Paraben Free Pain au Chocolat
Few baked goods inspire as much awe as a perfectly laminated pastry fresh from the oven — shatteringly crisp on the outside, pillowy within, and hiding a molten ribbon of dark chocolate at the center. The magic here comes from a classic lamination process: cold butter is folded into the dough through a series of careful turns, building dozens of delicate, flaky layers that puff dramatically in the oven. Every ingredient in this recipe is straightforward and whole — real butter, whole milk, flour, sugar, dark chocolate — so you're not navigating a minefield of synthetic preservatives or cosmetic-derived additives that show up in so many commercial baked goods and packaged pastries. That matters more than most people realize, since parabens can sneak into food products through certain preservatives and coatings without ever making the front of the label. Making these at home puts you in complete control of what goes into every bite. The process takes patience — chilling between turns is non-negotiable — but none of the individual steps are technically difficult, and the payoff is extraordinary. Pull them from the oven when they're a deep, burnished amber and let that chocolate settle for just a few minutes before you bite in.
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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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