Brazil Nut Free Pain au Chocolat
Few things in the pastry world feel as indulgent as biting through shattering, buttery layers to reach a pocket of melted dark chocolate. This classic French bakery staple is made entirely from scratch using simple, wholesome ingredients — flour, cold butter, whole milk, sugar, yeast, and dark chocolate batons — so you know exactly what's going into every flaky fold. The lamination process, where a cold butter block gets rolled and folded into the dough three careful times, is what creates those impossibly thin, honeycomb layers that puff and crisp in the oven. It takes patience and a few rounds of chilling, but none of the steps are beyond a home baker willing to take their time. For anyone navigating nut allergies or avoiding tree nuts, store-bought croissants and chocolate pastries can be a minefield of shared-facility warnings, making a homemade version like this genuinely worth the effort. Every ingredient here is straightforward and easy to source clean, with no hidden fillers or blended nut oils to worry about. Pull them from the oven when they're a deep, glossy amber and let that chocolate filling set just slightly before you tear in — it's absolutely worth the ten-minute wait.
About FigFig is a food discovery app that helps you find foods and recipes that fit your dietary needs. Whether you have food allergies, intolerances, or follow a specific diet, Fig makes it easy to eat with confidence.
Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
For the dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 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.
Want the full recipe?
Create a Fig account for step-by-step instructions, access to our full recipe library, and more!