Pain au chocolat is a typical viennoiserie, also known as “chocolatine“, a French sweet pastry made of puff pastry rolled with one or more chocolate bars inside and baked in the oven. Along with the Croissant, it is the most common breakfast in France, but now popular all over the world. In Italy, it is called chocolate saccottino, perfect for breakfast. This recipe is by the French pastry chef Christophe Felder, from the book “Patisserie”, which I recommend for breakfast-themed recipes like the Danish Brioche and the Brioche suisse, a delicious brioche filled with custard and chocolate chips. Using the Danish brioche dough, I also made other delights, including Banana and coconut jam Brioche, with an exotic taste. All recipes also have a lactose-free version, either with lactose-free ingredients or completely plant-based. Try them all and enjoy your breakfast!
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 6 Hours
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 12 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
- 1 cup cold water
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp powdered milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 3/4 cups Manitoba flour
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 7 tbsp butter (at room temperature)
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 2/3 oz dark chocolate
- 1 cup butter
- 1 egg
Tools
- 1 Mixer
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Pastry board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Baking tray
Steps
Combine in the mixer’s bowl the two flours, sugar, powdered milk, soft butter, and yeast.
Gradually pour in the cold water, starting to knead.
Then add the salt and continue kneading, without overworking the dough; it should remain quite rough.
Flatten the dough with your hands and shape it into a rectangle.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.Roll out the room temperature butter between two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of about 3/8 inch.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3/4 inch and place the butter in the center of the dough.
Fold the excess dough over the butter, trying not to overlap the edges of the dough.Seal the edges. Flatten the butter with the rolling pin, then roll out the dough to form a rectangle about 3/8 – 1/2 inch thick and fold into thirds.
Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes, then roll out again to the same thickness and fold into thirds.
After another 30 minutes of rest in the fridge, repeat the operation again, letting it rest for 1 hour before shaping the pain au chocolat.Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch; you need to get a large rectangle of 35X16 inches.
Cut it in half and trim the edges neatly.At this point, cut rectangles with a base of 3 inches.
Place a chocolate stick 0.5 inch from the short edge of each rectangle.
Fold the dough over the chocolate and continue rolling without pressing.Place them on baking trays lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for about 2 hours.
Brush with beaten egg.
Preheat the oven to 375°F and bake for 12/15 minutes.Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack.
Tips
They can be frozen after shaping, on a tray. The night before, place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap, and bake the next morning.
Alternatively, they can also be frozen after baking; just heat them in a hot oven at 350°F for a few minutes.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I make lactose-free pain au chocolat?
Sure, you can make them using lactose-free or completely plant-based products and eliminate the powdered milk.
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