My wonderful mother-in-law got all the ladies in the family this cookbook at the beginning of the pandemic. We discussed doing a "Bake Off" from home, but, as my sister-in-law is the reigning master of Tartine's sourdough in the family (and possibly Northern California) and I've violently killed 3-4 sourdough starters, that idea fell to the wayside. I even thought about delegating/begging this cookbook/week's blog to my sister-in-law with her magical starter... Then, I saw these recipes for pastries - no starter needed.
I made croissants early in Covid times, swearing never to make them again...now, here I go again...(🎵on my own, Goin' down the only road I've ever known 🎵... you know you were singing that too!)
Timing: Gird yourself - this is a labor of love... Start the morning before you want to eat them [I started Saturday AM to bake off Sunday AM]
First Rise (In bowl): 6-12 hours
After you add butter: 45min - 2 hours
After 1st Turn: 2 hours
After 2nd Turn: 2 hours
After 3rd Turn: Rest 1-12 hours
After Cut/Roll: 2 hours
Bake: 15 min
Ingredients:
370g (2 3/4 c.) all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)
125g (3/4 c. plus 2 TB) bread flour
1/4 c. (55g) sugar
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1/4 c. whole milk (at room temp)
2 tsp fine sea salt [I used regular kosher salt]
2 1/2 sticks (10oz or 284g) unsalted butter, preferably cultured [I used Plugra Salted]
12 pieces semisweet chocolate, each ~3in long x 1in wide x 1/4in thick [I used Ghirardelli]
1 large egg, beaten with 1 TB water for egg wash
In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, and yeast. In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk the water, milk, and salt until the salt dissolves. Add the wet mix to the dry and mix on medium-low speed just until the dough comes together.
Switch to the hook attachment and increase the speed to medium-high. Knead until the dough is smooth and somewhat elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, and up to overnight.
Meanwhile, back in the stand mixer with a cleaned paddle and bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Scrape the butter onto a piece of parchment paper (or plastic wrap), shape it into a 6-inch square, and store in a cool area. (You want the butter just malleable and not cold - you can refrigerate, but let it soften at room temperature a bit before using). [Note - I forgot to leave my butter out to soften so I grated it on a box grater to soften it - don't be like me, or do, it's an easy correction!]
Lightly flour a surface. Transfer the dough to the surface and roll into a 9 inch square. Position the butter block on the dough square so that the dough's points are not lined up with the butter's corners (like a star). Gently, pull the corners of the dough to the middle of the butter to make an envelope around the butter, pinch the seams together to seal in the butter.
Turn the dough over and roll it out into a 20 x 10 inch rectangle. With the long side facing you, fold one third of the left side over the center, then do the same to the right side - it should be folded like a business letter. Use a dry pastry brush to brush off any excess flour (it will make the pastry tough). Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, up to 2 hours.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out toward the open sides into another 20 x 10 inch rectangle. Fold again as described in previous step; this is your first "Turn". Chill for another 2 hours. Repeat the rolling, folding, and chilling process two more times, for a total of three Turns.
After the final turn, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. (At this point, the dough can be refrigerated overnight or frozen for up to 3 months; defrost overnight in the refrigerator before shaping and baking)
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Unwrap the chilled dough. Cut it in half - wrap one in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you work with the other. Roll the remaining half out into a 20 x 10 inch rectangle. ***Now you must make a choice - pain au chocolat or regular croissants.***
I asked myself, "WWTBFCD?" and decided to do one of the halves as pain au chocolat, one as regular croissant, then freeze half of them once formed (this recipe makes 12ish pastries - too much for my fam at a time!).
For pain au chocolat - cut the rectangle into strips measuring 3 1/2 x 10 inches. Place a piece of chocolat about 2.5 inches from the top of the strip, parallel to the edge, then roll and fold the dough over the chocolate - moving from the top to the bottom. Place the pastry seam side down on a baking sheet.
For croissants - using a knife or pizza cutter (or mezzaluna as we did), cut the dough into 7 isosceles triangles (even on the long sides and 4.5 inches on the shorter base). You will end up with scraps of dough at the end - roll these up for a "baker's treat" aka pastries just waiting to be stolen by everyone in your family!
To roll the croissants, make a 1/2 inch notch with a knife in the middle of the base of the triangle, then elongate that end a bit and roll - trying to get the croissant long. Poilâne curls them up like little crabs by connecting the ends together - mine weren't long enough.
At this point you can chill the pastries overnight if you'd like (or freeze for later). If you freeze, to bake - defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then move into the rise below (on a parchment lined baking tray).
Cover the croissants with saran wrap or a kitchen towel, put in a warm (not hot area) and allow to rise for 2 hours (or until doubled in size). I used my lower oven with the oven light on to warm it a bit (our house is cold in the morning) - the butter leaked a bit even though it wasn't that warm in there. I moved them to a new baking tray/parchment.
Preheat the oven to 425F.
For croissants - Gently brush with the egg wash and bake until they are a deep golden brown - about 15 minutes.
For pains au chocolat - Gently brush with egg wash, put in the oven and immediately reduce temp to 375F and bake until golden brown, 20-22 minutes.
Were these amazing? Yes! Were they worth 24 hours of (on and off) labor? ...I'm pausing because they were the freshest croissants I've ever tasted, even in Paris...but could I live with re-warming bakery pastries and be just fine? Yes. My daughter refused to leave her chair until she had pain au chocolat, so she's a fan....now, if only she could make them for me!
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