Frozen Croissant Production at Industrial Scale: Challenges, Solutions & Best Practices

Making croissants at large scale follows the same core principles as artisanal baking, but every stage is re-engineered to handle large volumes while keeping quality unchanged.

Unlike artisanal bakeries, industrial lines often split the process, by freezing dough before or after fermentation. To meet consumer expectations for flavor, texture, and appearance every step, from continuous mixing to precise freezing, must be optimized.

Flour, fat, yeast, sugar, salt, and water are kneaded into a smooth, elastic dough. Large continuous mixers provide precise control over dough development and temperature. This is critical, as even minor temperature variations can disrupt fermentation, lamination, and final performance after freezing.

Selecting the right frozen process for your croissant line depends on your operational setup, desired product quality, distribution model and the capabilities of the point of sale. Each comes with its own advantages and challenges. 

In the raw frozen process, dough pieces are frozen before fermentation. This offers flexibility in proofing and baking schedules, and can reduce production bottlenecks. 

However, it is technically demanding because freezing impacts yeast activity. Ice crystals damage yeast cells, leading to reduced gas production during proofing and a noticeable decline in volume after approximately three months of storage.

Use cases:

• Centralized production where frozen croissants are shipped to local stores for on-site proofing and baking.
• When fermentation at the point of sales is possible.

Challenges:

• Greater sensitivity to storage time and conditions.
• More demanding on dough strength and improver performance.
• Consistent fermentation power. 

In this process, croissants are fully proofed at the factory, then frozen. Because yeast activity has already done its work, loss of yeast viability during freezing is less critical. However, freezing still affects the gluten network and layering quality over time. According to Mario Carbonell, R&D Manager Bakery, pre-fermented frozen croissants can generally hold quality for five to six months before significant decline.

In the industrial croissants production process, maintaining volume, consistent croissant lamination, preventing butter leakage, extending croissant shelf life, and ensuring uniform quality are critical to customer satisfaction. Without the right processes, ingredients, and controls, performance can quickly decline.

As mentioned, freezing affects yeast activity and the gluten network. Over time, ice crystals form and damage dough structure, leading to reduced volume after baking. This is especially true for raw frozen dough, which is more sensitive to storage time and temperature fluctuations.

This process requires perfect alignment between dough and fat so that layers expand evenly during baking. In industrial croissant production, aggressive sheeting or temperature fluctuations can cause the layers to merge or tear, leading to volume loss and internal defects, ultimately reducing flakiness.

You might wonder what causes butter leakage or poor lamination at scale? During baking, poorly sealed edges or an imbalance between dough and fat consistency can cause butter to leak from the layers, leaving an oily residue and compromising volume and texture.

Even under ideal frozen storage conditions, croissants gradually lose volume, crispness, and aroma. For bakeries aiming for long shelf life croissant , this means choosing the right formulation and freezing process from the start to prevent and possibly reduce waste.

Variability in ingredient quality, equipment, or operator technique can lead to differences in volume, crumb, and flavor between batches or production sites. This is where robust quality control, from ingredient sourcing to final bake, is essential.³

Find out how to ensure quality control at every stage of baking from frozen.

Are you planning to produce croissants at scale, wondering which production solutions for frozen croissants will help you maintain quality while doing so?

We offer a targeted range of solutions for industrial croissant production, from frozen dough improvers to specialty lamination fats, designed to work individually or together to improve performance, reduce waste, and extend croissant shelf life.

Kimo Lamination improver keeps croissants strong, voluminous, and fresh, even after months in the freezer.

• Counteract freezing damage: Low-temperature-active enzymes improve dough extensibility and protect the gluten network. 
• The "puffing" effect: Delivers exceptional lift and an open, flaky structure after baking. 
• Plant-based versatility: A plant-based version of Kimo Lamination is available to support vegan positioning.

Mimetic is a high quality lamination fat, suited for industrial croissant lamination. It enables consistent layering with minimal butter leakage that results in an open croissant structure with a crusty crumb. Mimetic delivers a rich buttery taste, while also benefiting from its plant-based qualities.

Lamination challenges in croissant dough production often arise from differences in consistency between dough and fat, which can be reduced with Mimetic when used as advised.

Sunset Glaze is a clean label, vegan-friendly alternative to egg wash. It adds shine and golden color to croissants, brioche, and more, without the allergen risk or price volatility of eggs.

• 100% plant-based and allergen-free
• Suitable for both sweet and savory croissants
• Helps reduce food waste and increase yield (up to 10% more yield compared to egg wash)⁷
• Clean and consistent results every time

Together, Kimo Lamination, Mimetic, Sunset Glaze, and our wide range of fillings give industrial bakers the tools to keep frozen croissants looking and tasting like freshly baked ones, reduce waste from defects such as volume loss or lamination issues, and streamline production with ingredients designed for the demands of industrial croissant production.

Our R&D experts have worked with industrial bakeries worldwide to perfect processes for croissants at scale. Here are their top tips.

Small variations in temperature, humidity, or handling can lead to big changes in volume, lamination quality, and texture.

• Standardize dough temperatures and resting times across shifts and sites.
• Use improvers like Kimo Lamination to make dough more tolerant in cold conditions, reducing variability between batches.
• Match dough rheology with a stable lamination fat such as Mimetic for even layers.

Flexibility in production means meeting customer demand without overextending resources.

• Choose multi-purpose improvers like Kimo Lamination that work for direct, retarded, and frozen production.
• Store a portion of production as frozen raw or pre-proofed croissants to meet spikes in demand.
• Adapt lamination and shaping to accommodate different product formats (straight, crescent, filled).

Are you facing these hurdles in your croissant production? We work with bakeries worldwide to address and solve these challenges to give your industrial bakery a competitive edge through innovation.

Contact your local Puratos representative today to discover the ideal solutions for your product and market, and scale with confidence.