Ooh La La: Croissants and Pain Au Chocolat

Tackling French pastries has been on my winter break baking bucket list, and this past weekend, I took on croissants and pain au chocolat (chocolate-filled croissants).  And they turned out pretty legit, if I must say so myself.  But after making them myself and seeing first-hand how much effort goes into making croissants, I have so much more respect for bakeries that make these little suckers by hand everyday.

First of all, croissants are definitely not something you can just whip up, like cookies or cupcakes.  In fact, it was a two-day process for me.  There are quite a few steps, most of them repetitions, and a whole lotta chilling time (think: patience!).  But if done right, the ends definitely justify the means. 

Okay, so there are two elements to a croissant: the dough block (détrempe) and the butter block (beurrage).  [If you have a fear of butter, you better get over it quickly if you're going to make French pastries]  The dough block is just a combination of yeast, flour, water (or milk), and a little bit of cold butter.  The butter block is exactly as it sounds - it's just cold butter mixed with a little bit of flour.  To make croissants, you essentially encase the butter block in the dough block, and the combination is rolled out and folded over and over again, until the butter is incorporated into the dough to create those oh-so flaky and buttery layers that we all love about croissants...

...But of course, it's a lot easier said than done.  The trickiest part for me was working and rolling out the dough quickly so as to keep the butter from melting in the process.  When the butter starts to melt, the dough starts to turn into a sticky mess on your work surface, and that's definitely no fun.  And then you have to stick the dough in the fridge to chill the butter again and that takes patience (not something that I have an abundance of). 

In the end, somehow, I miraculously churned out some fairly decent croissants and pain au chocolate.  Hopefully you will too!

Basic Croissants
(Adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Muschet)

Yields 24 croissants

[Now, the recipe says to use a stand mixer, but I suppose you can also do the mixing and kneading by hand as well]

For the dough block (détrempe)
1/2 cup warm whole milk
1 tsp + 2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup cold milk

For the butter block (beurrage)
3 1/2 sticks cold butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 tbsp whole milk

Make the dough block:
Pour the warm milk into a small bowl and whisk in 1 tsp of sugar.  Whisk in the yeast and set aside for 10 minutes, until bubbly.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, remaining 2 tbsp of sugar, salt, and cold butter pieces.  Blend on medium speed until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.  Add the yeast mixture and the cold milk.  Switch to the dough hook and mix on lowest speed for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and has formed a rough mass.

Dust the work surface lightly with flour and turn the dough out onto it.  Knead the dough 3-5 times, just to finish bringing it together.  Wrap the dough loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Make the butter block:
Cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces, toss with the flour, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.  In the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the floured butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until the butter and flour form a smooth mass.  Scrape the butter onto a piece of parchment or wax paper, wrap it up, and refrigerate while you roll out the dough.

Incorporate the butter into the dough:
Dust the work surface with flour.  Roll out the dough into a 15x12" rectangle, and visually divide the dough into 3 equal 5-inch wide sections.  Spread the butter evenly over the right two-thirds of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch margin around the edges. Fold the left third of the dough over, covering half the butter, then fold the right side over, as if you were folding a letter in thirds (the letter fold).  Pinch together the seams along the bottom and sides of the dough.  Gently and briefly roll across the top of the dough 3-4 times to help seal the seams. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Put the dough back on the floured surface, with the short side parallel to the work surface.  Dust the dough with flour and roll out into a 20x12" rectangle.  Fold the two short edges into the center of the dough, leaving a 1/4-inch separation.  Line up the edges and fold one side over the other, like you're closing a book (the book fold).  Roll your pin across 3-4 times to help seal the seams.  Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Repeat the letter fold and book fold one more time each.  Then wrap the dough in plastic for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours  before cutting, shaping, and baking the dough.  (I chilled the dough overnight)

About to enter the oven!

Roll the dough on a floured surface into 24x14" rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.  Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise to form two 24x7" pieces.  Cut each piece into six 4x7" rectangles and cut each rectangle diagonally into 2 triangles.  Shape the triangles as much as you can into isosceles triangles (where two sides are equal in length).  Starting at the base, roll up the dough towards the tip of the triangle, then bend it into a crescent moon form, and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet with the tip of the triangle tuck on the bottom so that it wouldn’t unwrap during baking.  Repeat with the remaining triangles and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Let the dough rest for 1 hour, covered with a plastic wrap.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 F, and lightly beat the egg and milk in a small bowl to create the egg wash.  When ready to bake, chill the croissants in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm the butter, creating a flakier texture.  Brush the croissants with the egg wash, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the croissants are a deep golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Pain Au Chocolat

1 recipe Basic Croissants (I used half of the recipe for plain croissants and half for the pain au chocolat)
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate, finely grated
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Prepare the Basic Croissants recipe, but when ready to cut the dough, divide the 24x14" rectangle into 24 smaller, equal rectangles.  Place 2 tsp of grated chocolate 1/2 inch from the bottom of each rectangle.  Roll the dough up and place seam-side down on parchment-lined baking sheet.  Continue as you would for the Basic Croissants.

Melt the chopped chocolate until smooth and liquid (I melted it in a small bowl in the microwave).  Transfer to a ziploc bag and squeeze the chocolate into one corner.  Snip off the corner of the bag, making a small hole, and pipe the melted chocolate over the croissants.  

Bon appetite!