Lamination
Folding and rolling butter into dough many times to build thin layers that puff apart when baked.
Also: laminated dough
Laminated dough is made by wrapping a slab of butter in dough, rolling it out and folding it over itself again and again. Each fold multiplies the layers of dough and fat. In the oven, water in the butter and dough turns to steam and pushes the layers apart, while the fat keeps them separate and crisp. Puff pastry has no yeast. Croissants and Danish pastries are made from a yeasted laminated dough. The dough must stay cold while it is worked.