Pain Au Chocolat Recipe (Chocolate Croissants)

Name: Pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants)
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1375 min
Ingredients: 85 g milk ( ⅓ cup, lukewarm ); 60 g water ( ¼ cup, lukewarm); 5 g active dry yeast (about 1½ tsp); 5 g honey (1 tsp. (OR malt syrup, OR use sugar if you have neither)); 25 g butter (1 ½ tbsp, melted and cooled, or softened); 20 g white sugar (generous 1 ½ tbsp); 250 g AP flour (2 cups, spooned and leveled); 5 g salt (about 1 tsp); 140 g butter (10 tbsp); 12 chocolate batons; 1 egg yolk; 2 tbsp milk and / or cream

Here’s ALL you need to know about making foolproof, authentic pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants)! These are made with buttery, homemade croissant dough, and if you like regular French croissants, you’ll LOVE these too.

I share detailed, step by step instructions, pictures, and a recipe video to help you achieve PERFECT results!

Close up of a pain au chocolat showing beautiful flaky layers and chocolate sticks in the middle.

Contents

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Recipe highlights

You’ll be able to make authentic pain au chocolat pastry that is incredibly buttery, flaky, and delicious!
I share easy to follow step by step instructions on how to make these French pastries.
My classic croissants recipe (adapted from a Le Cordon Bleu viennoiserie course recipe) is very popular with my readers, and this recipe is just as extensively tested too.
This recipe is for a small batch, which makes it easier to handle, AND allows you to focus on the techniques to get the recipe right.
But I also provide information on how to make a full batch once you’re comfortable with the techniques.
This is not a shortcut recipe, because I want to show you how to make flaky, soft, buttery, authentic croissant dough. Shortcuts like puff pastry pain au chocolat simply does not produce the same results.

A chocolate croissant half showing the airy honeycomb structure and chocolate stick inside.

What is pain au chocolat?

Pain au chocolat (also known as chocolate croissants or chocolatine) is made with croissant dough, which is a yeasted laminated dough.

Unlike traditional croissants, chocolate croissants are cut into rectangles and shaped as a rectangle pastry with chocolate in the middle. These are one of my favorite French pastries to make.

Puff pastry vs croissant dough

A lot of chocolate croissant recipes online are not authentic French chocolate croissants. Instead, they are made with store-bought puff pastry, which is obviously not the same as croissant dough.

Puff pastry is also a laminated dough, but there is no yeast in this dough. Whereas croissant dough is a yeasted laminated dough. The result is flaky and crisp layers, with lofty, soft, bread-like interior with croissant dough, as opposed to crisp, flaky interior with puff pastry, but no bread-like texture.

A chocolate croissant on a white plate, and more croissants on a wire rack in the background.

How to make pain au chocolat (ingredients and equipment)

Labeled ingredients on a white background that are needed to make perfect pain au chocolat.

For the dough (detrempe)

AP flour or bread flour (I use AP flour, as Canadian AP flour has higher gluten content)
Yeast – Active dry yeast or instant yeast
Honey / sugar – To sweeten the dough and to help activate the yeast
Water – To hydrate the dough
Milk – To hydrate and enrich the dough
Butter – To enrich the dough
Salt – Brings out the flavor of the dough and the pastries

Butter block

Higher fat unsalted butter – A crucial ingredient for perfect laminated layers. Butter that contains at least 82% fat is desirable for making chocolate croissants. And 84% (or higher) is optimal.
Flour (optional) – Only if you’re using 80% fat butter. Adding 10% flour to the butter can help the butter be more pliable, but it’s not a guarantee.

For the filling

Couverture chocolate – A good quality chocolate. Ideally semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (40 – 70% cocoa content).

Equipment

Stand mixer (optional) – I like to use a stand mixer to make double the amount of dough, and then make two smaller batches. A small batch can also be made in the stand mixer, but it’s easier to knead a smaller amount of dough by hand.
Heavy rolling pin – To roll out the dough.
Large sharp knife (with straight edge blade) – To cut and trim the dough.
Small sharp paring knife – To mark the dough and to cut edges to release the tension.
Flour duster – You can also sprinkle flour by hand. So this is optional.
Pastry brushes (with soft bristles) – To brush off flour and to brush on egg wash.

What type of butter do I use to make croissant dough for chocolate croissants?

Ideally, you should be using unsalted butter with a minimum of 82% milk fat content. I try to use 84% MF butter, as the higher fat content makes the butter more pliable for making croissant dough.

Usually European butter has a higher milk fat content, so look for a good quality European butter for best results. Here in Canada, it’s harder to find European butter. But there are local butter companies that do make 84% MF butter.

Gay Lea 84% bakers gold butter
Stirling creamery 84% butter
Cows creamery 84% butter

In addition to this, I also like to use butter made with organic, grass-fed cows’ milk. This also yields a more pliable butter.

My absolute favorite butter to use is St Brigid’s creamery unsalted butter. But I have also had luck with organic butter imported from New Zealand.

What type of chocolate to use for pain au chocolat

Traditionally, chocolate croissants are made with chocolate batons that you can get from specialty stores. These are usually made with good quality chocolate that is either semisweet chocolate or bittersweet chocolate. The ones I use here are Valrhona 48% chocolate batons.

However, you can also make these with good quality chocolate from the supermarket! I have used Whittaker’s chocolate, but you can use any other kind of couverture chocolate bars as well.

The key is to cut the chocolate with a sharp knife, so that the width is narrow enough to fit inside a chocolate croissant – about 1 cm wide.

If you’re wondering whether you can use chocolate ganache instead of chocolate, yes you can, but I don’t recommend it. Chocolate ganache will melt in the oven and leak out too much. The ganache would need to be really thick and smooth, so that it stays inside the dough, and taste good.

Brushing proofed chocolat croissants on a baking sheet with egg wash just before baking them.

Things to consider before you begin the process

I’ve made croissants on the blog before, and it’s such a popular recipe! This chocolate croissant recipe is the same as the original, but there are some extra tips that I’ve developed over time after making croissants 100s of times!

To make this recipe easy to follow, let’s understand some of the terminology and conditions for making perfect chocolate croissants.

Detrempe – The dough that’s used to make the croissants / pain au chocolat.
Tourrage / beurre de tourrage – The butter block.
Beurrage – The dough, once the butter block has been laminated. Beurrage actually means dough that is made with a lot of butter. This includes croissant dough, puff pastry, brioche, Danish pastry, and many of the viennoisserie doughs that use a lot of butter.
Conditioning the butter / dough – Butter, when cold, can break or crumble when pressure is applied on it. So the butter is conditioned by hitting and rolling it with a rolling pin to make it more pliable, while still remaining cold.
French fold – The method of encasing the butter with dough. This method will have the butter layer in the middle and two layers of dough on either side. There are other methods to lock in butter in the dough that will create more layers too.
Dough is too elastic – This is when the dough springs back when rolling it out. Like elastic, the dough wants to spring back to a smaller shape. This is a sign that the gluten is overworked, and the dough MUST be returned to the fridge to rest for 30 – 60 mins. Once the gluten has sufficiently rested, it’ll be easier to roll out.
Ideal temperature – The butter and dough (beurrage) should be between 50 – 60°F OR 10 – 15°C. If the beurrage is too warm, then the butter layers will be too soft and mix in with the dough layers, and you’ll lose the lamination. If the beurrage is too cold, the butter can’t be conditioned properly and will break and tear through the dough.

What is a single fold or letter fold?

This is one of the folds that we will use to create the lamination in pain au chocolat dough. The dough is folded over itself to create 3 layers of dough.

The dough is first rolled out and then 1/3^rd is folded towards the middle third, and the remaining third is folded over this middle portion again to create 3 layers on top of each other.

An illustration on how to do the single fold to make French croissants.

What is a double fold or book fold?

This is another type of fold that creates further lamination in croissant dough. A double fold creates 4 layers of dough. What I do here is specifically called an “offset” double fold or book fold, because the seam is offset from the center.

The dough is rolled out and then roughly 1/8^th of the dough is folded inwards. Then the other end of the dough is folded to meet the seam of the previous folded edge. The seam here is offset from the middle of the dough.

Then the dough is folded in half to create four dough layers on top of each other. Since the dough is folded more, the dough is usually rolled out to be longer for this technique than the single fold.

An illustration on how to do a double fold when making croissants.

How many layers for a croissant or pain au chocolat?

With this recipe, we will do 1 x book fold and 1 x single fold, and this will create 25 layers (dough and butter). This is less than a classic croissant, but easier for a beginner. And a great place to start if you’ve never made croissant dough before.

Can I make more layers?

Absolutely! When you’re more confident with handling croissant dough, you can create more layers.

Instead of doing a French fold to encase the butter, you can start with an English fold which involves creating two blocks of butter encased between three layers of dough. This will increase the number of layers up to 49!

You can also do 3 x single folds which can also increase the lamination layers.

How to make chocolate croissants (step by step overview)

Day 1 – Make the detrempe (dough)

Step 1 – Activate the yeast

Mix the lukewarm water and milk with the honey (or sugar). Add the yeast and leave it aside until the yeast activates (image 1).

I like to activate the yeast regardless of whether I use active dry or instant yeast. This lets me double check if the yeast is still active.

Activating yeast in a mixer bowl, then adding ingredients and making the dough in the bowl.

Step 2 – Make the dough

Once the yeast is active (frothy bubbles forming), add all the ingredients for the dough into the bowl (image 2).

Mix to form a scraggly dough (image 3). Next, knead the dough until it’s fairly smooth. There should some gluten formation in the dough, but not pass the window pane test (image 4).

Step 3 – Shape the dough and proof

Shaping the dough and covering it with parchment paper to chill in the fridge.

Shape the dough into a square or rectangle. With the short side at about 6 – 6.5 inches if possible (image 5). Place the dough in parchment paper and then wrap the dough with plastic wrap completely, but a little loosely, and let it chill in the fridge overnight (image 6). This process will allow the dough to proof slowly in the fridge as well.

Step 4 – Prepare the butter block

Making the butter block by placing cold butter on the parchment paper and folding the paper over the butter.

Form a parchment paper pocket of 5 x 6 inches. Place the cold butter inside the parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten the butter block (images 7 – 8). Make sure to contain the butter within the block that you folded with the parchment paper, so that the butter block ends up being 5 x 6 inches as well (image 9).

Use the rolling pin to flatten and roll out the butter to fill the 5 x 6 inch pocket (image 10). This process helps to condition the butter, in order to make it more pliable. The butter block should have an even thickness throughout. Keep the butter block in the fridge until you need it.

Day 2

Step 5 – Encase the butter

Remove the butter block from the fridge and use a rolling pin to roll on the butter (or to lightly pound it), while it’s still in the parchment paper packet. This is to make the butter flexible / malleable. You can use your fingers to press on the butter to see if it’s malleable. This will help to recondition the butter to make it more malleable and flexible while still being very cold.

Place the butter block against the dough to check if the dough is double the size of the block (image 11). If not, roll out the dough in to a rectangle that’s about 6 inches in width (same height as the butter block), and about 10 inches in length (twice the length of the butter block) (image 12).

Placing the butter block on the dough and folding the dough over the butter to encase it.

Place the butter block (without the parchment paper), on top of the dough (image 13), and fold the excess dough over to encase the butter block with the dough (images 14 – 15).

You can keep the butter block at the edge and fold the dough like a book, OR place the butter block in the middle and fold the two dough ends over to meet in the middle (image 15). Either method works.

Just make sure the dough edges are pinched together to seal along the 6 inch edge.

Rolling out the butter encased dough on a work surface with a rolling pin.

Step 6 – The lamination process

First fold – Book fold

The dough and butter should still be cold at this stage. If it’s warm, return the dough to the fridge for about 30 minutes before doing the first fold. But if the dough and butter are still cold, let’s complete the first fold.

With the shorter edge facing you, gently roll out the dough on your work surface (image 16). The dough should maintain a width of about 5 – 5.5 inches, and be 20 – 22 inches long (four times as long as the width to maintain a square shape at the end, once folded) (image 17).

Rolling out and folding the dough on a work surface for an offset book fold to start laminating the dough.

Maintain a rectangle shape with straight edges, as this will help with even rolling. Trim edges a little if needed (image 18). Fold the dough with the offset book fold (4 layers of dough stacked) (images 19 – 22).

Wrap the dough and chill it for 30 – 60 minutes.

Step 7 – Second fold (single fold / letter fold)

Once the dough has rested and chilled, remove it from the fridge. Let it rest for a few minutes if needed – ONLY if the dough is too cold. Then we condition the dough by lightly hitting it with a rolling pin to make the butter inside more pliable to roll out.

Folding the dough on a work surface for the letter fold, then wrapping it with plastic wrap.

The dough will be rolled out in the opposite direction from before. The side with the visible folds should be facing you. Roll out the dough (gently), while maintaining the width, until the dough is three times as long as the width.

If the width is 5 – 5.5 inches, the final length will be 15 – 16.5 inches (after trimming the edges) (image 23). Fold the dough in a single fold / letter fold (three layers on top of each other) (images 24 – 25).

Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and chill for another 30 – 60 minutes (image 25).

Lamination advice

You can change the lamination folds to suit your needs. You can do 2 x book folds. Or 3 x single folds.

This combination of folds is just great for beginners because it’s easier to roll out, and faster (with just two folds vs 3 folds). The more experience you gain, the more confident you’ll be to do more folds.

If the dough is elastic, AT ANY POINT, please wrap the dough and place it in the fridge. The more heavy handed you are with rolling out the dough, the more likely you are to break the butter or make the butter layers disappear into the dough.

Step 8 – Sheeting the dough (first stage)

The purpose of this step is to start rolling out the dough to the right size and to cut it into portions for pain au chocolat. We do this in two steps, because the dough can get elastic as it’s rolled out thinner. So we rest the dough half way through to ensure we can properly maintain the lamination layers.

Roll out the rested dough on a very lightly floured work surface. The dough should have a width of about 8 inches (image 26). The height should be about 1 cm (3/8 inch). The length can vary. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes (up to 60 minutes) (image 27).

Rolling out the dough on a work surface to make it thinner, then covering it with plastic wrap and resting it.

Step 9 – Sheeting the dough (second stage)

Roll out the rested dough on a lightly floured surface again (image 28). This time the goal is to get the dough to a thickness of 4 – 5mm (3/16 inch), while maintaining an 8 inch width (image 29).

The length of the dough will vary from 16 – 19 inches.

Step 10 – Cutting the dough portions

Rolling out the dough for final time, then marking and cutting it to get individual portions.

Trim the long edge of the rectangle with a CLEAN, SHARP KNIFE to form a clean straight edge. Measure the dough so that the width is about 7.5 – 7.75 inches. Trim off the excess to get clean edges (image 30).

Cut a straight line along the shorter edge of the dough to have a clean edge. Measure and mark the dough at 3 inch intervals along the two long edges (image 31). You should get about 5 – 6 portions.

Using a clean sharp knife, cut the rectangles (image 32). Avoid dragging the knife blade along the dough. Press the knife straight down into the dough instead to cut it.

Carefully place the rectangles aside. Each rectangle should be about 3 inches wide and about 7.5 inches long.

Step 11 – Shaping the pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants)

Rolling up a pastry rectangle with a chocolate baton or chocolate pieces to shape the pain au chocolat.

I prefer using chocolate batons / chocolate sticks, to make these pastries. However, you can also use cut up chocolate from a good quality chocolate bar as well. Make sure to cut the chocolate into 1 cm thick pieces, to fit inside the dough. These chocolate croissants will have two chocolate batons (chocolate sticks) per pastry .

Place one baton / chocolate stick or chocolate pieces on one end of the pastry rectangle (images 33 and 34). Roll up once to encase the chocolate in the dough (image 35). Then place a second chocolate baton near the seam (image 36), and roll it up again to encase the second baton (image 37).

Rolling up the pastry rectangle with chocolate and the final shaped chocolate croissant pastry.

Then firmly roll up the chocolate croissant (image 38). Place the pain au chocolat pastry down with the seam at the bottom (image 39). Then gently press down to seal the seam.

Then place it on a parchment paper-lined baking tray (image 40). Repeat with the remaining pastries, making sure to leave a lot of space between the croissants to proof. I only place 5 – 6 pastries per half sheet baking tray.

Step 12 – Proof

Cover the croissants with plastic wrap or a tray cover. Let them proof until doubled in size.

Proofing temperature should NEVER EXCEED 85°F / 29°C, as this will melt the butter layers. Ideally it should be about 77 – 80°F / 25 – 27°C for best results.

Depending on your ambient temperature, the proofing time will vary. In winter it can take about 3 hours, and in summer is can take 1.5 – 2 hours (at 25°C).

When the croissants have doubled in size, and are very wobbly when you shake the tray, they are ready to be baked (image 41).

Proofed croissants and brushing egg wash on proofed croissants.

Step 13 – Bake

Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C. Brush the croissants with an egg wash (for the lovely shiny finish) (image 42), and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until the croissants are puffed, and a dark golden brown.

Step 14 – Rest and serve

Close up of a chocolate croissant on a sheet pan to show beautiful flaky layers and chocolate in the middle.

Once the the chocolate croissants are baked, remove from the oven and carefully transfer them onto a wire rack using a spatula. The croissants will have a very delicate crust, so they could crumble with a little too much pressure.

Let it cool down before you cut into it, as the layers inside need to air out and set. If you cut the croissant while it’s warm the layers can stick together.

However, serve and eat the croissant while they are still a little warm! The melted chocolate center and buttery, flaky layers are absolutely irresistible!

Several baked, golden brown, flaky chocolate croissants on a metal wire rack.

The most important advice I can give to get the best results

At all stages, make sure that the dough,

Is at the right temperature so that the butter is more likely to be pliable, and not break.
Is not sticking to the surface (lift the dough).
Has an even thickness throughout (feel the dough edges as you roll it out, and flip the dough and roll it out on both sides).
Is not elastic at all – no shrinking of the dough when trying to roll it out.
Try to maintain a rectangle shape by pulling the corners and straightening the edges, and using the rolling pin to create the rectangle shape.

Tips for rolling out the dough,

Gently roll out the dough, with even pressure. Too much pressure can cause the butter to break.
Too much flour on the work surface can cause the dough to dry out as it absorbs the extra flour.
If the dough becomes elastic, place it back in the fridge so that the dough can relax. Do this as many times as you need to. DO NOT FORCE the dough to roll it out.
If the butter does break inside the dough (and not rip through the dough), don’t panic. Let the dough and butter soften a little more and continue to roll it out. If the broken butter pieces can be rolled out smoothly, the results will still be fantastic!
Make sure that the proofing temperature is not too warm. If the butter layers melt, the croissant will be dense.

Variations of chocolatine / pain au chocolat

You can use any chocolate you like in the filling. However, the softer the filling, the more likely for it to leak out as it bakes.

There are also many fancy ways to make chocolatines. Colored chocolate croissants use a sheet of brown dough on top to create a two-toned chocolate croissant. These are more advanced skills, but can be attempted when you’re more confident with making croissants at home.

Filling options

Swap out the chocolate with Biscoff spread or Nutella.
You can even use pastry cream (or chocolate pastry cream too) as the filling, but it can leak out.
Chopped nuts and sugar to make a baklava croissant.
Swap out the sweet fillings for a savory filling to make savory croissants. Such as goat cheese and pesto, or ham and cheese, or feta and spinach.

Topping options

You can also sprinkle streusel topping on top.
Instead of an egg wash, brush the freshly baked croissants with a sweet glaze (like an apricot jam glaze I used on these Easter bunny buns).
Spread a thin layer of frangipane on top, along with sliced almonds, to make an almond chocolate croissant.
Sprinkle cheese on top, for when you’re making savory croissants.

Storage instructions

Baked chocolate croissants can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature. They will start to get stale at this point, but you can also use them to make croissant bread pudding or French toast.

They can last in the fridge for about 5 days. Chocolate croissants can be stored in the freezer for 1 month.

I like to reheat the croissants at 250 F / 121 C, until heated through and crisp again. This can take about 10 – 15 minutes, depending on the temperature of the croissant.

How to store shaped, unproofed, unbaked croissants

In the fridge (covered), up to 12 hours. Then take them out of the fridge, proof, and bake.

In the freezer (covered individually), about 1 month (haven’t tried any longer than this unfortunately). Let the frozen croissants thaw out in the fridge over 24 hours (so that they thaw out evenly). Then proof and bake. DO NOT thaw frozen croissants at room temperature, as this can proof the croissants unevenly.

Stack of baked pain au chocolat on a cooling rack showing all the flaky layers.

Quick timeline for making chocolate croissants

The faster timeline (2 days)

Day 1 – Make the dough and prepare the butter block.

Day 2 – Encase the butter and create lamination layers. Sheet the dough and shape the chocolate croissants. Proof and bake. (Day two will be the busiest day.)

My preferred timeline (3 days)

Day 1 – Make the dough the prepare the butter block.

Day 2 – Encase the butter and create lamination layers. Sheet the dough and shape the chocolate croissants. Store the croissants in the fridge. (Still the busiest day.)

Day 3 – Let the croissants proof (very early in the morning if you like). Then bake.

A pain au chocolat cut in half to show the honeycomb structure and chocolate baton inside.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make pain au chocolat with puff pastry instead?

No, unfortunately you can’t make authentic chocolate croissants with puff pastry. Puff pastry is laminated pastry WITHOUT yeast, so it’s unleavened and very different from croissant dough.

While the resulting pastry will be flaky, it won’t have a soft interior that is characteristic of pain au chocolat.

Can I use phyllo dough to make these?

Unfortunately, no. Phyllo pastry is very different to croissant dough. There’s no butter in phyllo dough at all, and the pastry will not puff up as it bakes either. It will resemble a chocolate baklava instead.

Why don’t my chocolate croissants have any layers?

This can happen if the lamination layers are lost within the croissant dough. Reasons for losing lamination layers include,

– Butter was too soft and mixed into the dough during the rolling out process.
– The dough was rolled out with too much pressure causing the butter and dough layers to mix.
– The butter melted during proofing because the proofing temperature was too warm.
– The butter broke too much, losing the layers.

Why do my chocolate croissants lack the honeycomb structure inside?

The honeycomb structure can also be lost when you lose the lamination layers.

In addition to this, the honeycomb structure can be weak if the butter layer breaks through the dough during the lamination process. Underproofed or overproofed croissants can also cause you to lose the honeycomb structure.

Can you freeze chocolate croissants?

Yes! I prefer to freeze baked chocolate croissants because it’s so easy and fast to reheat the pain au chocolat in the oven. Heating the frozen pastries in a low heat oven will make the pastries warm and crisp and buttery again.

You can also freeze shaped, unbaked pastries before proofing. But they must be thawed out in the fridge and then proofed before baking for best results. This process will take longer than reheating baked chocolate croissants.