Pain au raisin

Pain au raisin is a French pastry made with sweetened dough and filled with raisins. It is often served as a breakfast or dessert item and is considered one of France’s most popular traditional pastries.

Brief History and Origin

The origin of pain au raisin dates back to the 16th century when the French began baking these pastries as part of their traditional cuisine. At first, they were known as “Raisin Bread” because they were made with flour, yeast, sugar, butter, eggs and raisins. The name eventually changed to “Pain Au Raisin” in the 18th century when bakers began using puff pastry instead of regular bread dough for the pastry base.

Pain au Raisin – The Recipe

• Preparation Time: 25 mins
• Cooking Time: 55 mins
• Total time: 1 hr 20 mins
• Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 250 g flour, type 45
• 25 g butter
• 65 ml milk
• 60 ml water
• 10 g fresh yeast
• 30 g granulated sugar
• 5 g salt
• 125 g dry butter

For the Pastry Cream

• 125 ml milk
• 25 g granulated sugar, divided
• 40 g egg yolk
• 5 g dark rum
• 10 g cornstarch

For garnish

• 75 g raisins
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 50 ml water
• 1 egg yolk
• splash of milk
• pinch of sugar
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. In a standing mixer bowl, add milk, water and yeast. Using a whisker or a spoon, dissolve the yeast. Add flour, salt, sugar and butter. Using a hook dough, start kneading the mixture at a slow speed. Once the dough starts to form, increase the speed to medium and let it knead for about 10 minutes until you get an elastic dough.
2. Scrap the sides, shape the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap tightly and let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.
3. Once the dough increases its size, punch it to remove trapped air. Shape it into a ball and cover it again with plastic wrap. Let it sit in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes.

For the Pastry Cream

• Pour milk into a saucepan. Add 12g of sugar and place the saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a bowl while stirring occasionally. Set aside.
• Add egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a bowl and whisk the two ingredients until the mixture lightens in colour.
• Add cornstarch and mix well.
• Pour half of the boiled and hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture while whisking vigorously. Once everything s well combined, pour this mixture into the saucepan that contains the remaining milk and add rum.
• Place the saucepan on medium heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes while whisking constantly.
• Once it thickens, pass it through a fine mesh sieve into a casserole dish. Using the back of a spoon or a spatula, spread it across the area of the dish into a thin layer. Place the dish in the freezer for about 10 to 12 minutes. Now take it out of the freezer and place it in the refrgraitaor.
• Meanwhile, pour water and sugar into a saucepan and place it over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Take the saucepan off the heat and add raisins. Mix well and set aside to let it cool down.
• Prepare the dry butter by placing it on parchment paper and rolling it using a rolling pin. Fold the butter a few times and roll until it softens up and reaches the consistency of the dough. Place the butter on the parchment paper’s edge and the other half of the paper over the butter. Roll the butter so it is flat and spread it across the parchment paper’s length. Place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
• Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a dusted workstation. Using a rolling pin, roll it into a rectangle. When placed in the middle, the rectangle should be long enough to wrap the butter.
• Place the butter in the middle of the dough, and wrap it with the dough by folding its sides over it. Seal the edges.
• Dust the surface again and start rolling the dough carefully so it doesn’t rip, and the butter doesn’t leak.
• Now divide it into three parts so you can fold it three times, one upon the other. Seal the edges and place them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Take it out of the refrigerator and place it on a dusted surface. Start rolling in the other direction (opposite to the previous fold). Roll and fold the flattened dough, so the two edges meet in the middle, like when you close a book. Place it in the refrigerator again for 30 minutes.
• Take the dough out of the refrigerator and roll until it is 15cm x 20cm. Trim the edges for a perfect rectangle. Place it back into the refrigerator.

For Assembly

1. Place the pastry cream into a bowl and whisk it to loosen up and reach a smooth consistency.
2. Pour it over the rectangular flattened dough it spread it evenly. Leave about 1/2 cm sides.
3. Take the raisins out of the syrup and spread them evenly across the pastry cream area.
4. Carefully start rolling the dough from one edge to another to form a log. As you reach the other end, wet the ½ cm of dough to seal the log completely.
5. Wrap the log in plastic and refrigerator for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in a bowl, add egg yolk, milk, salt and sugar. Mix well and set aside.
7. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and slice it into 8 slices using a sharp knife.
8. Place each slice on a parchment-lined baking tray. Make sure you place the slices apart for them to expand easily when baking.
9. Brush each slice with egg wash and Place the baking tray in a warm place for 2 hours.
10. Now brush the slices with egg wash and place the baking tray in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for about 15 minutes.
11. Once the slices get golden, take them out of the oven and place them directly on a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Popular variations

Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:

• Pain au Raisin Bread & Butter Pudding: This British spin-off on French classics is delicious. We love the simplicity of the recipe, it just uses butter, milk and eggs and the touch of apricot jam is satisfying.
• Raisin Brioche Pastries: Inspired by Pain Au Raisin, these pastries have brioche dough with golden raisins. The buttery softness of the brioche and the sweet tartness of golden raisins make it so divine and perfect for breakfast and teatime.
• Dairy-Free Pain Au Raisin: This diary-free version has the same unique flaky, buttery texture with the soft pockets of raisin and a wild entry of the orange icing. It is sweet, buttery, and tangy.
• Almond Cream for Pain Aux Raisins: This cream recipe for the Pain Au Raisin gives a unique nutty taste to the pastry. You can either make the dough from scratch or use the puff pastry for the base of the croissant with this almond cream to be filled in.
• Pain Au Raisin Sweet Rolls: These Pain Au Raisin-inspired bread breakfast-brunch rolls have the buttery sweetness you taste in the Pain Au Raisins but with the texture of the sweet breakfast rolls. These go so well with tea and coffee.