Quick Pain Au Chocolat Food

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.

QUICK PAIN AU CHOCOLAT

Steps:

• Place chocolate pieces in a heatproof bowl.
• Heat cream until it just starts to boil; pour over the chocolate.
• Stir until the chocolate melts and is well blended.
• Let cool until ganache thickens and achieves a spreadable consistency; chill slightly if necessary.
• Spread ganache on bottom halves of croissants; reassemble tops and dust lightly with powdered sugar.

PETITE PAIN AU CHOCOLAT

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Unfold the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Roll each into a 10-inch square. Cut each into 4 (5-inch) squares, making 8 in all.
• Place 2 tablespoons chocolate chips in the center of each pastry square. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg. Fold each pastry over the chocolate chips and press to seal. Place the filled pastries onto baking sheets. Brush the pastries with the egg.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let the pastries cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and let cool completely on wire racks. Cook and stir the remaining chocolate chips and the butter in a heavy 1-quart saucepan over low heat until the mixture is melted and smooth. Stir in the confectioners' sugar. Stir in the water, adding additional water, if necessary, until desired consistency. Drizzle the icing over the pastries

PETITS PAINS AU CHOCOLAT

Steps:

• Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush top of each puff pastry square with egg glaze. Place 1 chocolate piece on edge of 1 pastry square. Roll up dough tightly, enclosing chocolate. Repeat with remaining pastry and chocolate. Place pastry rolls on baking sheet, seam side down. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover pastries with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Cover and refrigerate remaining egg glaze.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush tops of pastry rolls with remaining egg glaze. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Bake until pastries are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

MINI PAIN AU CHOCOLAT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degree F and butter a large baking sheet. Cut the chocolate into eighteen 2-by 1/2-inch pieces.
• Carefully unfold pastry sheet and roll out on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin to form a 12-1/2-inch square. Trim edges of pastry with a pizza cutter or sharp knife to form a 12-inch square. Cut pastry into three 4-inch strips. Cut strips crosswise to make eighteen 2- by 4-inch rectangles.
• Working with 1 rectangles at a time, brush top with egg wash and place 1 piece of chocolate 1 inch from short end of rectangle and roll up pastry over chocolate to encase chocolate and form a log. Press edge of pastry to seal, leaving ends of log open, and arrange pastry seam sides down on baking sheet. Brush tops of pastry with some of egg wash.
• Repeat with remaining pastry and chocolate in same manner, and freeze pastry on baking sheet until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Now, bake pastries in middle of oven until puffed and golden brown on top, about 10 minutes (don't worry if some chocolate leaks out). Transfer with a metal spatula to wire racks to cool. Dust tops of pastries with confectioners' sugar.