Rice Free Pain au Chocolat
Flaky, buttery, and hiding a molten ribbon of dark chocolate at the center — this is the kind of pastry that makes a weekend morning feel genuinely special. Every layer of that shattery, golden crust comes from a classic lamination process: cold butter folded into the dough again and again until the two become something far greater than the sum of their parts. The ingredient list is refreshingly straightforward — flour, milk, butter, chocolate — so there's nothing hidden to worry about, and every element earns its place. The technique takes patience, with multiple chilling periods between folds, but none of the individual steps are difficult once you understand the rhythm. Rolling the chocolate batons into each rectangle before the final proof means the filling stays perfectly tucked inside, melting into soft pockets as the pastries bake to a deep amber. That second brush of egg wash just before the oven is the small move that gives you that glossy, bakery-worthy finish. Pull them from the rack after ten minutes of cooling — if you can wait that long — and bite in while the chocolate is still just barely set.
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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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