Description
This recipe guides you to make stunning chocolate croissants with glossy cocoa striping, bringing authentic French bakery delight into your kitchen. It’s a rewarding project, perfect for a special weekend breakfast, relying on careful lamination for flaky layers.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2.75 cups all-purpose flour
- 0.75 cup and 1 tablespoon bread flour
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons very cold unsalted European-style butter (82% fat content)
- 0.25 cup granulated sugar
- 7 ounces high-quality semi-sweet chocolate batons (or dark chocolate)
- 2.25 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 0.5 cup cold milk (whole milk or almond milk)
- 0.5 cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 0.25 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Prep Dough Night Before: Whisk dry ingredients, then add cold milk and water. Mix until just combined, forming a shaggy dough; knead briefly for 2 minutes. Cover and chill overnight (8-12 hours) until firm.
- Create Butter Block: Place very cold butter between parchment. Pound and roll to an 8×8 inch (20×20 cm) square, ensuring even thickness. Chill for 30 minutes until firm and pliable.
- Perform Lamination Folds: Roll dough to 16×16 inches (40×40 cm) and carefully enclose the butter block. Roll to 10×24 inches (25×60 cm), maintaining cold dough to prevent melting. Perform a ‘letter fold’, rotate 90 degrees, and chill 30 minutes. Repeat this roll, fold, and chill two more times for flaky layers.
- Shape Croissants: Roll final dough to 0.125 inch (3mm) thickness. Cut into 4×8 inch (10×20 cm) triangles. Place chocolate baton(s) at the wide end, roll tightly from the base, ensuring a snug coil. Curve into a crescent shape.
- Add Cocoa Striping: Mix cocoa powder, confectioners’ sugar, and drops of water to a thick, pipeable paste. Use a piping bag (or spoon) to draw stripes onto the raw croissants.
- Proof Croissants: Arrange on baking sheets. Proof in a warm, humid spot (75-80°F (24-27°C)) for 2-3 hours until visibly puffy and jiggly.
- Bake To Perfection: Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Bake for 15-20 minutes until deep golden brown and flaky. Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
If croissants overproof (dough looks very slack and bubbly), they may collapse in the oven; gently move them to the fridge for 15 minutes to firm slightly before baking. A little extra care in handling the butter pays off for perfect layers.
- Prep Time: 90 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Pastry
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 croissant
- Calories: 400 calories
- Sugar: 25 g
- Sodium: 400 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg
Keywords: chocolate croissant, French pastry, laminated dough, baking, homemade, special breakfast, weekend recipe, cocoa striping