Pain au lait
A soft, lightly sweet dough of milk, eggs and butter. The cold butter goes in only after the gluten is well developed, then mixes on low speed until the dough pulls clean from the bowl.
- Makes
- 10 small pieces (or 2 big)
- Total
- 694 g
Scale
small pieces
Pain au lait dough
| Ingredient | Grams | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|
| 150 g | 50% | |
| 150 g | 50% | |
| 6 g | 2% | |
| 33 g | 11% | |
| 9 g | 3% | |
| 60 g | 20% | |
| 126 g | 42% | |
| 60 g | 20% | |
| Total | 594 g |
Baking
| Ingredient | Grams | |
|---|---|---|
| 50 g | ||
| 50 g | ||
| Total | 100 g |
Liquid temperature
The base temperature is 46 to 50 °C (179 to 186 °F): flour, room and liquid added together.
Method
Mix
- Set the milk and eggs to a temperature that gives a base temperature of 46 to 50 °C (179 to 186 °F).
- Dissolve the yeast in the eggs and milk. Add the flours, salt and sugar.
- Mix with the dough hook 3 minutes on low speed, then 5 to 6 minutes on medium speed, until the gluten is well developed.
- Add the cold butter. Mix on low speed, about 10 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- The dough should come off the mixer at 25 °C (77 °F).
First proof
- To use the same day: leave the dough 1 hour at room temperature, then chill it quickly before shaping.
- To use the next day: leave it 30 to 40 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate 12 hours at 4 °C (40 °F).
Shape
- For navettes and single-strand braids, divide into 60 g pieces.
- For a three-strand braid, use 300 g of dough in 3 strands of 100 g.
Second proof
- Proof navettes and single-strand braids 1½ hours at 26 °C (80 °F).
- Proof the three-strand braid 2 hours at 26 °C (80 °F).
Bake
- Brush the pieces with egg wash: whole egg, or egg yolks and milk.
- Snip the tops of the navettes with scissors.
- Sprinkle the pieces with pearl sugar.
- In a convection oven, bake navettes and single-strand braids 10 minutes at 160 °C (325 °F).
- Bake the three-strand braid 10 minutes at 150 °C (300 °F), then 10 minutes at 135 °C (275 °F).
For bakers in the US
- All-purpose flour (T65)
- French type 65 flour; in the US, a strong all-purpose or a bread flour
- Eggs
- Weighed without shells, about 50 g per large US egg
- Pearl sugar
- Nib sugar: hard white sugar grains that keep their shape in the oven (sold as Swedish or Belgian pearl sugar)
- Navette
- A small oval milk bun, snipped along the top with scissors
