A pastry chef at my cousin's wedding in Boise said my butter was too cold, and she was right

Julia Walker · 2026-10-10T05:30:04.432251+00:00

I bake sourdough at home about twice a week and always pulled cold butter straight from the fridge for my laminated doughs. At my cousin's wedding in Boise last month, the pastry chef watched me roll out croissant dough and said my butter was cracking under the roller, not layering. She had me pull it out 20 minutes early and press it into a flat 6x8 block between parchment. My layers went from 3 visible bands to about 12, and the crumb finally looked right instead of bready. It took me two more batches at home to get the feel down without a thermometer. Now I temp it at 60F with a cheap instant read pen and it works every time. How do you all handle butter temp in a warm kitchen, and does anyone use a marble slab to keep it cool?

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A pastry chef at my cousin's wedding in Boise said my butter was too cold, and she was right | Bakers - Hub Chatter