Pain Au Chocolate Recipes

Steps:

• Place dough on a lightly floured work surface; cover and let stand until butter is slightly softened, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Roll dough out to a 10-by-18-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise. Wrap one half with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator. Place remaining half on a large (about 18-by-25-inch) piece of parchment paper. Roll into a 16-by-20-inch rectangle, stopping to chill dough as necessary if butter becomes too soft; transfer to a large baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Transfer baking sheet to refrigerator and chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Repeat process with remaining piece of dough.
• Transfer one piece of dough to a lightly floured work surface so that one of the longer sides is facing you. Halve dough to make two 16-by-10-inch rectangles.
• Using a pizza cutter, trim a scant 1/8 inch from all sides of each rectangle of dough. Working quickly, using a pizza cutter, cut each half into seven 3-by-7-inch rectangles. Place 2 teaspoons chocolate in the center of each rectangle, leaving a 1/4-inch border all around. Starting from one short end and working toward the other, roll to enclose. Brush edges with water and gently press to adhere.
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper; place 4 rectangles on each prepared baking sheet, seam-side down. In a small bowl, whisk egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush tops and seams with egg mixture, reserving remaining egg mixture. Place 3 narrow drinking glasses upside-down between each roll of dough; cover well with plastic wrap, making sure plastic does not touch dough. Let stand in a warm place until dough has doubled in size and feels hollow when gently touched, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Uncover and remove glasses from baking sheets; gently press down on each roll of dough and brush lightly with remaining egg mixture. Transfer to oven and bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat steps 3 through 7 with remaining piece of dough.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the flour, water, milk, sugar, salt, yeast, and butter.
• Once the dough starts to clump, turn it out onto a clean counter.
• Lightly knead the dough and form it into a ball, making sure not to over-knead it.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
• Slice the cold butter in thirds and place it onto a sheet of parchment paper..
• Place another piece of parchment on top of the butter, and beat it with a rolling pin.
• Keeping the parchment paper on the butter, use a rolling pin to roll the butter into a 7-inch (18 cm) square, ½-inch (1 cm) thick. If necessary, use a knife to trim the edges and place the trimmings back on top of the butter and continue to roll into a square.
• Transfer the butter layer to the refrigerator.
• To roll out the dough, lightly flour the counter. Place the dough on the counter, and push the rolling pin once vertically into the dough and once horizontally to form four quadrants.
• Roll out each corner and form a 10-inch (25 cm) square.
• Place the butter layer on top of the dough and fold the sides of the dough over the butter, enclosing it completely.
• Roll the dough with a rolling pin to seal the seams, making sure to lengthen the dough, rather than widening it.
• Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it's 8x24 inches (20x61 cm).
• Fold the top half down to the middle, and brush off any excess flour.
• Fold the bottom half over the top and turn the dough clockwise to the left. This completes the first turn.
• Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
• Roll out the dough again two more times, completing three turns in total and refrigerating for 1 hour in between each turn. If at anytime the dough or butter begins to soften, stop and transfer back to the fridge.
• After the final turn, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
• To form the croissants, cut the dough in half. Place one half in the refrigerator.
• Flour the surface and roll out the dough into a long narrow strip, about 8x40 inches (20x101 cm).
• With a knife, trim the edges of the dough.
• Cut the dough into 4 rectangles.
• Place the chocolate on the edge of the dough and roll tightly enclosing it in the dough.
• Place the croissants on a baking sheet, seam side down.
• Repeat with the other half of the dough.
• Brush the croissants with the beaten egg. Save the rest of the egg wash in the fridge for later.
• Place the croissants in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Once the croissants have proofed, brush them with one more layer of egg wash.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve warm.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Pour the water into a bread machine pan; add the flour. Sprinkle the milk powder over the flour. Place the sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons of softened butter into the corners of the pan. Make a small indent in the top of the dry ingredients and put the yeast in the indent. Run the bread machine on the basic dough setting.
• Meanwhile, lay out a sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Shape the remaining 1/2 cup of butter into a 3x5 inch rectangle on the waxed paper; wrap and chill until ready to use.
• Remove the butter from the refrigerator and allow to soften while you roll out the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 8x12 inch rectangle. Place the butter on half of the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border of dough on 3 sides. Fold the other half of the dough over the butter and press the edges firmly to seal.
• Roll the dough out to a 6x14 inch rectangle. Fold the dough in thirds from the long ends, as you would fold a business letter. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Place it onto a lightly floured surface so that the folded edge faces you. Roll the dough out again into a 6x14 inch rectangle, and fold into thirds. Cover with plastic and chill for 20 minutes.
• Repeat step 5, chilling for 30 minutes.
• In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk and milk; set aside. Grease two baking sheets.
• Roll the dough out into a 12x21 inch rectangle. Cut the dough into thirds in both directions, to make 9 rectangles. Divide the chocolate among the rectangles. Lightly brush the egg yolk mixture around the edges of each piece. Starting at a short end, roll each piece of dough around the chocolate as if you were rolling a cigar. Press the edges together to seal.
• Place the pastries onto the prepared baking sheets; cover with greased plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Brush the top of the pastries with the remaining egg yolk mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer pastries to wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Arrange racks in the upper third and lower thirds of the oven. Bring a skillet of water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Transfer the skillet to the floor of the oven and close the door. (The steam released inside the oven will create an ideal proofing environment for the pains au chocolat.) Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• Remove the slab of dough from the refrigerator and let sit for 5 minutes at room temperature. Unwrap (save the plastic for proofing) and place on a very lightly floured surface. If the dough has shrunk during chilling, roll it out again to a slab that's 16 inches long and 15 inches wide. Dust off any excess flour with a pastry brush.
• Use a wheel cutter to trim 1/2 inch of dough from all four sides, straightening and squaring them off, creating a slab that's 15 inches long by 14 inches wide. Using a ruler, cut the slab lengthwise into 5 equal strips each measuring 3 inches wide. Cut each strip in half crosswise, creating 10 rectangles.
• Working one rectangle at a time, place a stick of chocolate along one of the shorter sides, leaving about a 1-inch border. Fold the pastry over the chocolate until it's wrapped around one time, then tuck another bar of chocolate into the fold. Wrap the pastry around the second bar of chocolate and continue to roll until you have a snug spiral. Transfer the pain au chocolat to a prepared baking sheet, resting it on the seam. Repeat with the remaining dough and chocolate, dividing between the baking sheets and spacing evenly. Very loosely cover with plastic wrap so the pastries have some room to expand.
• Open the oven and stick your hand inside - it should be humid but not hot, as the water in the skillet will have cooled. You want the pains au chocolat to proof at 70 to 75 degrees. (Any hotter and the butter will melt, leading to a denser pastry.) Gently place the baking sheets inside the oven and let the pastries proof until they're doubled in size, extremely puffy, and jiggle delicately on the baking sheet, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Remove the baking sheets from the oven and carefully uncover them. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes while you heat the oven. Remove the skillet from the oven and heat to 375 degrees.
• In a small bowl, stir the yolk and heavy cream until streak-free. Remove the baking sheets from the refrigerator and use a pastry brush to gently brush each pain au chocolat with the yolk mixture. Transfer the sheets to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets and switch racks, and continue to bake until the pains au chocolat are deeply browned, another 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets.

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cut the each chocolate bar into six 2x3/4-inch pieces.
• Unfold the puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface. Cut it into 12 squares.
• Lay 1 chocolate piece on the edge of a pastry square and roll up the dough tightly, completely enclosing the chocolate.
• Repeat with remaining pastry.
• Place the rolls on a baking sheet, seam side down.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.
• The pastries can be served warm from the oven or at room temperature.