French · Baking · Hard
Pain au Chocolat
Flaky laminated pastry wrapped around batons of dark chocolate. The bakery classic worth every fold.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Pain au Chocolat, in 5 ideas
- Keep the pastry cold between steps so the butter layers stay distinct.
- Two batons of chocolate per pastry gives the classic double stripe.
- Proofing before baking gives a lighter, airier crumb.
- Brush the egg wash gently so you do not deflate the layers.
- Eat them warm, within hours of baking.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen puff pastry, thawed (or homemade croissant dough)
- 8 oz dark chocolate batons or chopped chocolate
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tbsp milk
- Flour for dusting
- Coarse sugar for sprinkling (optional)
How to make it
Directions
- Roll the puff pastry into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface.
- Cut into 8 rectangles, roughly 4 by 6 inches each.
- Place a chocolate baton near one short edge of each rectangle.
- Roll the pastry over the chocolate, add a second baton, and continue rolling.
- Place seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Brush with the egg beaten with milk.
- Let proof at room temperature 1 hour until slightly puffy.
- Bake at 400 F for 18 to 20 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
Good quality all butter puff pastry from the freezer aisle saves a full day of laminating.