This recipe will put your baking skills to the test, but your chocolate-filled croissants will be so
delicate and delicious that you will feel pretty darn proud and your friends and family will be in
awe of your mad baking skills. Pain au Chocolat are actually not as hard to make as you may fear,
but they require a little time, patience and love. Beware that many vegan margarines can be salty, so you’ll
want to use one with the lowest sodium that you can find.
1¼-ounce packet (2¼ teaspoons)
rapid-rise yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
2½ cups fl our
teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons
margarine, room temperature,
divided
¾ cup bittersweet or semi-sweet
chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon margarine, melted
In a large bowl, combine yeast, water and sugar. Let sit for
about 5 minutes, until foamy. Add 1 cup fl our, salt and milk
and stir to combine. Continue incorporating fl our in ½-cup
increments until a dough forms. Turn out onto a fl oured
surface and lightly knead for about 2 to 3 minutes, until
dough is no longer sticky. It does not need to be smooth
and elastic like bread dough does.
Roll out dough into an 18 x 12-inch rectangle. Visually
divide the dough into thirds that are 6 x 12 inches. Spread
half of the room-temperature margarine evenly onto
the middle third of the rectangle. Fold the right third
over onto the margarine-covered third and spread the
remaining margarine on the section that is now on top.
Fold remaining left third on top of the second margarinecovered
third. You should now have a rectangle of dough
that is approximately 6 x 12 inches and has two layers of
margarine-covered dough inside it. Roll out dough into
another 18 x 12-inch rectangle. Visually divide the dough
into four ths and fold the outer four ths in so the edges of
the dough halves are touching in the middle, to roughly
make a square. Fold one of these dough halves onto the
other, so there are four dough layers stacked on top of
each other. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for 2
hours.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough
from the refrigerator and roll out into a 12 x 16-inch
rectangle. Cut dough into 12 3 x 4-inch rectangles. On the
shor t end of each small rectangle, about ½ inch from the
edge, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the chocolate onto
the dough. Roll dough up into a fat cylinder and slightly
fl atten it, seam side down, onto the baking sheet. You may
need to poke pieces of chocolate back into the ends of
the pastry. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, placing
pastries about 3 inches apar t on the baking sheet. Cover
pastries and let rise until doubled in size, about 1½ to 2
hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently brush the tops of
each pastry with melted margarine and sprinkle with
sugar, if desired. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until puffy
and lightly browned. Let cool on the sheet for at least 20
minutes before serving. Store leftover pastries covered at
room temperature.
Yield: 12 PAIN AU CHOCOLAT
Prep time: 50 MINUTES ACTIVE