Mole Negro Croissant

PASTRY

Jun 4

Baker Alexander Roman of Somerset | Chicago
Yield: 19 croissants

Croissants and mole are both a labor of love, and not for the faint of heart. They take patience, failure, and determination. By no means am I the best at either, or even close to it, but I truly enjoy making them. I am currently in the determination phase—with a hint of failure—constantly trying to perfect the croissant and mole, respectively. I decided to try and see what a mole croissant would be like. This is the process.

INGREDIENTS

Mole Negro Powder:
(Yield: 107 grams)
15 grams cocoa powder
15 grams black cocoa powder
0.3 grams ground cumin
0.3 grams bay leaf, ground
1 grams ground clove
0.5 ground black pepper
5 grams onion powder
3 grams garlic powder
3 grams ground oregano
3 grams ground toasted sesame
8 grams ground toasted almonds
5 grams ground toasted peanuts
2 grams ground cinnamon
20 grams ground ancho chile
16 grams ground blackened tortilla de maiz
10 grams toasted breadcrumbs

Sweet Mole:
100 grams water
50 grams rehydrated dried cherries
50 grams overripe banana
50 grams tahini
15 grams rehydrated sundried tomato
10 grams mole powder

Dough:
(Yield: 1.6 kilograms)
189 grams milk
50 grams eggs
701 grams all-purpose flour
70 grams sugar
2 grams malt
15 grams SAF Gold instant yeast
8 grams salt
56 grams butter
280 grams old dough

Beurrage:
1 ruler
1 Sharpie
1 sheet parchment paper
600 grams butter
1 rolling pin
Plenty patience

Lamination:
38 dark chocolate batons

Bake:
Egg yolks
Heavy cream
Sesame seeds

METHOD

For the Mole Negro Powder:
In a bowl, combine cocoas. To a Vitamix blender, add remaining ingredients and grind until the consistency of the powder is uniform. In a pan over medium heat, toast the spice mixture until intensely aromatic; cool. To the bowl with cocoas, add cooled mixture, tossing to combine. Pass through a chinois.

For the Sweet Mole:
To a Vitamix blender, add all ingredients plus 10 grams Mole Negro Powder; purée.

For the Dough:
To the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a hook, add milk, 182 grams water, and eggs. Mix until combined. Add flour, 46 grams Mole Spice, sugar, malt, yeast, and salt. When combined, add butter and old dough. Mix for 9 minutes on speed 1 followed by 2 minutes on speed 2. (If you properly achieved your DDT*, your dough should be at 76ºF, but 74ºF to 78ºF is a fair window.) Transfer dough to a bin and ferment for 1 hour at room temperature. Shape dough into a square and loosely double wrap in plastic, allowing dough to expand without blowing out; refrigerate 1 hour.

For the Beurrage:
Using the ruler and Sharpie, draw a 13-inch by 8-inch rectangle on one side of the parchment paper. Place the butter in the center of the rectangle, cutting the butter in half lengthwise, if necessary, so that the other half of the parchment will fold over the butter without leaving any exposed. Using the rolling pin, flatten the butter to the proper dimensions. Chill butter until cold yet pliable, never hard or soft. The dough should be cold, too, but we’ll want it colder, so let’s put it in the freezer for 10 to 20 minutes, or until the edges start to firm up, but not harden.

For the Lamination:
Roll out sough to form a 14-inch by 20-inch rectangle. Place your butter block in the center and enclose it with the dough. The dough should meet perfectly in the center. You should not pull the dough to force to enclose the butter, as it weakens the structure of the dough and will also affect the layers. This is called locking in the butter. Using a sheeter, sheet the dough until 26 inches long. Fold the dough once, letter style. Seam side down, repeat sheet and fold process twice. Refrigerate 45 minutes. Seam down, sheet dough until it’s the same width as the sheeter belt. Rotate dough 90º and sheet so that the width is 15 inches. Rotate dough once more and sheet until 3 millimeters thick. Rest 15 minutes. Working quickly, cut dough into 3¼-inch by 6½-inch rectangles, spread 3 grams Sweet Mole on each, and top with 2 chocolate batons, about 1½ inches a part. Roll up the dough around 1 baton and then do the same with the other. The finished product should look like a snail shell. Transfer croissants—seam down—to a parchment-lined sheet tray, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Proof at 82ºF with humidity until croissants have doubled in size. They should have visible layers and jiggle if you wiggle the tray. DO NOT let any butter ooze out.

For the Bake:
Heat oven to 375ºF. In a bowl, whisk together egg wash of 70 percent eggs, 25 percent cream, and 5 percent water. Brush croissants and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place croissants in oven, decrease heat to 325ºF, and bake 15 minutes. Rotate tray and bake 14 minutes. The result should be a beautifully layered, sweet and savory croissant that will make you crave tortillas, rice, and espresso.

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