Almond Free Pain au Chocolat

Total time16 hr 20 min

Prep time1 hr 30 min

Cook time20 min

Few pastries inspire as much awe as a perfectly laminated chocolate-filled croissant dough, and this from-scratch version delivers those shatteringly crisp, buttery layers with molten dark chocolate tucked inside. The entire recipe relies on flour, butter, milk, sugar, yeast, eggs, and dark chocolate — nothing more — so there are no hidden nut-based ingredients to worry about, making it a genuinely safe and satisfying bake. The real magic is in the lamination process: cold butter is folded into the dough through three careful turns, building dozens of paper-thin layers that puff and separate in the oven into that iconic flaky texture. Rolling each rectangle tightly around two chocolate batons means every bite hits that perfect ratio of pastry to filling. The double egg wash gives the finished pastries a deep amber gloss that looks like it came straight from a Parisian boulangerie window. Yes, this takes patience across multiple chilling sessions, but the hands-on time is surprisingly manageable and the results are absolutely worth clearing your schedule for. Warm from the oven with the chocolate still slightly soft, these are the kind of thing people genuinely remember.

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Ingredients

8 servings

For the dough

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
King Arthur Baking Company Unbleached All-Purpose Flour Gold Medal Flour All-Purpose Unbleached - 5 Lb Bob's Red Mill Organic All Purpose Unbleached White Flour - 5 Lb Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Unbleached White Flour - 5 Lb Pillsbury Best Flour All Purpose - 5 Lb
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2 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp fine salt
¾ cup whole milk, cold
¼ cup water, cold
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

For the butter block

1 cup (2 sticks / 225g) unsalted butter, cold

For the filling

16 dark chocolate batons (or 4 oz dark chocolate, cut into 16 short sticks)

For the egg wash

1 large egg
1 tbsp whole milk

Instructions

1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the cold milk and cold water, then mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms, about 2 minutes. Add the 2 tbsp softened butter and increase to medium speed, mixing until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. The dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky.
2
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, shape it into a flat rectangle roughly 6×8 inches, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

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