasting and examining texture, honeycomb, and appearance. You will see exactly how each variable shapes the final product, from the croissant’s flavor to its structure.

By the end of the course, participants will leave with solid formulas, sharper hands-on skills, and the deep knowledge to troubleshoot and craft your own ideal croissant!

Variables we’ll explore:

• Pre-ferments: Poolish vs. sponge/biga vs. straight dough. Is the extra step of a preferment worth it?
• Flour: Lower-protein vs higher-protein. What does each do to the structure and texture?
• Hydration: What is the ideal range, and what happens at the low and high extremes?
• Proofing: We’ll compare underproofed, overproofed, and correctly proofed croissants side by side to build a deeper understanding of when a croissant is properly proofed.
• Baking: Deck oven vs. convection.
• Butter: Lamination butter vs. standard butter. The impact on taste, texture, and workability.
• Fold sequences: Two singles, two doubles, three singles, or a combination. Which builds the ideal layer structure?
• Flavored doughs: Building your own flavored dough variations (i.e. miso brown butter) without losing structure.

Schedule: 

• Class will begin as early as 8am each day and end as late as 5pm.

A light breakfast and lunch will be served each day.

Instructor Bio

Lauren Haas is a pastry innovator and educator driven by a purpose: to inspire, empower, and elevate chefs within the pastry industry.

Her experience includes The White House, faculty and department chair positions at Johnson & Wales University, and service as Lead Chef for the Chocolate Academy Centers in North America.

She has been recognized by Dessert Professional as one of the Top Pastry Chefs in America, and by Bake Magazine as a leading educator in the U.S.

Lauren holds a master’s degree in Sustainable Food Systems and, in 2023, received the La Liste Game Changer Award, an international recognition honoring individuals shaping the future of gastronomy.

Currently, Lauren is a Professor at the Culinary Institute of America, where she seeks to inspire the next generation of industry leaders.

Learn more at www.lauren-haas.com and @laurenvhaas.

Please stay home if you’re experiencing any symptoms of illness. Email us at [email protected] if this occurs to speak with a class coordinator.

Categories: Baking Class, Bread, Demonstration, Intermediate