Pain Au Chocolat

Decadent layers of classic French pastry dough surround a rich core of chocolate.

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Course: Bread

Cuisine: French

Keyword: Artisan Bread, Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Croissants, Homemade Bread

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 25

Chilling & Proofing Time: 4 30

Total Time: 6

Servings: servings

Calories: 395kcal

Equipment

Kitchen-Aid Mixer or other stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook
Kitchen Scale
Rolling Pin
Pastry Brush
Plastic Ruler
Rubber Spatula
Plastic Wrap
Parchment Paper
Parchment-Lined Sheet Pan
Metal Bench Scraper
Pizza Cutter

Ingredients

Dough

65 g Whole Milk, Cold
121 g Ice Water
8 g Instant Yeast
375 g Bread Flour plus an additional few tablespoons for dusting a clean worksurface (All Purpose Flour may be substituted)
37 g Granulated Sugar
8 g Kosher Salt
37 g Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes

Butter Block

185 g High Quality Butter, unsalted and kept refrigerated High Butterfat Content, 82-83%
2-3 Tbsp. Light Dusting of Flour

Chocolate

2 oz Chocolate batons (.25 oz each) or 8 Tbsp. chocolate chips

Egg Wash

1 Lg. Egg
1 Tbsp. Water at Room Temperature
Scant Pinch of Kosher Salt

Instructions

Gather and weigh all of your ingredients carefully using a kitchen scale.
Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add both the water and the milk, along with the yeast. Next, add the flour, sugar, salt and lastly, the butter. Mix on the lowest setting for about 5 minutes, stopping the machine after about 4 minutes to scrape down any dough that may stick to the bottom or sides of the bowl.
Lightly dust a clean worksurface with a little flour, then remove the dough from the mixer and place it on top. The dough will appear a big shaggy. Using the palm of your hand, gently press the dough down and away, then fold the top over, drawing your hand back and rolling the dough towards yourself. Rotate the dough and repeat this step, 3 or 4 times, just until the dough is cohesive and begins to form a ball.
Using both hands, tuck palms under the bottom of the dough and rotate in a circle, gently pulling the dough in towards the center as you shape it into a round ball. Wrap the dough tightly with plastic wrap and place into the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes, but up to two hours.
In the meantime, place the 185 grams of cold, unsalted butter onto a piece of folded parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the surface on both the top and bottom of the butter very lightly with flour, and then fold the piece of parchment over the butter.
Using the rolling pin, gently begin tapping the butter into an even 6" x 6" square block, rotating the parchment every so often to keep the proper shape. Use the ruler to measure the dimensions, and if needed, use the edge of the bench scraper to push the butter back into a square. Work quickly to ensure the butter stays cool and pliable without getting too soft.
Once you have the right a proper square, place the butter into the refrigerator to firm up.
After allowing the dough to rest, remove it from refrigeration, unwrap it, and place the ball onto a clean worksurface dusted lightly with flour. You'll also need a rolling pin and a ruler. Reserve the plastic wrap, as you'll use it again after rolling the dough.
Holding your rolling pin with both hands, gently press down across the center of the dough, rocking back and forth, essentially walking the length of the dough by creating slight indentations along the surface. Flip the dough over and repeat, then turn back over to the original side. This step will begin to stretch the dough into a rectangular shape without overworking it.
Begin rolling the dough into a long rectangle, 12" x 6". As the dough lengthens, use your fingers to pinch and create four corners of the dough, ensuring you don't end up with rounded edges. Use your ruler to keep close dimensions, using your bench scraper as needed to push the sides or ends of the dough back, accordingly. Flip the dough once or twice, as needed, lightly brushing with flour to ensure that the dough itself is not sticking to the worksurface.
Once the dough measures 12" x 6", cover tightly with the reserved plastic wrap, and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Move the pan to the freezer, where you'll chill the dough for no less than 30 minutes.
After thirty minutes in the freezer, your dough should be quite firm but not solid. Remove the prepared square of butter from the freezer and place it directly onto the center of the dough, ensuring the height is aligned so that no butter hangs over the top or bottom of the dough.
Using a chef's knife, trim the sides of the dough on either side of the square of butter.
On a lightly flour-dusted worksurface, gently roll out the pieces of dough so that they are more rectangular in shape, pinching the rounded corners and pulling them outwards making them square. Place the pieces of dough on top, sandwiching the butter in between, and pressing the seam in the center of the dough to form a more cohesive layer.
If the butter appears to be softening, return the dough to the fridge for 10-15 minutes, just to chill and make it easier to roll.
When ready, roll the dough to a 16" x 6 ½" rectangle. You'll again find it easiest to walk the rolling pin down the length of the dough by rocking it back and forth and then rolling. Rotate the dough 90° and roll until you've reached the required width. Fold the dough over into equal thirds, lining up the top fold to be as flush to the edge as possible.
Using a chef's knife, carefully cut the folded edges, not all the way through, but enough to score the sides. If the butter has softened, you may opt to pop the dough back into the freezer for another few minutes before continuing on.
Roll the dough to a 10" x 7" rectangle, then divide the dough evenly in half, creating two 5" x 7" pieces.
Rotate the dough a half turn, so that the longest length is facing you, and roll the dough again until it measures a 10" x 5 ½" rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap, return to the fridge, and allow the dough to chill for thirty minutes.
After the dough has chilled the previous step, remove it from the refrigerator, and roll to a length of 16", being sure to keep your worksurface lightly dusted with flour. Trim up the short edges about a half an inch on each end, leaving you with a 15" length. This will keep the edges and corners sharp.
Using the ruler and a knife (or bench scraper), mark the dough at two equal intervals, cutting the dough into 3 equal pieces approximately 5" wide. Carefully brush away any excess flour from the dough, then layering the three cut pieces on top of one another. Excess flour between the layers will make it harder to press them together cohesively when rolling.
Gently roll the dough to approximately 9" x 7", using your bench scraper along the sides to keep the sections as aligned as possible. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 45 minutes. At this point, the butter will likely have softened a bit, needing to be chilled for a bit longer than usual.
After this last refrigeration, remove the dough and roll into a 14" x 9" rectangle on a lightly floured worksurface. Trim up approximately ½" from each of the shorter ends, squaring off the corners and providing a clean edge.
Assuming a 13" length of dough, cut the dough into 8 equal squares by marking the dough in half lengthwise at 4.5", in half vertically at 7.5" and each half at 3.75". Use a pizza cutter or a sharp Chef's knife to cut through the dough cleanly.
Trim each chocolate baton so that the length of each piece fits to the edge.
Section off each square of dough, placing a piece of chocolate near the bottom, leaving enough dough to gently fold over the chocolate. Roll and tuck the edges into a spiral, placing each pain au chocolat onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, seam side down.
If using chocolate chips instead of batons, you'll need a scant tablespoon for each square. Gently press the chips directly into the bottom of the dough (don't push all the way through) to help them stick and reduce the pieces from escaping as you roll the dough up in the same manner as above.
To proof, place the prepared pan into a cold oven, using only the internal light to create enough warmth to help the dough relax and rise. Place a small baking dish filled with boiling water beneath the tray to provide moisture and steam, recreating a similar environment to a professional baker's oven.
Check the dough after about 90 minutes. If you press your finger gently onto the surface of the dough, and the indent begins to slowly fill back in, the proofing is almost complete. Remove the pan from the oven and place on the counter, then remove the pan of water.
Preheat your oven to 400℉.
In the meantime, a few minutes before the oven reaches 400℉, prepare a quick egg wash. Mix together the egg, water and salt; whisk together vigorously, then lightly brush the egg wash onto the top of each pastry.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375℉ just before placing the pan into the oven, and bake for 25 minutes, just until the pastry is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and cool a few minutes before enjoying.
If not eating right away, cool pain au chocolat completely and store in a tight-fitting container or Ziploc bag, up to 2-3 days. Reheat room temperature pastries in the air fryer for 3.5 minutes.

Notes

Overnight Method:

Don't have 6-½ consecutive hours to make your Pain au Chocolat in a single day? No worries. You can split up the prep and bake, completing steps 1 through 17, up to shaping your pastries and then placing them into the refrigerator overnight, wrapped tightly, and then begin the next day with step 18, at the proofing stage. Allow two hours for the proofed dough to come to room temperature, then continue and bake as instructed.

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