Pain au Chocolat

This recipe for Pain au Chocolat/Chocolate Croissant is just divine.They are just so, so delicious, crisp on the outside and butterly rich within. A pastry fit for a King.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Pastries

Cuisine French

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 15 20

Servings

Calories 477kcal

Author Apply To Face Blog

Ingredients

500 grams strong white flour
300 grams unsalted butter
8 grams fine salt
2 x 7 grams instant yeast packets
50 grams caster sugar
300 mls milk warm

Filling and Decorating

1 small egg egg wash
60 grams dark chocolate

Metric - U S Customary

Instructions

Put 500 grams/4 cups strong white flour, 300 grams/10 oz unsalted butter, 8 grams/0.3 oz fine salt, 2 x 7 grams yeast packets, 50 grams/1.75 oz caster sugar in a free standing mixer or large mixing bowl and add the 300 mls milk with the dough hook running until it comes together. If not using a free standing mixer then stir hard with a wooden spoon. You may have to add a touch more milk. The dough should be a little tacky.
Knead for a couple of minutes either with your dough hook or on a work surface before putting in a clean oiled bowl and covering with cling film. Put in the fridge overnight.
Draw out a rectangle 20 cm x 19 cm on grease proof paper and put your slightly soft butter cut lengthways into the middle. Cover with cling film and use a rolling pin to squash/roll out to fit. Cover and chill over night.
Take out the dough and roll out to a rectangle 60 cm x 20 cm. Take out the butter and trim the edges to size. Put the butter in the middle of the dough. Fold the first flap over the butter followed by the second flap on top of that. Seal the butter in the parcel with your fingers.
Carefully roll out the square of dough to a rectangle roughly 60 cm x 20 cm again. Fold into three, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Repeat another three times. If the butter becomes too soft at any time just chill for longer than the thirty minutes. I have even put mine in the freezer for ten minutes.
After the final roll cut down the middle with a pizza cutter or sharp knife and then cut each strip into 10 cm squares. Working quickly pop your chocolate into the middle and roll up into a sausage and place onto a lined baking tray. You will need two baking trays. Cover and prove somewhere cool until very puffy.
Preheat your oven to 200 C electric- 180 C fan - Gas Mark 6
Brush with egg wash and bake for about 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Apply to Face Avoiding the Whistle.

Video

Notes

To freeze these beauties make up until the stage when they are ready rolled with their chocolate inside. Cover and freeze on their baking tray for an hour. Then you can double bag them all together ready to be pulled out for a fabulous breakfast or brunch. Thaw, allow to prove, brush with egg wash and bake.

Keep your kitchen cool. I opened my back door as my kitchen is warm, you are hoping for about 20 C. If not just chill the dough for about ten minutes longer each time.
If butter breaks free from the dough, dust lightly with flour quickly finish rolling, fold and chill. I even put the dough in the freezer for ten minutes before putting back in the fridge to chill for the allotted time if I can see or feel that the butter is getting too soft within the dough.
Work as quickly as you can when rolling to keep everything as cool as possible.
Use a high quality french butter as the melting temp is higher than that of a standard pat of butter.
Make sure that the butter when placed on top of the dough comes just up to the width of the dough (not over at all). You do need to get the butter mixed through all of the dough equally to get those laminated layers.
The idea is to roll and fold until the pastry is no longer streaky with butter. Sometimes it takes five folds for me not four.
I tend to start out measuring like a good girl but rapidly lose the inclination by the second roll. I then wing it......completely. The idea that you roll out a rectangle roughly sixty cms long I stick to but stop sweating the width.
All nutritional information is approximate and intended only as a guide.

Nutrition