Why is it necessary to rest the dough between folds?

Resting the dough between folds during the lamination process is necessary for several reasons:

Gluten Development: Lamination involves repeatedly folding and rolling the dough, which creates layers of butter and dough. The resting period allows the gluten strands in the dough to relax and realign, strengthening the dough structure. This helps in achieving the desired flakiness and texture in the final baked product.

Butter Distribution: Resting the dough allows the butter to distribute more evenly throughout the dough layers. When the butter is cold and firm, it can be challenging to incorporate it uniformly. By resting the dough, the butter has time to soften slightly and spread more consistently, ensuring a more even distribution in the final product.

Temperature Control: During lamination, the dough and butter can become warm from the friction generated by folding and rolling. Resting the dough allows it to cool down, keeping the butter cold and firm. This is important to prevent the butter from melting too much, as that could lead to a less flaky and more greasy texture in the baked product.

Laminating Efficiency: Resting the dough between folds gives the baker time to prepare for the next step in the laminating process. It allows for better organization and efficiency in the laminating workflow, ensuring consistent results in the final product.

By resting the dough between folds, bakers can achieve a well-developed gluten structure, even butter distribution, proper temperature control, and improved laminating efficiency. These factors contribute to the flaky, layered texture and rich flavor that are characteristic of laminated pastries such as croissants, danishes, and puff pastry.