A croissant is a physics problem disguised as pastry. You're laminating butter between dough layers, and at every fold, the butter must stay solid enough to remain distinct from the dough, but soft enough to spread evenly without cracking. This happens in a narrow temperature window—roughly 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Miss it by five degrees and you either get greasy, undifferentiated layers or broken lamination. Professional bakeries manage this with climate-controlled rooms and precisely tempered marble surfaces. Home bakers have one tool: patience and refrigeration between folds. Many recipes tell you to do three or four turns. That's minimum. Six turns (each turn is a double fold: fold, rotate 90 degrees, fold again) creates the 729 layers you want. Between every turn, rest the dough for 30 to 45 minutes in the fridge. Why Summer Croissants Fail Butter naturally softens as room temperature rises. If your kitchen is 72 degrees, your dough and butter will want to merge during folding. If it's 65 degrees, you have control. This is why Parisian bakers work nights and early mornings. This is why croissants made in winter are theoretically easier. Understanding this—really understanding it—transforms croissant baking from mystical frustration to predictable chemistry. The flour, eggs, and yeast are supporting actors. Temperature is the star.