Singapore is no stranger to pains au chocolat. A self-proclaimed pain au chocolat connoisseur, I have tasted every, if not most pains au chocolat I’ve laid my eyes on. Better known here as chocolate croissants, it can be found at the ever-popular Starbucks, Tiong Bahru Bakery, and Baker & Cook (home to the best pains au chocolat in Singapore – according to my taste buds).
This baking journey started when I stumbled upon a video on YouTube about baking croissants. The effort that went into it astonished me. It was so intricate, so time-consuming, yet so therapeutic. Intrigued by this process, I decided to bake my very own batch of pains au chocolat. I was, at first, put off by the fact that pains au chocolat take a staggering 3 days to prepare. But, because I had time to spare, I decided to give it a go in true Shia LaBeouf fashion (just do it!)
However, the end result of my first try was rather dismal. It looked like a knockoff version of those glorious pains au chocolat displayed in bakeries. I had to try again, I was not going to quit after my first try at baking this pastry.
I went on to YouTube and looked at countless videos to find out what I did wrong. After narrowing everything down, I came to a conclusion as to why I didn’t succeed in my first try. My first mistake, I rolled the dough out on a particularly hot day. The butter was too soft (it had to be cold) when I encased it with the dough. It popped out of the dough like a pimple. Second, I was too impatient. I completed the baking process in a day (minus the night before when I prepared the dough). Third, I preheat my oven way before I placed the tray in to bake the pastry.
And so I sat around for a cooling day to come, which was a few weeks later. I prepared the dough the night before, and shortened the time I used to roll out and fold the dough. “Double time” was my motto throughout the process. I let the dough stay in the fridge for a longer duration too. I also started preheating my oven as I was rolling the chocolate in the dough. As soon as it ding-ed, I popped the tray in. Lo and behold — my second try was much better.
The final result after my second try
Although the recipe requires a 3 day baking process, it can be shortened to 2 if you don’t have the time, or you’re mildly impatient like me. The recipe involved a lot of trial and error. After trying my hand at baking my favourite pastry, I have a newfound respect for bakers — who knew a pain au chocolat would take days to prepare?
Keen to try it out yourself? Here is the recipe!
Ingredients (bakes 4 pains au chocolat):
- 150g bread flour
- 30g cake flour
- 18g sugar
- 4g salt
- 2g dry yeast
- 20g egg
- 85g warm water
- 10g unsalted butter
- 100g unsalted butter (separate from #8)
- 1 bar of chocolate (any brand)
Day 1
You can start this process in the evening.
Step 1: Place 100g unsalted butter (softened in the refrigerator. It is extremely important that your butter isn’t at room temperature) on a piece of parchment paper. Cover the butter with the parchment paper and hit it with a rolling pin to form a flattened square.
Place the butter back in the fridge.
Step 2: Combine ingredients 1 to 8 in a bowl and mix. Knead the dough until smooth. If the dough sticks to the table or rolling pin, sprinkle more flour on the surface.
Wrap it in cling wrap and leave overnight in the fridge.
Day 2
Step 1: Take the dough out and roll it into a rectangle.
Step 2: Take the butter out and ‘wrap’ the butter in the dough.
Place it in the freezer for 30 minutes, then move it to the fridge and let it sit for 1 hour.
Step 3: The first fold. Take the dough out of the fridge. Roll it into a long rectangle. Take the top edges of the dough and fold it downwards. Then, take the bottom edges and fold it upwards, forming a rectangle.
Place it in the fridge for 1 hour.
Note: At any time you feel the dough is beginning to warm up, stop rolling and place it back in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Take the dough out of the fridge. Repeat the folding process in Step 3. Make sure, before you roll it out into a rectangle, that the width of the rectangle is facing you.
Place it in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 5: Repeat Step 4.
Place in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 6: The final fold! Repeat Step 5.
Place it in the fridge for 2 hours/ overnight.
Day 3
Step 7: Take the dough out of the fridge. Roll it into a long rectangle and divide it into 4.
Step 8: Take a chocolate bar – I used Hershey’s chocolate bar – and cracked it into 4.
Step 9: Place one bar on the dough and roll it, encasing the chocolate bar in the dough. Repeat that for the other 3 bars and dough pieces.
Step 10: Place rolls on a baking tray and spread an even amount of egg wash on each roll (this is optional).
Wait 30 mins for the dough to proof. At this time, you can preheat the oven to 200°C.
After 30 minutes, place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Thereafter, drop the temperature to 170°C and bake for another 15 minutes.
More of a visual learner? Follow this video here. (I probably contributed more than 10 views.)
As cliché as it seems, I think this can serve as one of those ‘little things in life’ moments where it teaches you a lesson to never give up. If you have the time, I recommend having a go at baking pains au chocolat. And it doesn’t matter if your first try failed. There are always many more tries after.