Make Pain Au Chocolat

Pain au chocolat is a classic French pastry that’s often sold alongside croissants and is delicious when eaten hot. To make either traditional pain au chocolat or a brioche/hazelnut variant, follow the recipes below.

Ingredients

Traditional Recipe

For the Dough

  • 440g all-purpose flour (4 cups)
  • 5oz water (just under 2/3 cup)
  • 5oz whole milk (just under 2/3 cup)
  • 2oz sugar (1/4 cup)
  • 1.5oz unsalted butter (3 tbsp)
  • 0.5oz instant yeast (1 tbsp)
  • 0.25oz salt (1 1/2 tsp)

If time is an issue, use ready-made pastry dough, which is similar in texture, and skip Steps 1-11.

Other

  • 55g flour (1/2 cup) for rolling
  • 10oz unsalted butter (1 1/4 cups) for the butter layer (refrigerated, not softened)
  • 200g / 7oz dark chocolate for the filling
  • 1 egg for the egg wash
  • 4 ml water (1 tsp) for the egg wash

Variation with Brioche and Hazelnut

For the Dough

  • 180g / 6 oz (approximately 1 1/2 sticks if you're in North America) unsalted butter
  • 1 package (7g) dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 pinch sugar
  • 3 1/2 cups bread flour, give or take about 1/4 cup
  • 1 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/3 cups whole milk or light cream

For the Chocolate Nut Filling

  • 200g / 7 oz dark chocolate chips
  • 60g / 2 oz roughly chopped hazelnuts (you can use any other kind of nuts you like)

For the Egg Wash

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp milk

Variation with Puff Pastry

  • Puff pastry
  • Nutella or a similar spread

Steps

Traditional Recipe

  1. Mix all dough ingredients in a large bowl. If using a mixer, insert the dough hook and use the low speed for about 2 minutes. Stop, scrape the sides into the dough, and mix for 3 more minutes on medium.
  2. Move the dough onto a floured dinner plate and flour the top.
  3. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  4. Make the butter layer. Cut the butter into {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}-thick (just under 1/2in) pieces and place between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll and pound until you have a 20x20cm (8inx8in) square. You may need to cut off and move pieces to make the square even.
  5. Place butter layer in refrigerator.
  6. Place refrigerated dough on a floured surface and roll into a 25x25cm (10x10in) square.
  7. Center butter layer over dough at an angle. Place the butter so that one corner of dough sticks out from each of the four sides of the butter.
  8. Fold the corners of dough up around the butter and roll shut with a rolling pin. Be sure to firmly seal all edges.
  9. Gently roll the dough into a rectangle, then fold in thirds like a letter. Repeat twice more so that butter and dough are thoroughly layered.
  10. Wrap dough with cling wrap, place on a flat sheet, and refrigerate overnight.
  11. Place refrigerated dough on a floured surface and roll into a 25x37cm (10x15in) square.
  12. Cut the dough crosswise into 5-cm (~2in) strips.
  13. Chop chocolate into 3x3-cm (~1x1in) chunks.
  14. Place one piece of chocolate on either end of a dough strip.
  15. Roll both ends of dough inwards so that they meet in the center.
  16. Repeat on remaining dough strips.
  17. Mix egg with {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} (1tsp) water and brush over all dough rolls.
  18. Set rolls in a warm area and wait 1 1/2 to 2 hours. They should be larger (though not doubled in size) when you’re done.
  19. Re-brush with egg wash.
  20. Place rolls a conventional oven at 218 C (425 F). If you have a convection oven, it should be 205 C (400 F).
  21. Bake for 10 minutes, then swap/rotate pans. If they darken too quickly, reduce temperature 5 degrees C or 10 degrees F.
  22. Bake 8 to 10 more minutes until browned.

Variation with Brioche and Hazelnut

  1. Cut the butter into small diced cubes. Spread out onto a plate and put the cubes in the freezer until they become very hard but not quite frozen.
  2. Proof the yeast by mixing together the yeast, lukewarm water and pinch of sugar. Leave until the yeast turns foamy.
  3. In a large bowl, or in the bowl of your food processor, mix together the flour, 1/3 cup sugar and salt.
    • Add the butter cubes, and if using a food processor, pulse until the flour mixture becomes grainy.
    • If mixing by hand, mix together with your hands by grabbing and rubbing until it becomes rather grainy. (You can also use a pastry blender for this, but hands work best.)
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together the proofed yeast, beaten eggs, and milk or cream.
    • Add in batches to the flour mixture while the food processor is running (or if by hand, mix vigorously with a wooden spoon.)
    • When you're done you'll have a rather shaggy looking ball of dough.
  5. Put the bowl in the refrigerator, and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
  6. Take out the bowl, and turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead it rapidly, pushing and turning, adding sprinkles of flour if needed, until you have a fairly smooth ball.
  7. Put the kneaded dough into a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a plate, and leave to rise for about an hour.
  8. Punch down the dough ball, and put the ball into a plastic bag that's big enough to allow the ball to expand to at least three times its original size. Suck as much air out of the bag as you can, seal tightly and then put the whole thing into another plastic bag, and place in the refrigerator.
    • Leave it there for at least 4-5 hours, preferably overnight or more. Making the dough up to this point the day ahead of when you want to bake it makes the most sense. You can leave it refrigerated for a maximum of 3 days. During this time, you will find that the dough will rise and almost burst the bag open, so you will need to periodically take a look at it and punch it down. This is why double-bagging is a good idea, since you may accidentally puncture the bag while punching it too hard.
  9. About 90 minutes before you want to bake the bread, take the dough out and shape and fill it as you wish. Roll out the dough into a long flat sausage and filled it with the chocolate and nuts.
  10. Seal it closed.
  11. Shape it into a ring.
  12. After you've shaped the dough to your liking, place it on a parchment or silicon pad lined baking sheet. Make several slits around the dough with a pair of kitchen scissors, to form a sort of flower shape. Leave in a warm place until about doubled in bulk. Twenty minutes before you intend to start baking, switch on the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
  13. Brush the top of the dough with an egg wash (a mixture of beaten egg and a little milk).
  14. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes - a longer time if you are baking 2 at once, shorter if you have a convection oven. Start checking at around 40 minutes; it should look dark golden brown and a bit crispy.
  15. Take out, let cool, and enjoy.

Variation with Puff Pastry

  1. Lay out the puff pastry. Put Nutella all over one side.
  2. Fold it to make a sausage. Cut it in half in needed.
  3. Put in oven. When it is nice and crispy take it out.
  4. Serve on plates or a plate, and enjoy!

Tips

  • If you prefer a sweeter bread, use more sugar in the dough.
  • While pain au chocolat is traditionally made with croissant dough, the chocolate brioche variation is dough filled with dark chocolate and chopped hazelnuts, then shaped into any kind of shape that strikes your fancy. The dark chocolate marries well with the golden tenderness of the brioche. It's really perfect for a brunch party, and makes a great alternative to a traditional cake at a childrens' party.
  • You could fill this dough with dried fruit, or a cinnamon-sugar mixture—whatever strikes your fancy.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  • Just Hungry – Source of original article, shared with permission.

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