Pain au Chocolat Recipe Step by Step
This pain au chocolat recipe will guide you on how to make flaky, layered chocolate pastries at home. There are a few steps involved, so read through the recipe first for best results.
The base dough ingredients for these chocolate croissants is the same as my classic homemade croissants recipe, except I am doing a slightly different lamination technique. Usually I would fold in the butter, and then perform 3 sets of single folds. This time, I am doing fewer folds and turns, by bringing in a double fold. You can stick to doing it the other way if you like, I just wanted to show a different technique. This version makes a more open inner, as there are less layers.
I make the dough the day before and chill it overnight. During the initial mixing and kneading, gluten is developed in the dough, which makes it elastic. While this is needed for structure, too much elasticity causes the dough to shrink back when rolling it out. Chilling the dough overnight lets the gluten to relax and it makes the dough much easier to handle during the lamination process.
I’ve got a sourdough pain au chocolat version too!
Folding Methods
These are the two folding methods used in this pain au chocolat recipe.
A double fold (or book/wallet fold) creates 4 layers. A single fold creates 3 layers.
Method
The dough
The first step is making the dough portion – the détrempe. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer.
- Mix together all the ingredients except for the butter first, to start developing the gluten. Fat can coat the flour particles, inhibiting gluten formation, so I like to give the gluten a head start before adding the butter.
- Then once the dough has been kneading, work in the butter until smooth.
- Let it rise until doubled in size. Then shape it into a small rectangle chill overnight.
The butter block
- Mix together room temperature butter with flour until combined. Place the butter mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- To get clean, straight edges, fold the edges of the parchment paper around the butter block to create a 15×20 cm / 6×8 square frame.
- Once the parchment is folded, press the butter with the rolling pin to fit neatly into this frame.
Laminating – Double Fold
- On a floured surface, roll the chilled dough rectangle. It should be twice the height of the butter, and around the same width.
- Place the butter block in the center of the dough.
- Fold the top and bottom edges over the butter to fully encase it.
- Turn the dough so the seam is vertical infront of you. Use a sharp knife to make shallow slits along the edges of the dough. This helps prevent excessive tension in the dough.
- Roll the dough out into a long rectangle. Trim the edges to make it neat.
- Fold one-quarter of the dough in towards the center. Fold the remaining three-quarters of the dough over so that it meets the edge of the first fold.
- Fold the dough in half, like closing a book. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to relax and cool.
Singe fold
- Place the chilled dough vertically infront of you. Roll the dough out to rectangle.
- Fold the bottom third of the dough up and the top third down, like folding a letter. Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Shaping
- Once the dough has chilled, roll it out into a large rectangle, approximately 30cm x 40cm (12×16 inch) . Cut the dough in half lengthwise to create two long strips, each measuring 15×40 cm (6×16 inch).
- Next, cut each strip into 5 equal rectangles.
- Place chocolate at one end of the rectangle.
- Roll the dough once, just to cover the first chocolate stick.Then, place a second chocolate stick next to the first roll.
- Continue rolling the dough until you reach the end of the rectangle, with the seam on the bottom. Let them proof until visibly bigger.
- Brush with egg wash before baking until deeply browned.
- Let them cool then dust with powdered sugar.
Top tips
Here are my top tips to ensure you nail this pain au chocolat recipe!
Use high-quality butter (European-style butter) with a higher fat content (82% or more) is ideal for croissants. It has less water and more fat, which results in better layers and flakiness.
The butter and dough need to stay cold to prevent the butter from melting into the dough. Always chill the dough after every fold (about 30 minutes to an hour) and after laminating to ensure the butter remains intact between the layers.
Lamination is easier in a cool kitchen. If the butter starts softening or melting, the dough can become greasy and lose its structure. If the room is too warm, pop the dough in the fridge frequently to keep it cold.
When rolling out the dough, always roll forward with gentle, even pressure. Avoid pushing too hard, as this can tear the dough and crack the butter layers.
When rolling the dough, make sure the dough doesn’t stick to the bench and can move freely. Brush away any excess flour when folding the layers.
Cut off uneven bits of dough to maintain clean, sharp edges. Clean edges help ensure that the layers stay neat and even.
Let the pain au chocolat proof long enough without it getting too warm so the butter doesn’t melt. During proofing, the yeast in the dough ferments, creating air bubbles that help the dough rise. This expansion is needed for creating the flaky layers. Under-proofed pain au chocolat won’t have developed enough air pockets, leading to a dense and gummy interior. At room temperature croissants can take anywhere from 2-5 hours to proof. It all depends on the ambient temperature. If you put them in a warm spot make sure it’s not warmer than 26°C (79°F) or the butter will melt.
Pain Au Chocolat Recipe
Ingredients
Dough (détrempe)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 160 ml whole milk lukewarm
- 120 ml water
- 470 g all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 30 g unsalted butter room temperature
Butter block (beurrage):
- 250 g all-purpose flour room temperature
- 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Topping and filling
- 140 g dark chocolate chopped into sticks or thin pieces
- 1 large egg
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the milk, water, yeast and sugar. If using active dry yeast, let it sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy. Skip this step if using instant yeast.
- Add the flour and salt and combine until a rough dough forms.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and begin kneading. Work the dough for about 3 minutes to start developing the gluten. The dough should become smoother and less sticky.
- Once the gluten has begun to develop, add the 30g of room temperature butter to the dough. Continue kneading for another few minutes until the butter is fully incorporated.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap or a towel, and let it rise for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Once risen, punch down the dough to release air, roll it into a rough rectangle, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
Butter Block
- Mix 250g butter with 1 1/2 tbsp flour until combined.
- Place the butter between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it into a 20x15cm (8×6 inch) rectangle, about 5mm (1/4 inch) thick. To get clean, straight edges, fold the edges of the parchment paper around the butter block to create a square frame, then press the butter with the rolling pin to fit neatly into this frame.
- Refrigerate the butter block until it’s firm.
Laminating
- Remove your butter block from the fridge and roll it in the parchment paper a bit with the rolling pin to make it pliable and mouldable. It should be cold but be able to be bent a bit.
- On a floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 20×32 cm (8×12.5 inch) rectangle. The dough should be twice the height of the butter, and around the same width.
- Place the butter block in the center of the dough, folding the top and bottom edges over the butter to fully encase it like a letter. Press this seal closed with your fingertips. Use a sharp knife to make shallow slits along the edges of the dough. This helps prevent excessive tension in the dough, especially if it's slightly too tight around the butter block.
- Turn it 90 degrees so the crease where you encased it is vertically in front of you.
- First fold: Applying gentle pressure, roll the dough into long rectangle about 4mm thick. Don't worry about how wide it is. Always roll forward with gentle, even pressure and focus on length not width. Avoid pushing too hard, which can tear the dough and crack the butter layers. Ensure the dough is not sticking to the bench, and dust with more flour if needed.
- Once rolled, trim the edges to make it neat and brush away excess flour on the dough. Fold one-quarter of the dough in towards the center. Fold the remaining three-quarters of the dough over so that it meets the edge of the first fold.
- Brush away any excess flour. Fold the dough in half, like closing a book. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest in the fridge for 30-60 minutes to relax and cool.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and place it on a floured bench vertically infront of you.
- Roll the dough out to rectangle about 5-6mm thick. Brush away any excess flour. Fold the bottom third of the dough up and the top third down, like folding a letter. Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
Shaping
- Once the dough has chilled, roll it out into a large rectangle, approximately 40cm x 30cm (16×12 inch) . Cut the dough in half lengthwise to create two long strips, each measuring 40×15 cm (16×6 inch).
- Next, cut each strip widthwise into 5 equal strips. Brush away any excess flour. Place a piece of chocolate at one end of the rectangle. Roll the dough once, just to cover the first chocolate stick.Then, place a second chocolate stick next to the first roll.
- Continue rolling the dough until you reach the end of the rectangle, with the seam on the bottom.
- Place the chocolate croissants on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a towel and let them proof for 2-5 hours at room temperature, until doubled in size and visibly puffy. The timing will depend on your room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
- Whisk the egg with a tablespoon of water and use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the chocolate croissants with the egg wash.
- Bake them for around 20-22 minutes until deeply browned. Let them cool, then dust with powdered sugar.
