Pain au Chocolat (Chocolate Croissants) are popular French pastries with buttery, flaky, golden brown layers and decadent chocolate filling.
These chocolate pastries make the perfect additions to a special occasion Breakfast or Brunch. Serve them along with other breakfast favorites like Monkey Bread, Breakfast Casserole, and Baked Sausage Grits.
Sabrina’s Pain au Chocolat Recipe
There’s no better start to a lazy weekend morning than enjoying a sweet, buttery pastry. Pain au Chocolat is one of the most beloved French pastries. The combination of flaky pastry wrapped around a rich, melty chocolate center is hard to beat. The good news is you don’t have to be a master baker to perfect this treat. Follow this easy step-by-step recipe to make fresh chocolate pastries that taste just like they’ve come from a French patisserie.
Ingredients
Yeast Mixture:
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast , about 1 packet
- 2/3 cup warm water , (100°F to 110°F) warm to the touch
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Dough Mixture:
- 1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter , melted
- 4 cups flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
For Lamination
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter , cold
To Finish:
- 24 chocolate batons , Pain au Chocolat Sticks
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons water
Instructions
Yeast:
- To your stand mixer add the yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon of sugar, stir gently and let sit for 5 minutes, until foamy.
- Add milk and melted butter to your stand mixer on a low speed setting.
Dough:
- In a large bowl add together the flour, sugar and salt, then add it to the stand mixer in ¼ cup increments until fully combined.
- Switch the attachment on your stand mixer to a dough hook on and on a medium speed setting knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic, no longer very sticky. If it is still too sticky add another 1-2 tablespoons of flour to the mixture.
- Add the mixture to a large floured bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Lamination:
- Cut two large pieces of parchment paper about 10" x 10".
- Add the three sticks of butter to piece of parchment paper and top with remaining piece of paper.
- Roll out the butter into a 8" x 8" square.
- Refrigerate the butter, wrapped in plastic wrap, for 1 hour.
- Flour a clean working surface.
- Roll each piece of the puff pastry to about 15" x 15" (you're going to fold this dough in half over the piece of flattened butter, so it needs to be at least twice as big as your butter.
- Add the butter to half the dough, then fold the dough over to cover and pinch together the edges to seal in the butter.
- On a floured surface roll out this dough to between 1/4″ and 1/2″ thick.
- Fold the dough again back to the original 5"x7" butter size and repeat 2 additional times, for a total of 3 times.
- Note: You will want to be sure to keep your surface floured but do not use a lot of flour or the puff pastry will become tough.
- Wrap the puff pastry dough pieces again in plastic wrap and refrigerate a minimum of 8 hours.
To Finish:
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Flour a clean working surface and rolling pin.
- Roll out the croissant dough into a 8" x 24" rectangle and using a pizza cutter (or sharp knife) cut the dough into eight 4" wide by 6" long strips.
- Add two pieces of the chocolate batons to one third of the side of the dough, then gently roll it into a log.
- Carefully place them, seam side down, at least 4" apart from each other on the baking sheets.
- Flatten the tops of the dough down into a rectangular shape gently, then cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and in a small bowl beat together the egg and water.
- Brush the egg wash over the tops of the croissants.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown and flaky.
- Let cool for 2-5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.
Nutrition
Calories: 431kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 403mg | Potassium: 88mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 867IU | Vitamin C: 0.001mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 2mg
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Can the dough be frozen? If so, at which point can I do that?
Absolutely! I would recommend freezing after the final lamination, just pop in the freezer instead of refrigerating for 8 hours. Wrap the dough sheets in 2 layers of plastic wrap before storing in freezer safe bag.