When we make pastry, we “lock-in” the butter between dough layers, sheet it and fold it. This creates multiple layers, our topic of discussion in this article. The outer layers are dough; the internal ones are butter. When we stack the pastry, we overlay alternating layers of dough and butter. In this case, we can see a three-fold creates nine layers — 3 X 3 layers — but we have two dough touching points (-2) and when compressed in the next sheeting process, the two layers of dough merge to form a single layer as illustrated in the diagram on the left.
The Universal Numbering System
These are assumptions for the tables in the following pages. The lock-in is dough on the outside, and the butter is the dough on the inside. Dough layers will always number twice the butter layers + 1 layer, in folded pastry. When using The Universal Numbering system of layer calculation, we consider that dough touching points exist, where the outer layer of dough is folded onto another layer of dough in the pleating or folding of the pastry. When the pastry is sheeted, the two dough layers merge into one layer and become a single layer of dough. To see this in action, simply take a strip of croissant dough, fold it onto itself and compress it between your finger and thumb. The two layers will merge, and no layer is formed.
To summarise Universal Lamination:
- 3-fold: you have two dough-touching points
- 4-fold: you have three dough-touching points
- 5-fold: you have four dough-touching points
Consequently, we need to subtract the total dough touching points from the overall calculation or the multiplication used in the lamination system and represented in the tables.
Counting the Fat Layers
Counting the fat layers is customary practice in many European bakery schools and culinary schools. Following the lock-in, the pastry will have one layer of fat if we are using the French method and two layers of fat if we use the English Method. All subsequent folds calculate the increasing number of layers built up during the lamination process. The table below represents how to count the fat layers only. In the case of a 3-4-3, the fat layers add up to 12 (with 13 layers of dough). Assume one layer of butter in a 3-fold and two layers of butter in a 5-fold. Multiply lock-in fat layers by the first and following folds.
Simple Multiplication System
Suppose, using the Simple Multiplication System, which continually multiplies the number of layers from the lock-in (3 or 5) by the type of fold (3 or 4). The alleged layer count grows exponentially and is not a true reflection of the actual layers formed in the pastry. When summarising all previous tables, you see in the table below, that in the presented tables for various lamination sequences, there are significant differences among the various layer counting systems.
All methods analysed in the above table
Since you have to calculate many layers in making puff pastry, it’s easy to exacerbate the errors inherent to the process. The outcome will be the same irrespective of how you count the layers. However, I think it is important to understand layer formation and exact layer count, as layer quantities determine the crumb structure and the visible external layers of the pastry. You can predict and design the internal structure and the external appearance by deciding on the lamination sequence you use before pastry production.
When you apply these notation systems of layer calculation to puff pastry, which requires many more folds, the measure of layering errors goes off the scale. I have included many popular lamination methods for the pastry-making systems mentioned to demonstrate the differences among the systems, and the large discrepancies between the various methods. It is important to recognise that the Universal Numbering System and the Total Fat Layer calculation methods are the only accurate ways of precisely calculating the correct and relevant layers created in lamination
Inverse Pastry Layers
People often ask about inverse pastry. Do the layers work the same as they do in normal pastry when counting the layers? The answer is simple, once you understand how layers are formed, merged and calculated. The universal numbering system applies just the same to the production of inverse pastry. Instead of having dough touching points on the external layers, you have butter layers or Butter Touching Points (BTP).
When the external layers are folded on top of one another in the lamination process, they merge as the pastry is sheeted, forming one layer of butter. So the calculations of subtracting Butter Touching Points or BTPs in inverse pastry are the same as those we make for DTP. The diagram below illustrates a 5-lock-in, with two layers of dough and three layers of butter in the pastry block.
Jimmy Griffin is a 6th generation baker and lecturer at TU Dublin, Ireland, with a Master’s in Food Product Development and Culinary Innovation. He teaches globally, including in Germany, the UK and Japan, and is a renowned international bakery judge. A competitive baker, Griffin won bronze at the 1997 Coupe D’ Europe de la Boulangerie and coached the Irish bakery team. He is also a licensed pilot, judo blackbelt instructor and author of six acclaimed books, including “The Art of Lamination” and “Panettone – The King of Bread.” He was recently named a global ambassador for Anchor Butter and taught in Japan to more than 4400 students.
(This article appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of Pastry Arts Magazine)
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