/Pains au Chocolat Faciles (Easy Croissants)

I adapted this recipe from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, v. 2. It requires no kneading, and despite the number of steps, the recipe takes only about 20-25 minutes of hands-on time.

Ingredients 1 ! t yeast 3 T warm water 1 t sugar

7 1 /8 c (230g) all-purpose flour 2 t sugar 1 t kosher salt 2 T canola (or other mild) vegetable oil 2 /3 c milk, at room temperature (120g)

10 T unsalted (1 ! sticks), at room temperature (if more croissants are desired, can increase this to 14 T (1 " sticks))

1 egg mixed with 1 T water (for wash)

Also, for : 8 oz. of good quality dark chips or shavings

Makes 12 croissants or 8 pains au chocolat. If doubling the recipe, divide the in half before placing it in the refrigerator (see step 5).

Directions Preparation of la détrempe (dough) 1. Mix water, sugar, and yeast, and set aside for five minutes to proof (will become slightly foamy as yeast are activated). 2. Stir the flour, sugar, and salt together in medium bowl; add the milk, oil, and yeast mixture. 3. Using a spatula, stir and cut the dry and wet ingredients together until the dough’s consistency is even, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl into the mass of dough. Do not knead. The dough will appear quite wet. Using a spatula, gather the dough into the center of bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, approx. 2 hours. 4. Using a spatula, turn the dough in the bowl to deflate it, cover it again with plastic wrap and let it rise again until doubled, approx. 1# hours more. 5. With a spatula, turn the dough out onto well-floured counter, deflate it with hands into a flat circle, sprinkle well with flour, and place it on a floured dinner plate or parchment paper in refrigerator (covered with plastic) for 30 minutes. Butter and folding 6. Beat the butter with spoon (or mixer) in a bowl until it is smooth (lump- free) and easily spreadable. (This is a key difference from Julia Child’s recipe; see also the note, below.) 7. On a well-floured surface, turn out the cooled dough and roll it into a rectangle, about 8 x 14 inches (the size need not be exact). 8. Using a spatula, spread the butter over surface of the dough, leaving a small (# inch) border on the outside edges. 9. With the short edge of the rectangle at the bottom, fold the dough like a letter: fold the top third, and then the bottom third over the middle. (At this point, Fold 1 is done, 3 layers have been made.) 10. Turning the seam side down, roll the dough out into 8 x 14 rectangle again, and fold again like a letter. (Now, Fold 2 is done, 7 layers have been made.) 11. Sprinkle the dough liberally with flour, lightly wrap in parchment paper, then place it in plastic bag and refrigerate for 1 hour (timing is not critical, but probably no longer than 2 hours – see Note). 12. Unwrap the dough, place it on a floured surface, and Note: The key is to keep the dough cool for allow it to warm up for 30 easier rolling and to prevent it from rising minutes or so, flipping it in between folding, but not to let it get so over after 15 minutes. cold that the butter between the layers congeals. If the butter hardens, rolling the 13. Repeat rolling and folding dough will break the butter into lumps two more times, beginning instead of spreading it evenly. Conversely, each time with the seam if the dough warms too much, it will begin side down (Fold 3, 21 to rise again. So, work with the dough as layers; and Fold 4, 63 soon as the outer surface has reached layers will now be done). room temperature. Forming and Final Rise The dough will appear to be very soft when working with it. A spatula can 14. At this point, the dough is help moving and folding it. ready to be formed as follows, depending on whether it is for croissants or for pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants): For croissants: 15. Roll the dough into a long rectangle, approximately 20 x 5 inches. 16. Cut in half crosswise, forming two 10 x 5 inch pieces; lengthen these further by rolling each to approximately 15 x 5 inches. 17. Cut each large piece crosswise into three 5 x 5 inch squares. 18. One square at time, cut diagonally to form an isosceles triangle. 19. With the long base of the triangle toward you, roll each to lengthen it to approximately 7 inches. 20. Beginning with the long end, roll each triangle up, bend slightly to form a , and place it on a sheet covered with parchment paper. Lightly drape the formed croissants with plastic wrap. (Then skip to step # 21, below.) For pains au chocolat: 15. Roll the dough into a long rectangle, approximately 24 x 10 inches. 16. Imagine that the dough is divided into three equal vertical columns, and sprinkle # of the chocolate it in a vertical line down the middle of the dough (i.e., down the middle of the center column). 17. Fold the rightmost column over the center column (covering the chocolate) and press lightly. You now have two vertical columns: the right one is two thicknesses of dough with chocolate between. 18. Take the remaining chocolate, and sprinkle it in a vertical line down the center of the right-hand column (i.e., on the layer of dough right over the previously-sprinkled chocolate). 19. Fold the left-hand column over the center column (covering the chocolate, and press lightly. You will now have a vertically folded narrow rectangle of dough, with two layers of chocolate sandwiched between three layers of dough. 20. Using a cutter or knife, divide the dough crosswise in the middle, and repeat crosswise cuts to make the pieces as large as desired (I get about 8 pains au chocolate out of each recipe – a more generous portion size would yield 5-6 croissants). Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, separated by an inch or two, and lightly drape with plastic wrap. Baking both croissants and pains au chocolat: 21. Ahead-of-Time Note: At this point, the can be delayed for several hours (or even a day or two) by placing them in a refrigerator. In that case, the final rise will take longer because the pastries will need to warm up first after being removed from the refrigerator (a warming oven can speed this process). Pastries can also be frozen at this stage, then thawed when needed and allowed to rise. 22. Allow the formed pastries to rise in a warm location until doubled or even tripled in volume. Preheat an oven to 475 °F (440 °F for convection). 23. Brush the egg wash lightly onto the pastries, and bake (checking frequently and rotating the tray as needed for even baking), for approximately 12-18 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Bon appétit!