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Soft and delicious French Pain au Chocolat, with a crunchy texture and a buttery flavour, filled with delicious dark chocolate. French Pain Au Chocolat, are delicious brioches that are part of the viennoiserie or French pastry, known as Pain Au Chocolat, are among the most popular and loved desserts especially for breakfast served still hot. Prepared with the same buttery pastry as the croissants, they are square-shaped with a delicious dark chocolate filling.
How to Make French Pain au Chocolat
The most laborious part of this recipe is obviously the pastry, but it’s not difficult to make. First it will be necessary to dissolve the yeast in a part of the milk and then mix with the flour, sugar and butter at room temperature by hand or with the aid of the planetary mixer. Then dissolve the salt in the rest of the milk and slowly add it to the dough. Knead for 5 minutes, then remove all the dough from the hook and knead again for another 5 minutes.
Knead by hand until you get a smooth mass and form a rectangular loaf, and then wrap it in transparent film and let it rest for 2 hours in the fridge. Once the two hours have passed, roll out the dough, forming a rectangle of about 40×25 cm, 7/8 mm thick. Gently fold it back on itself without crushing it and put it back in the fridge.
Take the cold butter and place it between two sheets of baking paper and press it with a rolling pin to form a rectangle of 25×20 cm. If while working the butter, you notice that it becomes too soft, put it back in the fridge for a few minutes.
Take the dough again and place it on a floured pastry board, place the cold butter on the lower part, taking care to leave 2 cm on three sides. Fold the dough over itself, turn the dough so that the closure is on the right and start pulling it with the rolling pin, taking care not to let the butter come
out and keeping the rectangular shape. If you want, you can pinch the dough with your fingertips to seal the dough.
Once rolled, you must have obtained a rectangular sheet of 6/7 mm thick. Now it’s time for the first folding: take one of the short sides and bring it to the centre of the sheet and do the same with the other, finally fold the sheet in half, like a book. Now you should have obtained a block of 4 layers of dough, take it gently and place it in the film and let it cool in the fridge for 1 hour.
After an hour, put the dough back on the floured surface, and roll it out as before, into a rectangle 6/7 mm thick. The second fold involves 3 layers: take the bottom side and bring it to the centre and the top side down. Close the dough in cling film and let it cool in the fridge for 1 hour.
While the dough cools, cut chocolate strips from the bar. I recommend bars with small cubes to make cutting easier. The strips should be about 8/10 cm long and as wide as the cube.
Take out the dough and put it on the floured work surface with the folding part to the right and roll out the dough until you get a rectangle of 40×25 cm. Starting from the longest side, cut 10 cm wide strips and starting from the short side, cut 3, in order to obtain 12 rectangles of approximately 10×8 cm. Arrange two strips of chocolate on each rectangle, spacing them an inch apart, and roll them into the pastry.
Arrange the French Pain au Chocolat on a pan lined with baking paper and let them rest for 2 and a half hours. You can keep them in the fridge for the last 15 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 170° – 180°C with a fan oven, or 190° – 200°C if static. Prepare a yolk beaten with milk and brush them, bake them for 15/20 minutes.
Pain Au Chocolat Recipe Storage
Like many types of brioches, the French pains au chocolat can be frozen. Once rolled, place them on a tray lined with baking paper and put them in the freezer (without letting them rest). Once frozen, put them in an airtight bag or container. To cook the French Pain au Chocolat, defrost them the night before directly on the pan and cook them in the morning as described above. If you don’t eat them right away or have some left over, store them in a well-sealed container so they don’t dry out.
If you liked French Pain au Chocolat recipe, have a look at the Baked Desserts!
French Pain au Chocolat
Attrezzature
- Rolling Pin
- Baking Paper
Ingredienti
Pastry
- 500 g of Bread Flour
- 100 g of Butter
- 25 g of Fresh Yeast or 7 g instant yeast
- 200 g of Milk room temperature or 35° C
- 50 g of Milk room temperature or 35° C
- 40 g of Caster Sugar
- 10 g of Salt
For the Pastry Sheet
- 250 g of Butter fridge-cold
Filling
- 300 g of Dark Chocolate or milk chocolate
For Brushing
- 1 Yolk
- 3 Tbsp of Milk
Preparazione
Dough
- Dissolve 25 g of Fresh Yeast in 50 g of Milk and then knead with 500 g of Bread Flour, 40 g of Caster Sugar and 100 g of Butter at room temperature by hand or with a kneading machine.
- Dissolve 10 g of Salt in the remaining 200 g of Milk and add it to the dough with the machine running, or a little at a time if kneading by hand. Knead for 5 minutes, then remove the dough from the dough hook and knead again for another 5 minutes.
- After forming a smooth mass, form a rectangular loaf and then wrap it in cling film and leave it to rest for 2 hours in the fridge.
Butter for Puffing
- Take 250 g of Butter, place it between two sheets of baking paper and with a rolling pin, flatten it to form a 25 x 20 cm rectangle, to make the edges as even as possible help yourself with a spatula. If, while working, the butter becomes too soft, put it back in the fridge for about ten minutes and then finish working it.
Preparing the Puff Pastry
- After 2 hours, roll out the dough on a floured pastry board, forming a rectangle of 40.
- Lay the cold butter on the bottom of the dough, taking care to leave 2 cm on three sides.
- Fold the dough over on itself, turn the dough so that the sealing side is to the right and start rolling it with the rolling pin, taking care to not let the butter come out and keeping the rectangular shape. If you wish, you can pinch the dough with your fingertips to seal it.
- Roll out the pastry into a 6/7 mm thick rectangular shape.
First Fold
- Take one of the short sides and bring it to the middle of the pastry, then do the same with the other side and finally fold the pastry in half like a book. You should now have a 4-layer block of pastry, take it carefully and wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- After an hour, put the dough back on the floured pastry board and roll out as before to form a rectangle 6/7 mm thick. For the second fold, make 3 layers: take the low side and bring it to the middle and the high side to the bottom. Wrap the pastry in cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Second Fold
- After an hour, place the dough back on the floured pastry board, and roll it out as before, into a rectangle 6/7 mm thick.
- The second fold is 3 layers: take the low side and bring it to the middle of the dough, and the high side to the bottom. Fold back into the cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preparation of Chocolate
- Take 300 g of Dark Chocolate and cut strips of chocolate from the bar. I recommend bars with small cubes so that they are easier to cut. The strips should be about 8/10 cm long and as wide as the cube.
Preparing the Pan Au Chocolate
- Take the dough and place it on the floured pastry board with the fold side to the right and roll it out to a 40×25 cm rectangle.
- Starting from the longest side cut strips 10 cm wide and starting from the short side cut 3 strips, so you get 12 rectangles of about 10×8 cm.
- Place two chocolate strips on each rectangle, spacing them a couple of centimetres apart, and roll them into the pastry.
Last Leavening
- Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and let them rest for 2 hours ½.
- Preheat the oven to 170° – 180 °C with ventilated oven or 190° – 200 °C if static.
- Prepare 1 Yolk beaten with 3 Tbsp of Milk and brush them, bake for 15/20 minutes.
Conservation
- In case you want to freeze them, you will have to do this before the last rising. When you want to bake them, place them on a baking tray with baking paper the night before and keep them in the oven so that they defrost and rise.
- Brush them with beaten milk and egg yolk and bake them as described above.
Note
Nutrienti
Le informazioni nutrizionali sono una stima fornita da un calcolatore nutrizionale online. Non devono essere considerate un sostituto del consiglio di un nutrizionista professionista.