Pain au chocolat
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![]() Pain au chocolat | |
Alternative names | Chocolatine, Chocolate bread, couque au chocolat |
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Type | Viennoiserie sweet roll |
Place of origin | France |
Serving temperature | Hot or Cold |
Main ingredients | Yeast-leavened dough, chocolate[1] |
Variations | Pain aux raisins |
Pain au chocolat (French pronunciation: [pɛ̃ o ʃɔ.kɔ.la] , literally chocolate bread; also known as chocolatine in the south-west part of France and in Canada, couque au chocolat in Belgium), is a type of viennoiserie sweet roll consisting of a cuboid-shaped piece of yeast-leavened laminated dough, similar in texture to a puff pastry, with one or two pieces of dark chocolate in the centre.
Pain au chocolat is made of the same layered doughs as a croissant. Often sold still hot or warm from the oven, they are commonly sold alongside croissants in French bakeries and supermarkets.
Origins
Legend has it that Marie-Antoinette introduced the croissant to France, but croissants and pains au chocolat are a relatively modern invention.[2] The word croissant, which refers to a plain form of pain au chocolat shaped like a half-moon or "crescent", made its entry in the French dictionary in 1863.[3] The type of pastry, called "viennoiserie" in French, was introduced in the early 19th century, when August Zang, an Austrian officer, and Ernest Schwarzer, an Austrian aristocrat, founded a Viennese bakery in Paris located at 92, rue de Richelieu.
Originally, croissants and pains aux chocolat were made from a brioche base but later evolved to incorporate a buttery flaky dough (pâte feuilletée).
International variations
They are often sold in packages at supermarkets and convenience stores, or made fresh in pastry shops.
- In Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, Denmark and the United Kingdom, they are sold in most bakeries, supermarkets and cafés.
- In Germany, they are sold less frequently than chocolate croissants, but both are referred to as "pain au chocolat".
- In the United States, they are commonly known as "chocolate croissants" [4].
- In Belgium's Flanders region, they are sold in most bakeries, and referred to as "chocoladekoek" or "chocoladebroodje".
- In Portugal and Spain, they are sold in bakeries and supermarkets, as napolitanas (i.e., from Naples).
- In Mexico, they are also most commonly found in bakeries and supermarkets, and are known as chocolatines.
- In El Salvador and Brazil, they are referred to "croissant de chocolate".
- In Australia and New Zealand, they are commonly referred to as "chocolate croissants", and are sold freshly baked in most bakeries and supermarkets.
See also
References
- ^ Torres, Jacques. "Croissants, Pain au Chocolat, Pain Raisin and Danish". Food Network. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ "History of the Croissant". 1-800-Bakery.com. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ "D'ou viennent les sacrosaints Croissants et Pains au Chocolat?" (in French). Club Doctissimo. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
- ^ Tuesday's Tasting - Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants