Pain au Chocolat

Step 1: Make the Détrempe (Dough Mixture)

Whisk together the warm milk and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Mix in the yeast and leave until the yeast is activated, around 10 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when it starts to bubble and grow.

In a large bowl add the flour, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and butter. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients using forks or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. Add the yeast and cold milk and stir together with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball.

Lightly flour your counter and knead the dough until it comes together a little bit more. Don’t knead too much because there will be a lot of rolling and folding done to the dough later. Wrap the dough in plastic cling, but not too tight; since there is yeast in the dough, it will expand. Refrigerate for at least a half hour or up to an hour.

Step 2: Make the Beurrage (Butter Mixture)

Toss the butter with the flour and stick back in the fridge for 20 minutes. Using a mixer, beat the butter with a medium speed until all the butter is smooth and pliable. It must stay cold, too! Wrap the butter in plastic cling and refrigerate until needed.

Step 3: Incorporating the Beurrage with the Détrempe

Lightly flour the counter. Place dough on the counter and lightly dust the top. Roll the dough into a tall rectangle measuring 15×12 inches. Try to make the edges straight and the corners sharp. You can gently stretch the dough to achieve this. Brush off the extra flour. (Extra flour will make for a very dry, tough dough so remember this throughout the whole process.) With your eyes, divide the dough into thirds as if each third was a section of a folded letter. Using your fingers, spread the butter over the top two thirds of the dough, leaving a half-inch border around the outside of the dough.

Step 4: Using the Letter Fold

Fold the bottom third of dough over the middle third of dough as if you were folding a letter. The empty bottom third of the dough will be resting over the butter of the middle third. Finish the letter fold by folding the top third down. Very lightly pinch the seams together and carefully roll your rolling pin over the dough to seal the seams. As long as your butter is still cold, you may proceed with the next step. If not, wrap the dough in plastic cling and return to the refrigerator for an hour.

Step 5: Using the Book Fold

Lightly flour the counter. Place dough on the counter and lightly dust the top. Roll the dough into a tall rectangle measuring 20×12 inches. Dust off extra flour. Fold the two short sides of the dough into the middle leaving a space of 1/4 inch between the two. Then fold both sides together like folding a book. Roll the dough gently to seal the seams. Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Step 6: Another Letter Fold

Lightly flour the counter. Place dough on the counter and lightly dust the top. Roll the dough into a tall rectangle measuring 20×12 inches. Dust off extra flour. Fold the dough using the letter fold. Gently roll to seal edges. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but no longer than 24 hours. You could freeze for up to a month instead.

Note: This is a really good place to stop for the day. That’s what I do.

Step 7: Cutting and Shaping the Dough

Flour your counter then roll out the dough to a rectangle that is 1/4 inch thick, about 26×14 inches. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 3 1/2-inch x 4 1/2-inch rectangles. For each rectangle, do the following: visually divide the rectangle into thirds as you did with the letter fold before. Place a half tablespoon of chocolate on the top third and fold the top third over the chocolate to the middle. Place another half tablespoon of chocolate where the top third meets the middle and fold the bottom third over the chocolate. Turn the roll over so that the seam is on the bottom.

Note: The rolls can be frozen at this point. Just cover tightly with plastic cling and freeze for up to a week. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before moving on to step 8.

Step 8: Egg Wash and Proof

In a small bowl, beat the egg and then add the milk. Brush each roll with the egg wash. Save the egg wash in the fridge. Set the rolls in a cool spot in your kitchen to double in size for 1-2 hours. Don’t let them get warm!

Step 9: Baking

Move your oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 400ºF. Put the rolls in the refrigerator until the oven is preheated, at least 15 minutes. (You could leave them in the freezer for 10 minutes.) Brush again with the egg wash. Bake for 17-22 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. You know they’re done when they are a rich golden brown. Allow the rolls to the rest on a cooling rack before devouring. Drizzle with melted chocolate for a little something extra.

Note: Baked rolls will only last one day, but you must keep them unwrapped. To keep longer, wrap each pain well with plastic then put them all together in a large freezer bag. They can hibernate in your freezer for up to a month! Then just thaw them for about 30 minutes then bake them for 7-8 minutes in a 350ºF oven.