By Christian Gillet
Pastry-baker trainer – French Baker Champion
BakeLabRC consulting
www.apprendreautrementlapatisserieboulangerie.com
Hybrid pastries have become increasingly popular in recent years. These creations, which result from the fusion of two pastry classics (French, American, English, Italian…), offer an original and often spectacular culinary experience. Here is a hybrid recipe, fusion of a viennoiserie like “pain au chocolat” with a brownie: Chocolaty’Brownie.
Ingredients
For 10 to 12 individual pieces
To make insert brownie, click here
- 500 g T65 “Tradition Française” wheat flour
- 500 g Gruau T45 flour (or any other Gruau flour)
- 420 g cold milk
- 18 g salt
- 50 g baker’s yeast
- 20 g honey
- 100 g sugar
- 200 g butter
Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor (except the “tourage” butter).
Blend for 5 min on speed 1, then for 15 min on speed 2, until the dough is smooth.
Take a portion of this dough (around 20%) and add cocoa to taste. The amount of cocoa will depend on the desired color and the “strength” of the cocoa used.
Preparation
First fermentation:
Place the dough in the freezer for 30 min.
Form the dough into a ball and refrigerate overnight.
Buttering :
Roll out the dough (with a rolling pin or a rolling pin) into a 20 cm x 40 cm (7,8 x 15,7 in) rectangle (for a 600 g dough piece).
In the middle, place the “tourage” butter (200 g), lightly malaxed so that it is of the same consistency as the dough.
Cut off the sides of the dough not covered with butter and place them on top of the butter. You now have a layer of pastry, a layer of butter, and a layer of pastry again.
Tourage :
Roll out the dough again and form a long rectangle to the desired dimensions. The length should be 3 times longer than the width (between 6 mm and 1 cm thick, for example – 0,2 and 0,4 in).
Fold the dough into thirds, folding one end over the middle of the dough (1/3 of the rectangle), and the other end over the first. This is called a single turn.
Place the piece of dough the other way round (with the folded side always to the right).Then give a wallet or double turn (fold in 4).
Roll out the cocoa-colored dough to the dimensions of the first dough and cover it. On smaller dough pieces, the cocoa-colored dough can also cover the dough pieces.
Roll out the dough again and divide into three equal parts.
Place the three parts of dough on top of each other.
Roll (flatten) the strips to obtain a dough of 3 cm (1,2 in) thick.
Cut small 0,5 to 1 cm (0,2 to 0,4 in) strips and stick them side by side (in a staircase) on the rest of the dough. Moisten the dough a little so that it sticks well.
Roll out the two-tone dough one last time.
Cut the dough into the desired shape, such as a “pain au chocolat” strip.
Place a piece of brownie in the center and roll up the dough. There’s no need to close the sides of the dough.
Second fermentation:
Let the dough rest for 45 min / 1 h at 27° C.
Cooking:
Bake for 18/20 min at 180° C (356° F)
Scientific complement
By Rachel Blanchon
When baking the viennoiserie, temperature in the center is 90°C (194° F) maximum. It is therefore possible to bake the brownie insert beforehand, as this cake does not need a second baking.
To help reduce waste, it’s easy to make a brownie with “old” croissants or pain au chocolat (from the day before). It’s good for the planet and good for the company’s bottom line!
To order your French flours, click here
(Photo credit: C Gillet/BakeLabRC consulting)