Go Back
+ servings
french pain au chocolat

Pain au Chocolat - Chocolate Croissant

Make irresistible French Pain au Chocolat, also known as Chocolate Croissants, from scratch! Let me show you how to make them at home - it's doable, trust me!
Author : Aline Cueni
4.88 from 8 votes

Click on the stars to leave a vote!

Prep Time :1 hour
Cook Time :30 minutes
Resting Time :12 hours
Total Time :13 hours 30 minutes
Servings : 12
Calories : 356kcal

Ingredients
 

Chocolate Croissant Dough

"Butter" Layer

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) (250 g) vegan butter cold, → VEGETARIAN: use regular butter (Note 1)

Chocolate

Vegan "Egg" Wash

Instructions
 

Late Afternoon/Early Evening

  • Mix all-purpose flour, sugar, instant yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add lukewarm milk (warmed in the microwave or over the stove - if you can stick a finger into the milk and the temperature feels good, the milk has the right temperature) and knead for 10 minutes at low speed until you have a smooth dough.
  • Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled in size.
  • Place the dough on a floured surface and roll it into a long rectangle (approx. 14x6 inches | 35x15cm) using a rolling pin. The rectangle should be as straight as possible, use your hands to help stretching/forming it.
  • Aline's Laminating Cheat Step: Cut the cold vegan butter into equal thin pieces and place them in the middle of the dough, leaving approx. 1 inch/2 cm space on each side. → This prevents the butter from leaking during laminating and baking.
  • Then fold both ends of the dough over the butter layer and seal the dough edges as best you can with your fingers.
  • 1st Round: Roll the dough into a long rectangle. Fold the top third into the middle, then fold the bottom third into the middle over the first fold. Wrap with plastic wrap and place it for 30 minutes in the fridge to chill.
  • 2nd Round: Turn the dough 90°, so the short end is facing you, and repeat the steps from the 1st round (↑). Place the dough for a further 30 minutes in the fridge.
  • 3rd Round: Repeat the steps from the 2nd round (↑). Wrap loosely with plastic wrap and leave overnight in the fridge. → The dough will rise again overnight, don't wrap it too tight.

Next Morning

  • Place the dough on a floured surface and roll it out into a long rectangle. → The dough is hard, but be gentle, take your time, and don't roll with too much pressure.
  • Cut into 12 equally sized rectangles. Take one rectangle, roll it out again into a long rectangle, place one chocolate stick (or 1/12 of the chopped chocolate) on one end, then roll it up tightly. Repeat with the remaining dough!
  • Divide them between two with parchment paper lined baking sheets, cover with a damp kitchen towel, and let the chocolate croissant rest for 2 hours at room temperature. → It's important that they prove long enough. Otherwise, the butter can leak during baking.
  • Preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C) 30 minutes before baking.
  • Mix ingredients for the vegan "egg" wash in a small bowl and brush each chocolate croissant with it.
  • Bake the first baking sheet for 15 minutes until golden brown, then place on a rack to cool. Repeat with the second baking sheet.

Notes

  1. Vegan Butter: Make sure you use dairy-free butter, which is hard when cold (same consistency as regular butter), and not the one which is soft like margarine. If you are unsure, go with Earth Balance Vegetable Oil Buttery Sticks!
  2. Not vegan or no vegan butter at hand? Swap the vegan butter with regular butter for regular vegetarian Pain au Chocolat.
  3. Chocolate: It's best to use chocolate croissant sticks. However,  since they are only available in large quantities, I only recommend buying them if you really bake chocolate croissants on a regular basis. Sometimes you can get a bar of dark chocolate which can be conveniently broken into 10g sticks. Otherwise, use a chopped dark (or bittersweet) chocolate bar.
  4. Eat the chocolate croissants within one day and freeze any leftovers.
  5. Freeze Chocolate Croissants: It's best to transfer them into a freezer bag once cold, then freeze them for up to 3 months. Reheat: Place frozen in the cold oven and bake for 15 minutes at 355°F (180°C).
  6. Is butter leaking during baking? It can happen that the butter is leaking during baking. If it's only a little, don't worry too much. Making perfect Pain au Chocolat needs a little practice. It can be that the butter was leaking during laminating, that you have tiny cracks in the dough, or that you under-proofed the chocolate croissants. 

Nutrition

Calories: 356kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 331mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 779IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 3mg