Pain Au Chocolat

To make the dough, in a medium bowl whisk together 2 3/4 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.

Place the milk in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the flour mixture and knead at low speed until a ball of dough forms, about 5 minutes.

Cut the butter into small pieces and add them to the dough. Continue to knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough becomes smooth, begins to form a ball, and clears the sides of the bowl, an additional 5 to 6 minutes.

At this point, the dough should be sticky. If more dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl than to itself, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as necessary.

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the butter square. On a clean work surface, toss together the butter pieces and flour. Using the scraper, smear the butter back and forth until it forms a smooth mixture.

Wrap the butter in plastic wrap and form it into a 7-inch square. Refrigerate until needed, or at least 30 minutes.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Roll the refrigerated dough into an 11-inch square. Place the chilled butter square in the center of the dough, slightly askew.

Fold the corners of the dough up over the butter square so that they meet in the middle and pinch the ends of the dough together to seal them.

Using a rolling pin, gently tap the dough, starting from the center of the dough and going outward, until the square becomes larger and the butter begins to soften.

Start gently rolling the dough into a 14-inch square, checking often to make sure the dough is not sticking and dusting with additional flour as necessary.

Fold the square into thirds to form a long rectangle. This method of folding is called a "turn" and resembles folding a business letter. Starting from the narrow ends, fold the rectangle into thirds again to form a square.

You have now given the dough two turns. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Roll the dough into another 14-inch square, dusting with flour to prevent sticking as necessary. Fold the square into thirds to form a long rectangle. Fold the rectangle into thirds again to form a square.

Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for 2 hours.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the chilled dough on a floured work surface and gently roll the dough into a 20-inch square. Use a pizza cutter and ruler to cut the dough into 4 equal 10-inch squares.

Cut each square into thirds to make a total of 12 rectangles, each approximately 10-by-3 1/4 inches.

Place 1 tablespoon of chocolate in the middle of each rectangle. Fold the short sides into the center over the chocolate, with the edges slightly overlapping. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets, seam-side down.

Cover the pains au chocolate loosely with plastic wrap and let them rise at room temperature until puffy (they will not double in size), 45 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Brush the pastries with the beaten egg. Bake until they are golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time.

Cool the pastries on a wire rack until warm, about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Source: Baking Illustrated