Homemade Chocolate Croissants (Pain au Chocolat)
Directions
- 1Make room in the refrigerator for a baking sheet.
- 2Cut the butter into four 1-Tablespoon slices and place in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- 3Add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast to the mixer.
- 4Turn the mixer on low-medium speed to gently combine ingredients for 1 minute.
- 5With the mixer running, slowly pour in the milk.
- 6Once all milk is added, turn the mixer up to medium speed and begin to knead the dough.
- 7Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes.
- 8If the dough becomes too sticky, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or work surface/in the bowl.
- 9After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft and slowly bounce back when poked.
- 10Remove dough from the bowl and, with floured hands, work it into a ball.
- 11Place the dough on a lightly floured silicone baking mat lined, lightly floured parchment paper lined, or lightly floured baking sheet.
- 12Gently flatten the dough out, and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- 13Place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and allow the covered dough to rest for 30 minutes.
- 14Remove the dough from the refrigerator.
- 15Begin flattening out the dough with your hands.
- 16Roll the dough into a 14x10-inch rectangle, ensuring precise measurement.
- 17Place the rolled out dough back onto the baking sheet.
- 18Cover the rolled out dough with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- 19Place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and allow the covered dough to rest for 4 hours or overnight (up to 24 hours is ok).
- 20In a large bowl, beat the butter and flour together using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment until smooth and combined.
- 21Transfer the mixture to a silicone baking mat lined or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- 22Using a spoon or small spatula, smooth the butter mixture into a 7x10-inch rectangle.
- 23Place the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the butter layer for 30 minutes.
- 24Remove both the dough and butter layers from the refrigerator.
- 25Place the butter layer in the center of the dough and fold each end of the dough over it.
- 26If the butter wasn’t an exact 7x10-inch rectangle, use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to even out the edges.
- 27Seal the dough edges over the butter layer with your fingers.
- 28On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough into a 10x20-inch rectangle, rolling back and forth with the shorter end facing you.
- 29Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter (1st turn).
- 30If the dough is too warm after the 1st turn, place folded dough on the baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before the 2nd turn.
- 31Turn the dough so the short end is facing you.
- 32Roll the dough out once again into a 10x20-inch rectangle.
- 33Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter (2nd turn).
- 34Place the folded dough on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before the 3rd turn.
- 35Roll the dough out once again into a 10x20-inch rectangle.
- 36Fold the dough lengthwise into thirds as if you were folding a letter (3rd turn).
- 37Place the folded dough on the lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight (up to 24 hours is ok).
- 38Prepare 2 baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- 39Remove the dough from the refrigerator.
- 40On a lightly floured counter, roll the dough out into an 8x20-inch rectangle.
- 41Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the dough in half vertically, creating two 4-inch wide rectangles.
- 42Cut 3 even slices horizontally, yielding 8 4x5-inch rectangles.
- 43Cut each 4x5-inch rectangle in half lengthwise, resulting in 16 2x5-inch rectangles.
- 44Work with one rectangle at a time.
- 45Using your fingers or a rolling pin, gently stretch each rectangle to be about 8 inches long.
- 46Place a few small pieces of chocolate in a single layer at one end.
- 47Tightly roll the dough up around the chocolate, ensuring the end is on the bottom.
- 48Repeat with remaining dough, placing shaped croissants on 2 lined baking sheets, 8 per sheet.
- 49Loosely cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- 50Allow shaped croissants to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- 51Place shaped croissants in the refrigerator to rest for 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
- 52Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- 53Whisk the egg wash ingredients together (1 large egg, 2 Tablespoons whole milk).
- 54Remove the croissants from the refrigerator.
- 55Brush each croissant lightly with egg wash.
- 56Bake until croissants are golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- 57Rotate the pans halfway through baking.
- 58If croissants darken too quickly, reduce the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- 59Remove chocolate croissants from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before serving.
- 60If desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Ingredients
- 0.25 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for rolling/shaping
- 0.25 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon active dry or instant yeast
- 1.5 cups cold whole milk
- 4 ounce bar semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- confectioners’ sugar for dusting
- 1.5 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons whole milk
Equipment
electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachmenthandheld mixerbaking sheetplastic wrapaluminum foilsilicone baking matparchment paperrolling pinpizza cuttersharp knifewire rackhand-held mixerstand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachmentspoonsmall spatulapastry brush
Tips
- The croissant dough must remain cold and requires a lot of resting.
- Croissant dough should be soft and slightly tacky after kneading.
- If the dough becomes too sticky during kneading, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time.
- Do not add more flour than needed to avoid dry dough.
- To test if dough is kneaded enough, poke it with a finger: if it slowly bounces back, it's ready.
- You can perform a “windowpane test” to check dough elasticity.
- When rolling dough, using a silicone baking mat is recommended for non-stick properties and measurement guidance.
- For laminating, roll dough on a lightly floured counter as it's cooler and larger than a silicone mat.
- Seal dough edges over the butter layer as best as possible.
- The dough is very cold during rolling, requiring arm strength.
- Dough will want to be oval shaped, continuously work with hands and rolling pin to maintain rectangle.
- Refrigerate dough between the 2nd and 3rd turns as it has been worked a lot.
- Gently stretch each rectangle to 8 inches long without flattening the layers.
- Tightly roll the dough around the chocolate, ensuring the end is on the bottom.
- Shaped croissants should be cold before baking to prevent spreading.
- Rotate pans halfway through baking for even browning.
- If croissants darken too quickly, reduce oven temperature.
- Croissants taste best the same day they're baked.
- Leftover croissants can be stored at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Croissants can be frozen for up to 3 months; thaw on counter or in refrigerator.
- You can freeze the dough after the 3rd turn in lamination for up to 3 months.
- You can freeze shaped croissants after room temperature rest for up to 1 month; thaw completely before baking.
- For chocolate, use thin baking bars like Ghirardelli for neat rolling.
- Always ensure dough is cold; if it warms, refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Lightly flour work surface, hands, dough, and rolling pin as you work.
- Pop any air bubbles in the dough with fingers or a toothpick, then lightly flour the popped area.
- For brunch, start the recipe the day before, completing steps 1-10 and refrigerating laminated dough overnight (step 11). Begin step 13 2-3 hours before brunch.
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