Pain au chocolat, pie or savoury pastry from France: what it is and how it is eaten

Pain au chocolat is a French pastry made from a buttery, layered dough wrapped around pieces of dark chocolate. It is sold hot or cold in bakeries and supermarkets, often alongside croissants. This sweet roll is enjoyed for breakfast or as a snack in France and other countries.

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Made from layered, buttery dough with dark chocolate inside
Known as 'chocolatine' in parts of France and Canada
Sold hot or cold in bakeries and supermarkets
Shares its dough with croissants but is always filled with chocolate

What is Pain au chocolat?

Pain au chocolat is a rectangular pastry made from dough that is folded many times with butter, creating thin, crisp layers. Inside, there are one or two bars of dark chocolate that keep their shape when baked, giving a firm bite. The outside is golden and flaky, while the inside is soft and rich from the chocolate and butter. It is similar in texture to a croissant but shaped differently and always has chocolate at its core.

Where does Pain au chocolat come from?

This pastry comes from France, where it is a staple in bakeries. The dough used, known as viennoiserie, was brought to France from Austria in the 1800s by bakers from Vienna. While stories link the croissant and its relatives to Marie-Antoinette, these pastries are more recent creations. The name 'croissant' first appeared in French dictionaries in the 1860s. Pain au chocolat shares its dough with the croissant but is always filled with chocolate.

How is Pain au chocolat made?

To make pain au chocolat, bakers start with a yeast-leavened dough that is layered with butter through repeated folding and rolling. This process, called lamination, creates the pastry's signature flaky texture. The dough is cut into rectangles, and bars of dark chocolate are placed along one edge. The dough is then rolled around the chocolate and placed seam-side down on a tray. After rising, the pastries are baked until golden and crisp.

<a href=" http://the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2013/01/pains-au-chocolat-chocolate-croissants.html " rel="noreferrer nofollow">the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2013/01/pains-au-chocolat...</a> — <a href=" http://the-cooking-of-joy.blogspot.com/2013/01/pains-au-chocolat-chocolate-croissants.html " rel="noreferre. Photo: Joy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How and when is Pain au chocolat eaten?

People usually eat pain au chocolat in the morning or as a snack. It is commonly found in French bakeries, often still warm from the oven, and is sold alongside croissants. Some enjoy it with coffee or hot chocolate. It can be eaten plain or with a dusting of powdered sugar. In many countries, it is also available in supermarkets, either freshly baked or pre-packaged.

Kinds of Pain au chocolat

The name for this pastry changes depending on the region. In southwestern France and Quebec, it is called 'chocolatine.' In Belgium, it is known as 'couque au chocolat.' Other places use names like 'chocolate croissant' or 'chocoladekoek.' The basic form remains the same: laminated dough with chocolate inside. Some versions may use different types of chocolate or vary in size, but the core idea does not change.

What Pain au chocolat means

Pain au chocolat is a familiar sight in French daily life, especially in bakeries and cafés. It is part of the group of pastries called viennoiseries, which are often enjoyed for breakfast. The debate over its name—'pain au chocolat' versus 'chocolatine'—is a well-known cultural topic in France. The pastry is also popular in Belgium, Canada, and many other countries with French influence.

Questions people ask about Pain au chocolat

What is pain au chocolat made of?

It is made from a yeast-leavened dough that is layered with butter and wrapped around one or two bars of dark chocolate.

Where does pain au chocolat come from?

Pain au chocolat comes from France, where it is a common pastry found in bakeries and supermarkets.

Is pain au chocolat the same as a croissant?

Both use the same type of laminated dough, but pain au chocolat is rectangular and filled with chocolate, while croissants are crescent-shaped and usually plain.

What do people call pain au chocolat in other places?

It is called 'chocolatine' in southwestern France and Quebec, 'couque au chocolat' in Belgium, and 'chocolate croissant' in many English-speaking countries.

When is pain au chocolat usually eaten?

It is most often eaten for breakfast or as a snack, sometimes warm from the bakery.

Good reading and sources

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Pain au chocolat", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Thali rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

It may contain mistakes, and it is not dietary or allergy advice: recipes differ from cook to cook. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.

Pain au chocolat