Chestnut Free Pain au Chocolat
Few baked goods rival the satisfaction of biting through shattering, buttery layers to reach a molten ribbon of dark chocolate inside. This classic French pastry is built entirely from scratch using simple, wholesome ingredients — flour, butter, milk, sugar, yeast, and good dark chocolate — so you know exactly what's going into every flaky fold. For anyone navigating nut allergies or tree nut sensitivities, bakery-bought versions can be a minefield of shared equipment and ambiguous labeling, making a homemade batch the smartest and most delicious solution. The lamination process — folding cold butter into chilled dough across three careful turns — is what creates those impossibly delicate, honeycomb layers that puff and crisp in a hot oven. Yes, it takes patience and a bit of planning across a day or two, but none of the steps are technically difficult, and the results are genuinely bakery-worthy. Two chocolate batons rolled into each pastry means every bite delivers that deep, bittersweet hit right at the center. Pull them from the oven when they're a deep amber brown, let them cool just enough to handle, and try to stop at one.
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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.
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