Description
This vegan pain au chocolat recipe teaches you how to make the most perfectly spiraled laminated chocolat croissants just like your favorite bakery- except entirely without eggs and no dairy! Made with a simple vegan pastry dough and based off of my tried and true vegan croissant recipe, these pain au chocolat rise beautifully into flaky, golden pastry wrapped around a stick of (dairy free) chocolate.
Ingredients
Scale
Vegan Pain Au Chocolat Dough:
- 4 cups (500 g) all purpose flour*
- 1 1/4 cup (300 mL) dairy free milk, cold
- 1/4 cup (50) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp instant yeast*
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup (5 tbsp) unsalted vegan butter, room temperature
Beurrage (butter block):
- 350 g unsalted vegan butter, room temperature
- vegan “egg” wash (1 tbsp maple syrup + 1 tbsp soy milk)
Chocolate center:
- 12 sticks of vegan chocolate (about 1.5 vegan chocolate bars)
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT:
- Large rolling pin
- Silicone baking mat with a ruler printed onto it (I use this one)
- 2 large baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Pizza cutter
Instructions
- Please read the two options for time tables in the blog post. Read the blog post entirely before beginning and watch the video. Decide which part of the process you will leave for resting overnight.
- Prep: Measure out all ingredients for the dough first. Allow the vegan butter for the beurrage to sit at room temperature as you make the dough.
- Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook or in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, yeast, and salt. Add in the cold dairy free milk, and begin to mix on medium speed until a shaggy dough forms. Then add in the room temperature vegan butter from the dough ingredients, and mix again on medium speed until a smooth and slightly tacky dough forms (about 7-10 minutes). If making this by hand, it’s easiest to knead the dough here.
- Rest: Cover the dough and rest the dough in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.
- 30 minutes before the dough is ready to shape, shape the beurrage layer: measure out a rectangle on a piece of parchment paper to be 7×10″. Fold along the lines to create creases for where you’ll put the butter. Spread the room temperature butter onto the parchment paper in the rectangle you’ve made, folding the paper to help keep the lines for the butter correct (see the video and blog post photos for reference). Once shaped into a rectangle, wrap the vegan butter completely in the parchment paper, and place in the fridge to slightly solidify for 30 minutes.
- First & Second Lamination: Remove the dough from the fridge, along with the butter block (it shouldn’t bee too solid; still flexible but not room temperature). Use the silicone baking mat with a ruler attached (or grab a ruler!), and lightly flour it, along with a large rolling pin.
- Encase the butter: Roll the dough out to be 10×14″ long. Try very hard to get neat, right angle corners. Place the butter block in the middle (the length of the butter rectangle will align with the width of the dough rectangle. Fold the end flaps of the dough over the butter to create what looks like a pamphlet (see video and photos). Seal the edges of the dough on the sides by pinching the dough together tightly.
- First lamination: Rotate the rectangle 90 degrees so that the width of the rectangle is perpendicular to you, and the length is parallel. Roll the dough out by first, gently pressing on the top of the dough with the rolling pin. Then gently roll the dough out to be 10×20″ rectangle. We’ll fold in thirds, or the letter lamination (see video and photos). If you notice that the dough is too warm and the butter is too warm, wrap the dough in parchment paper or plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before doing the second lamination.
- Second lamination: Rotate the dough again 90 degrees, and roll the dough out again, gently pressing on the top of the dough with the rolling pin. Then gently roll the dough out to be 10×20″ rectangle. This time we’ll fold in the book lamination, folding the two ends towards the middle, then folding the dough in half (see video and photos). Cover the dough and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Third Lamination & long rest: Roll the dough out to be another 10×20″ rectangle. Fold into thirds again for the letter lamination, then cover and rest in the fridge for 2 hours, or overnight.
- Shape the pain au chocolat: When ready to shape the croissants, line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough out to be about 10×20″ (it doesn’t need to be perfect here). Then mark the dough on one of the 20″ length sides in 5″ intervals. Slice the dough with a pizza cutter from those marks horizontally, so you have now four strips of 5×10″ dough. Then on the 10″ side, mark the dough into thirds, about 3.33″ each. Slice the dough vertically, so now you have 12 3.33×5″ pieces.
- Stretch and roll the pain au chocolat: From there, take one dough rectangle. Gently stretch it with your fingers to be about 1″ longer. Then place a stick of chocolate at the base along the 3.33″ inch side. Starting at the base of the rectangle, roll the dough tightly like a cinnamon rolls (but not too tightly that you ruin your laminations). Place the rolled croissant onto the baking sheet with the last part of the croissant underneath the croissant (tip is tucked down so that the croissant doesn’t unravel). Repeat for the remaining rectangles, placing about 6 on each baking sheet.
- Rest: Brush the tops of the pain au chocolat with the vegan egg wash (save the rest for the second brushing). Cover the croissants in a clean dish towel or a piece of plastic wrap, and rest the croissants for 1-2 hours at room temperature (until doubled in size), but not near the stove (or else the butter will warm too much, and will leak from your croissants). While the croissants are resting, preheat the oven to 390F. Alternatively, you can rest your pain au chocolat overnight in the fridge, covered for an easy morning of baking. This will improve the yeast flavor.
- Bake: Once rested, carefully brush the tops of the pain au chocolat again with the vegan egg wash. Then place the pain au chocolat into the oven to bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until deeply golden brown on top.
- Enjoy! Remove from the oven, and allow the pain au chocolat to cool for 10 minutes. Then serve with coffee, tea, and fruit, and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container or bag for up to 2 days at room temperature or 5 days in the fridge (though best enjoyed that first day!).
Notes
Please see blog post for tips on schedule and baking times!
Instant yeast: Please use instant yeast rather than dry active yeast, as it will help speed up the process while also preventing your butter from melting during the proofing stages.
