Pain au Chocolat
Quick answer
- Total time
- 138 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 8 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Pain au chocolat encloses two dark chocolate batons in a yeasted dough laminated with a sheet of cold butter.
Read more
Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast evenly, then knead in the milk and dough butter until the surface becomes smooth and elastic. Flatten and refrigerate the dough until firm, while shaping the lamination butter into a thin, even sheet. Enclose the butter completely in the cold dough and perform the repeated single folds, refrigerating after each one. These rests keep the butter from melting into the dough and preserve separate layers. Roll the finished dough into an even rectangle and divide it into equal pieces. Place two chocolate batons at the end of each section and roll firmly without pressing hard enough to compress the lamination. Set the seam underneath on the tray. During the final proof, the pastries should become puffy, wobble slightly, and show visible layers. Brush them with egg wash and bake until the exterior is deep golden and crisp. A short rest on the rack allows the hot chocolate inside to thicken slightly. When opened, the pastry separates along its thin butter layers around two softened lines of dark chocolate.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Season
Mix 300g bread flour, 40g sugar, 6g salt, and 7g instant yeast evenly first.
Add 160ml milk and 30g dough butter, then knead until the dough surface looks smooth and elastic.
- 2Step
Press the dough into a flat slab, wrap it, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
It should feel cold and firm before rolling, so the lamination butter does not melt into the dough.
- 3Step
Roll 200g lamination butter into a thin sheet and enclose it in the cold dough.
Do 3 single folds, chilling 30 minutes after each one to keep the butter firm and the layers distinct.
- 4Prep
Roll the dough into a 5mm-thick rectangle and cut it into 8 pieces.
Place 2 dark chocolate batons at the end of each piece, then roll firmly without pressing so hard that the layers compress.
- 5Prep
Place each roll seam-side down on the pan and proof in a warm spot for 90 minutes.
When they look puffy, wobble slightly, and show visible layers, brush them with egg wash from 1 egg.
- 6Heat
Preheat the oven to 200°C and bake for 16-18 minutes.
Remove them when the outside is deep golden and crisp, then rest on a rack for 1 minute so the chocolate thickens slightly.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Refrigeration between every fold keeps butter and dough in separate thin layers
- Finish cue
- Remove them when the outside is deep golden and crisp, then rest on a rack for 1 minute so the chocolate thickens slightly.
- Storage and reheating
- Flatten and refrigerate the dough until firm, while shaping the lamination butter into a thin, even sheet.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
138min, 9 ingredients
Category median
55min, 8 ingredients
Based on 248 recipes
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