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Chocolate Croissants (Pains au Chocolat)
With a little patience and prep time, you can make buttery homemade chocolate croissants. Learn how with this classic recipe for pains au chocolate.
👥 16 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 1h 30m🔥 Cook: 1h 30m👤 Nancy Silverton📖 epicurious
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●bowl
- ●baking sheet
- ●oven
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Stir together 1½ cups warm whole milk (105°–110°), ¼ cup (packed; 50 g) light brown sugar, and 1 Tbsp. plus ¼ tsp. active dry yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer. Let sit until yeast is foamy, about ⏱️ 5 minutes.
½ cups warm whole milk (105°–110°)1. plus ¼ tsp. active dry yeast1 Tbsp
2
Fit bowl onto mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add 3¾ (369 g) cups all-purpose flour and 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt and mix on low speed, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until dough is smooth, 6–⏱️ 8 minutes.
¾ (369 g) cups all-purpose flour, plus more3. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt1 Tbsp
3
Transfer dough to a surface and knead, dusting with more flour if needed, until soft and just slightly sticky, about ⏱️ 2 minutes. Form into a 1½″-thick rectangle, wrap in plastic, and chill until cold, about ⏱️ 1 hour.
4
Arrange 3 sticks (1½ cups ) chilled unsalted butter horizontally, long sides touching, on a clean work surface and pound with a rolling pin until slightly softened (butter should be malleable but still cold). Scrape butter into a block and transfer to a kitchen towel. Cover with a second kitchen towel and roll out to an 8x5″ rectangle. Chill butter (still in towels) while you roll out dough.
5
Unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 16x10″ rectangle, lifting and stretching dough and dusting with more flour as needed. Rotate dough so a short side is nearest to you. Unwrap butter and place in center of dough with long sides of butter parallel to short sides of dough. Fold dough into thirds like folding a letter; brush off excess flour.
6
Flatten dough slightly, then roll out to a 15x10″ rectangle, rolling just to, but not over, the edges; brush off excess flour. Fold dough into thirds once again and shape dough into a 10x5″ rectangle, stretching the corners to square off. At this point, you have completed the first "fold." Wrap dough in plastic and chill ⏱️ 1 hour.
7
Repeat rolling and chilling process 3 more times for a total of 4 “folds.” (If any butter oozes out while rolling, sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.) Halve dough crosswise and wrap each half in plastic. Chill at least ⏱️ 8 hours and up to ⏱️ 18 hours.
8
Unwrap 1 dough half and roll out on a lightly floured surface into an 18x10″ rectangle. Brush off excess flour and trim edges. Slice dough lengthwise in quarters, then crosswise into quarters to make 16 rectangles.
9
Working with 1 rectangle at a time, place 2 dark chocolate batons, flat sides together, along a short side of dough about ¾″ from edge, letting batons extend over sides. Fold bottom edge of dough up and over batons and roll up around chocolate. Arrange pastries, seam side down, on 2 large parchment-paper-lined baking sheets, spacing 2″ apart.
dark chocolate batons (about 6 oz.)32
10
Slide each baking sheet into a garbage bag. Prop up top of bags with inverted glasses to prevent them from touching pastries, then tuck open end of bags under baking sheets. Let pastries rise at room temperature until slightly puffy and spongy, 2–2½ hours.
11
Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 425°. Generously spray inside of oven with water; immediately close oven door. Remove baking sheets from bags and transfer to oven; spray inside of oven again just before closing door. Reduce oven temperature to 400° and bake croissants, without opening oven door, ⏱️ 10 minutes. Rotate baking sheets top to bottom and front to back, reduce oven temperature to 375°, and continue to bake until croissants are deep golden, 8–⏱️ 12 minutes longer. Do Ahead: Use the remaining croissant dough half for another batch of croissants or freeze for up to 3 months (defrost overnight in the refrigerator). Croissants can be baked 1 month ahead. Let cool, then freeze on baking sheets. Wrap individually in foil and transfer to resealable plastic bags. Reheat in a 325° oven 5–⏱️ 10 minutes. Editor’s note: This recipe was first printed in the October 2000 issue of ‘Gourmet.’ Head this way for more of our best French desserts →
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