Buttery croissant dough folded around fingers of sweet chocolate is a French favorite you might think could only come from a bakery. But the secrets to getting the rich yeasted dough to be gorgeously light and flaky are easier than you might think. We’ll lead you through everything you need to know about mixing, rolling and folding the dough and forming picture-perfect pastries. Most of the prep can be done a day in advance, leaving you to just form and proof these in the morning to make a freshly baked treat for friends and family.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 14 hr |
| Active: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 18 pastries |
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
- 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) cold butter plus 2 tablespoons room-temperature butter
- 3/4 cup warm whole milk (90 to 100 degrees F)
- 1/2 cup warm water (90 to 100 degrees F)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons whole milk or cream
- Pinch fine salt
- 36 sticks of chocolate
Instructions
- The day before you bake, make the pastry: Combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low to combine. Add the 2 tablespoons room-temperature butter and mix until you can no longer see pieces of butter. Add the milk and water and mix on low until the dough comes together. Increase the speed to medium-high and knead until the dough is smooth and springy, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a work surface dusted with flour. Flatten into a 5-by-7-inch rectangle, wrap in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, put 2 sticks of the cold butter next to each other on a large piece of parchment. Put the remaining 1/2 stick on top and dust the butter and parchment with flour. Fold the parchment over and use a rolling pin to beat and flatten the butter into a square, dusting with more flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the parchment. Beat and roll to make an 8-by-8-inch square. Wrap the butter in the parchment and refrigerate until firmed but not completely solid, 20 to 30 minutes (see Cook’s Note).
- Roll the rectangle of chilled dough out to a 10-by-18-inch rectangle, squaring and evening the sides with a ruler as you go. Place the butter square in the middle of the rectangle and fold the long sides over to meet in the middle and pinch to seal. Pinch to seal the other sides together and neaten the edges with the ruler so the package is again an even rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 30 minutes (see Cook’s Note).
- Roll the chilled dough out into a 10-by-20-inch rectangle, squaring the edges as you go. Fold the short ends to meet in the middle, then fold the whole closed, like a book, so you see 4 layers of folded dough when you look at the edge. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough out with an open end facing you to a 10-by-20-inch rectangle. Fold one short end into the center and fold the other short end over, like folding a letter. Neaten the edges with the ruler again so it’s an even rectangle if needed, then wrap and chill for another 30 minutes. This is your second “turn” or fold. Repeat this process for a third turn, rolling the dough and folding it like letter again. Neaten the edges again with the ruler if necessary, then wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
- The next day, for assembling the pastries: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Beat the egg, milk and salt together for an egg wash and set aside.
- Cut the dough in half. Roll one half into a 12-by-18-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle into 9 even pieces, each measuring 4 by 6 inches. Brush a rectangle with egg wash and place a chocolate stick (or two) on the short side of a rectangle. Roll the dough up over the rectangle and place it seam-side down on one of the prepared baking sheets. Pat to flatten the pastry slightly. Repeat with the remaining rectangles. Roll out the remaining piece of dough and repeat for a total of 18 pastries. Cover them loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Position racks in the top and bottom third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Brush the risen pastries with some of the egg wash. Bake until puffed and deep golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 18 servings |
| Calories | 411 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 46 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 25 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 45 mg |
| Sodium | 218 mg |