Seeds Free Pain au Chocolat
Few baked goods feel as luxurious as a perfectly laminated pastry with a molten chocolate center, and this one delivers exactly that. The dough is built from simple pantry staples — flour, milk, butter, yeast — with absolutely no seeds involved at any stage, so there's no need to scrutinize labels or swap anything out. What makes this recipe special is the lamination process: cold butter is folded into the dough through three careful turns, creating those impossibly flaky, shatteringly crisp layers that pull apart in ribbons. Dark chocolate batons tucked inside melt just enough during baking to give you that signature gooey pocket in every bite. The technique takes patience — multiple rests in the refrigerator are non-negotiable — but none of the steps are beyond a home baker willing to take their time. That long, slow proof before baking is what gives the pastries their gorgeous puff and those visible, separated layers along the sides. Pull them from the oven when they're a deep amber brown, let them cool just long enough not to burn your fingers, and enjoy something that tastes genuinely bakery-worthy from your own kitchen.
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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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