Best 5 Easier Than The Easiest Chocolate Croissants Recipes

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS (PAIN AU CHOCOLATE) RECIPE BY TASTY

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!

EASIER THAN THE EASIEST CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS

Steps:

• Unroll the dough and separate it into 8 triangles. Place about 10 chocolate chips on the long end of each triangle and roll the dough up around the chocolate, to the small end.
• Transfer the croissants to a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper, for easier cleanup).
• Bake as directed on the tube (usually 375 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes).
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

CHEF JOHN'S CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS

Steps:

• Place warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle with yeast. Let yeast dissolve for 10 minutes. Add sugar and bread flour. Sprinkle with salt; add 3 tablespoons butter. Attach the bowl to the stand mixer. Mix dough with the dough hook just until butter is completely kneaded in and the dough forms a ball and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl, 3 or 4 minutes.
• Transfer dough to a work surface and form into a semi-smooth ball. Place dough back in the mixer bowl; cover. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 2 hours.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Push and press dough to deflate it, and form it into a rectangle. Fold into thirds by lifting one end over the middle third, and folding the other side onto the middle. Wrap in plastic wrap. Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Refrigerate until chilled through, about 1 hour.
• Cut 1 stick of butter in 1/2 lengthwise and place halves slightly apart from each other on a length of parchment paper long enough to fold over the butter. Fold the parchment paper over the butter. Press butter down. Roll out with a rolling pin to a square about 8x8 inches. Refrigerate until a little chilled and just barely flexible, 10 or 15 minutes.
• Roll dough out into a rectangle slightly wider than the butter slab and just over twice as long. Place butter on one half of the dough leaving about 1 inch margin from the edge of the dough. Fold the other half of the dough over the butter. Dust work surface and dough with flour as needed.
• Press rolling pin down on dough to create ridges. Then roll out the ridges. Repeat this process. Keep pressing and rolling until dough is about the same size rectangle as you had before you folded it in half, dusting with just a bit of flour as necessary.
• Starting from the short side, fold one-third of dough over middle third. Then fold the other end over to form a small rectangle. Flatten out just slightly with rolling pin. Transfer to the silicone-lined baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer dough back to work surface and repeat pressing and rolling technique until dough is the size of the previous larger rectangle. Fold into thirds again, starting from the short side. Press and roll slightly. Transfer back to lined baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate about 15 minutes.
• Roll back out to a large rectangle. This time, fold dough in half. Then press and roll out into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle, using as little flour as needed to keep dough from sticking.
• Dust dough with flour and roll out to a rectangle about 1/8-inch thick. Cut dough lengthwise into 6 pieces using a pastry wheel.
• Pull and stretch out 1 of the dough pieces until ends are slightly tapered. Line 1 to 2 tablespoon of chocolate 1 inch parallel to the bottom edge and an equal amount of chocolate 1 more inch ahead. Roll dough up over the chocolate toward the top short edge to form a croissant with the seam at the bottom. Repeat with the remaining 5 dough pieces.
• Place shaped croissants on baking sheets lined with silicone mats. Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water to make the egg wash. Brush croissants with a large portion of the egg wash. Place in a warm area to allow them to rise, 60 to 90 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush croissants gently but thoroughly again with egg wash. Sprinkle sea salt on top.
• Bake in preheated oven until beautifully browned, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.

CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS

Steps:

• For the croissant dough: In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then whisk together. Add 2 tablespoons of room temperature butter and beat with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined and the butter is no longer visible. Add the milk. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together, then switch to the dough hook. Knead on medium-high until the dough comes together into a smooth but still slightly loose ball, about 5 minutes. Remove from the mixer, then pat into a rectangle and wrap in plastic wrap. Let rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
• When the dough is almost done resting, make a rectangle of butter! Smush the remaining 2 1/2 sticks butter together into a rustic rectangle and dust all over with flour. Place it between two pieces of parchment paper (or butter wrappers) and press or roll it into a 6-by-8-inch rectangle. Roll the dough on a floured work surface to about 10 by 20 inches. Lay the butter rectangle in the center and fold one end over the butter. Fold the second end over the top, like folding a letter. This is the first turn. Wrap in plastic and chill 30 minutes.
• For the chocolate croissants: Unwrap the dough and set one straight edge closest to you. Roll to about 10 by 20 inches and fold the short ends in to meet in the center, then fold closed, like a book. (This is the second turn.) Wrap and chill 30 minutes, then complete another book turn. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes after the third turn. Complete one more book turn. Wrap and chill at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Beat the egg. Unwrap the dough and cut in half. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with half of the dough at a time, roll into a 10-by-14-inch rectangle and trim the edges with a pizza wheel to even it out. Cut into 6 rectangles by cutting it in half vertically, and then in thirds horizontally. Brush the rectangles with the egg wash. Lay a 1/2-ounce chocolate bar in the center of each rectangle, arranging it parallel to the short ends of the rectangle. Fold one end over the chocolate, and then the other end over that, again like a letter. Place seam-side down on one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough and chocolate. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover the croissants loosely. Let rise at room temperature until light, puffy and increased in size by about half, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush the croissants generously with the egg wash. Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through, until puffed and deep golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool slightly on a rack.

PAIN AU CHOCOLAT

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.