It’s no secret that the big Paris trip I’d been planning had been looming (in a good way!) for months. One particular experience that I was really looking forward to was a baking class focused on the mastery of two French pastry staples. I am of course talking about the classic croissant as well as the flaky pain au chocolat. I picked a school on the schmancy Left Bank just off the famed Boulevard Saint-Germain that specialized in small group classes. Maison Fleuret (I loved the name!) offered “Learn To Bake French Croissant With A Pastry Chef” and was located steps away from Cafe de Flor, Brasserie Lipp, and Les Deux Magots in the 6th Arrondissment. Are you feeling the vibe already? Sooo Parisian!
Michael decided that the lessons to be learned in a class with such a narrow focus would not aptly apply to his life in the States. (I think he might have still been tired from sauces and jus!) C’est la vie! I decided that even though the chances of me making these labor-intensive butter forward treats were très slim indeed, I should put on the dang baker’s hat anyway and let the flour land where it may. So I immediately signed up. (Note to self: Next time do NOT wear all black to a baking class where flour is literally thrown about. Big mistake. Huge!)
If you are teetering on the edge of your seat with anticipation, be forewarned that what you are about to see and read is no match for the wafting aromas and heavenly tastes that I experienced that day. There were ten of us enrolled in the late afternoon session and we sat at a big rectangular table with our baking mistress at the head, closest to the oven. We needed to work in pairs so I buddied up with Meg, a nurse visiting from California seated to my right. I knew we’d be sharing rolling pin duties and I just happened to notice her muscular forearms; I was grateful for the match.
The dough, we were told, was the key to making perfect pastry. It had to be the right size and shape and folded and folded and folded and rolled each time to make sure the butter was evenly distributed. The board was to be well floured and after each “rollout” we were instructed to brush all excess flour away so that our dough stayed pristine. Our Pastry Chef didn’t yell. She did however make the rounds to ensure we were following her explicit instructions. I almost screamed, “Oui, Chef!” but I contained my leftover enthusiasm.
My black outfit just loved the sprinkling and sweeping of the flour, however I found it next to impossible to deflour myself after each spritz of the white stuff onto the board!
When it came time to portioning our dough, we folded the rectangle in half and used the dull side of the sharpest knife in the drawer (ha) to score it. We then used the blade side to create perfect cuts. Once the dough was cut in half, it was cut in half again. The first two pieces were used to make the pains au chocolat. Exceptional quality chocolate was passed around the table and we were allowed to double the limit on our sticks. Normally a pain au chocolat has but two measly chocolate sticks baked inside. Yours truly went with four for each pastry because… c’mon! Then we carefully rolled them and egg washed the tops. Viva la France!
The second half of the dough was cut into two triangles and stretched waaaaay out then rolled up starting from the wide side and rolling toward the small side. One of my croissants resembled a sea shell and the other looked like a restaurant quality pastry in the making if I do say so myself! All of our goodies were placed on large lined baking sheets and slid into the oven. Our Pastry Chef used some of the excess dough to make cinnamon sugar swirls and they graced our baking tray as well.
It was difficult to patiently wait for the treats to bake. (Clarification: it was difficult for ME to wait for the treats to bake.) The small kitchen studio smelled amazing! After the fourteen minutes were up, Chef pulled our handiwork out of the oven and she let them cool on a wire baking rack. After another few minutes she slid the lined sheets right onto the work table. Our pastries were golden-brown, perfectly puffy, dreamy layers of sweet deliciousness!
I had dinner plans immediately following the class with none other than my Food Fight Podcast co-star, Scott Stuart, so I couldn’t dive right in to taste like the rest of the group. (The podcast IS back on by the way and should premiere after some unexpected delays in January of 2023. Stay tuned for more info!) Ooohs and oooos and ahhhhs and mmmmms were loud and joyous! I was pretty happy with my results. The seashell looking one was super flaky and the Pillsbury crescent roll looking one butter stained the napkin! (How embarrassing!) The pains au chocolat were a tad well done but looked c’est magnifique.
After dinner back at the flat, Michael and I reunited and ripped open the bag to find the pastries still a touch warm from the coddled packaging. My first bite of pain au chocolat, MY pain au chocolat, was completely life altering. It was the best chocolate croissant that I have ever had. The chocolate was still melty and the dough was airy and completely delicious. Is it wrong for me to make it into Jen’s Little Black Book? Because this sucker was outstanding! The crispy top! The extra chocolate! The buttery sweetness from the dough… I was swooning! Just wow. The regular croissants were amazing as well. But the pain au chocolat was truly otherworldly.
Michael was about three bites in when he noticed that I had faded white splotches on my shirt and all over my leggings. Before he could say anything I announced, “I tried to deflour myself at the baking studio but the stubborn marks would not budge! I had to show up to dinner looking like this.” You can imagine that Michael had quite a funny reply to my attempted deflouring. He of course offered his help. (Wink) What a guy!
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