Chef John's Chocolate Croissants
Making your own chocolate croissants takes a while, but for these crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside pastries, it's time well spent. This recipe was adapted from one by Bruno Albouze, from The Real Deal (which he is). This is actually the quick version in that we're not leaving the dough to rest overnight before laminating with the butter.
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Recipe Summary
Ingredients
Directions
Chef's Notes:
The technique is pretty straightforward, but be sure to pay attention to the temperature of your butter. If your slab is too soft, it will just blend into the dough and you won't get the gorgeous layering. And if it's too cold and firm, it won't spread between the layers of dough like it needs to. It should basically have the firmness of clay. So, take your time, and when in doubt, pop the dough in the fridge for a few minutes to chill it down as you're working.
If you're substituting table salt for the coarse kosher salt, use just 1 3/4 teaspoons.
Feel free to seal the croissants with egg wash at the end of Step 11 if you like.