Croissants or Pain au Chocolat

Name: Croissants or Pain au Chocolat
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: For the dough:; 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams); 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar (30 grams); 1 teaspoon salt (5 grams); 1/4 cup cold milk (62.5 ml); 1/4 cup cold water (62.5 ml); 2 1/2 teaspoons fresh baker's yeast (10 grams); For the butter layer:; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 82% fat if possible (125 grams; use a high-quality European-style butter)

Cathy.mlt1608 @cathy1608

Vienne

Tired of finding pastries that are greasy and heavy? Try making them yourself. Honestly, it's worth it. Personally, I rediscovered the taste of the croissants from my childhood.

Cathy.mlt1608 @cathy1608

Vienne

Tired of finding pastries that are greasy and heavy? Try making them yourself. Honestly, it's worth it. Personally, I rediscovered the taste of the croissants from my childhood.

Saved

Ingredients

For the dough:
2 cupsall-purpose flour (250 grams)
2 1/2 tablespoonssugar (30 grams)
1 teaspoonsalt (5 grams)
1/4 cupcold milk (62.5 ml)
1/4 cupcold water (62.5 ml)
2 1/2 teaspoonsfresh baker's yeast (10 grams)
For the butter layer:
1/2 cupunsalted butter, 82% fat if possible (125 grams; use a high-quality European-style butter)

Saved

Steps

1

To do the day before:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the salt, then the sugar, flour, and crumbled yeast (make sure the yeast does not touch the sugar or salt), then add the milk and water.
2

Knead with the dough hook, or by hand if you don't have a mixer, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place it in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
3

For the butter layer: Cut the butter into pieces of about 1 ounce (30 grams) each and place them on parchment paper. Flatten with a rolling pin to form a rectangle about 5 x 3 inches (13 x 8 cm), then chill.
4

The next day, take out the dough and butter. Roll out the dough so it's twice the size of the butter and slightly wider.
5

Place the butter in the center of the dough. Fold the sides over, then the top edge, then the bottom edge. The butter should be completely enclosed in the dough.
6

Roll the dough out lengthwise, then turn it a quarter turn to the left. Fold the left edge toward the center, then the right edge, leaving a finger-width gap between them. Then fold the dough in half by bringing the right side over the left. This is a double fold (book fold).
7

Roll out the dough again, turn it a quarter turn to the left, then fold it in thirds: fold the left side in, then the right side over it. This is a single fold. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. In the photo below, the dough is very puffy because I left it in the fridge most of the day. You'll also see a photo showing how to fold for the single fold.
8

Take the dough out of the fridge, roll it out, and trim all the edges to reveal the layers. Save these trimmings to add to your pastries when you shape them.
9

For pain au chocolat, cut the dough into rectangles and add chocolate before rolling them up. For croissants, cut the dough into triangles with a base of about 4 to 4 1/2 inches (10/11 cm), make a 1/2-inch (1 cm) notch in the base, and roll up the croissant. At this stage, you can freeze the pastries. When you want to bake them, follow the same steps as in step 10.
10

Let the pastries rise for at least 2 hours or overnight. Brush with egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon of water, and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 10 to 15 minutes.