Vegan pastries – pain au chocolat

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but I totally just asked chatgpt for a vegan pastry recipe with ingredients I already had that would help me practice dough lamination. Turned out great, though.

Ingredients: For the Dough:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast
1 cup plant-based milk (like almond or oat), warm
2 tbsp vegan butter, softened
For the Lamination:

1 cup vegan butter, very cold (recommended to use a block-style butter)
For Assembly:

Vegan chocolate batons or chopped dark chocolate pieces
Instructions:

Prepare the Dough: In a large bowl, combine the cake and all-purpose flours, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the warm plant milk and softened butter, kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes). Form into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1–1.5 hours.

Butter Block Preparation: Shape the cold vegan butter into a 6×6-inch square between two sheets of parchment paper. Chill until firm.

Lamination Process:

Roll out the dough into a 10×10-inch square and place the butter block in the center.
Fold the edges of the dough over the butter to enclose it completely.
Roll out the dough into a 20×10-inch rectangle, then fold it into thirds like a letter. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Repeat this rolling and folding process two more times, chilling the dough each time.
Shape and Add Chocolate:

Roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into smaller rectangles, roughly 3×5 inches.
Place a chocolate baton or small amount of chocolate at one end of each rectangle and roll up tightly.
Final Proofing: Place each rolled pain au chocolat on a baking sheet, seam side down. Cover lightly and let rise for 1–1.5 hours, until puffy.

Bake: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Bake for 15–20 minutes, until golden and flaky.

Serve: Let cool slightly, then enjoy warm with the melty chocolate inside