Croissants and pains au chocolat

"This is probably the longest recipe you will find in the Et Voilà coookbook. I guess there are little shortcuts in making croissants, but just like all recipes I have included, read on, follow the instructions and trust the process. You can keep half of the dough in the freezer for up to a month, if you like; just defrost it in the fridge overnight and leave to rise again in the morning in a warm room for an hour before baking fresh croissants from your own bakery." – Manon Lagrève

1. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Add the milk, water, yeast, egg and salted butter and whisk on low speed for 3 minutes, then increase to medium speed and whisk for another 5–8 minutes. It is ready when the dough comes away from the sides while mixing.

2. Transfer the dough to another clean bowl, cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and leave to rise in a hot room or until it doubles in size (depending on the temperature, this will take 1–2 hours).

3. Once it has doubled in size, punch the dough down with clean hands to remove the air. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

4. Lightly flour your worktop and roll a square of dough to 1.5cm (3/4in) thick and set aside.

5. Place the unsalted butter on some baking paper, place another piece of baking paper on top, and roll out to a 20cm (8in) square using a rolling pin.

6. Place that butter on the inside of the square of dough and close the dough around it like a envelope, sealing well around the edges with your fingers to keep the butter in. Use a rolling pin to tap it on top and help to seal it.

7. Roll the dough out to a 60 x 20cm (24 x 8in) rectangle, 1.5cm (3/4in) thick. With a short edge facing you, fold the top third of the dough back on itself, then fold the bottom third of the dough over to cover it. Give the dough a quarter turn so the opening fold is now on the right.

8. Roll the dough back out to the same size rectangle. Fold the top quarter down and the bottom quarter up to meet in the middle, then fold in half. Cover with cling film and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.

9. Slice the dough in two – half for the croissants and half for the pains au chocolat. Roll each half out a 70 x 30cm (30 x 12in) rectangle and trim the sides to have clean edges.

10. To make the croissants, cut 8 long triangles along the length of the rectangle, and make a little 1cm (½in) cut at the base of each triangle. Use both of your hands to roll the pastry from the large base all the way to the top of the triangle. Place the croissants on a baking tray lined with some baking paper.

11. To make the pains au chocolat, cut 8 rectangles from the length of pastry, place a bar of chocolate on the edge of each rectangle and fold the pastry over it. Place the pains au chocolat on a baking tray lined with some baking paper.

12. Brush all the pastries with the egg wash, then leave them to rise in a warm room for 1 hour.

13. Preheat the oven to 220°C fan (475°F/gas 9), then cook the pastries for 12–15 minutes, until golden.

Extract reproduced with permission from Et Voilà by Manon Lagrève, published by Welbeck. Photography: Nassima Rothacker. Price: R510

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