Honey Free Pain au Chocolat
Few things in the pastry world feel as indulgent as biting through shatteringly crisp, buttery layers to reach a pocket of melted dark chocolate. This classic French pastry is built entirely from pantry staples — flour, sugar, salt, milk, butter, and good dark chocolate — with absolutely no honey or sweeteners beyond a modest measure of granulated sugar in the dough. That makes it a genuinely clean choice for anyone avoiding bee-derived ingredients, without sacrificing a single flake of that iconic laminated texture. The real magic here is the lamination process: cold butter is folded into the dough through a series of careful turns and rests, creating dozens of distinct layers that puff and separate in the oven. It takes patience and a few rounds of chilling, but none of the steps are technically out of reach for a home baker willing to take their time. The reward is a pastry that looks and tastes like it came straight from a Parisian boulangerie window. Dark chocolate batons tucked into each roll give you that molten, bittersweet center that makes pain au chocolat so irresistible. A simple egg-and-milk wash is all it takes to achieve that glossy, deep amber finish. Let them cool just long enough to handle, then enjoy them while the chocolate is still soft and the layers are at their crispest.
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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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