By Pearse O’Malley

With the holiday on the horizon, here’s a recipe you can try that will impress your family and guests. The thought of making croissants can seem like a daunting process. Fortunately, recipes have been formulated to break up the steps into an easier undertaking. Most of the ingredients required are very basic, and again, this recipe is very versatile. Instead of chocolate chunks, fruits and jams could be added, or they can just be left plain.

Chocolate Croissants

Ingredients:

½ cup + 1 tbsp. milk, divided
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup + 2 tbsp. flour, divided
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
¼ tsp. kosher salt
6 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, beaten
4 tbsp. chopped chocolate

Steps:

DAY ONE:

1. Heat ½ cup of the milk to 115ºF, and stir in the yeast until dissolved. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the flour. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, remaining 1 cup + 1 tablespoon of the flour, and salt. Add the foamy yeast to the mixture, and knead until smooth with a wooden spoon, about 3-4 minutes. The dough will be sticky, but it will stick to itself and not the edges of the bowl. Refrigerate overnight.

DAY TWO:

1. Let the butter come to room temperature.
2. Remove the dough from the fridge (it should have risen and seem bubbly). Flour surface, and roll the dough out into a 6 x 10″ rectangle. The 6″ side should be closest to you.
3. Spread all 6 tablespoons of the butter evenly over the rectangle, but leave about 1cm of a border on all edges.
4. Fold the dough like a letter: fold the top one-third to the middle. Fold the bottom third up to the middle also. Roll the dough back into a 6 x 10″ rectangle. Cover and refrigerate the rectangle of dough for 2 hours.
5. Remove the dough from the fridge after 2 hours, fold it like a letter again, and then roll back out to a 6 x 10″ rectangle. Place it back in the fridge for 2 hours.
6. Repeat this two more times for a total of four folds, refrigerating for 2 hours between each fold and roll. After the last roll out, refrigerate the dough overnight.

DAY THREE:

1.Remove the dough from the fridge, and roll it on a floured surface into a 6″ x 12″ rectangle.

2. Using a knife, cut the rectangle into 4 evenly-sized smaller rectangles.
3. On one side of each rectangle, place a tablespoon of chopped chocolate.
4. Staring on the short edge of the rectangle, roll each into a roll shape.
5. Place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and brush with the remaining tablespoon of milk.
6. Let the rolls rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. If your kitchen is cold, let them rise for longer-they need to double in size before baking.
7. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
8. Brush the egg yolk generously over the croissants. Be sure to get it in the cracks of the dough.
9. Bake for 10 minutes. Check on the rolls, and shield them with foil if the edges start to burn. Bake for another 2 minutes if the rolls aren’t golden brown.
10. Let cool 15 minutes, and serve.