Where it comes from
France (pain au chocolat)
Along with the croissant, it is the item that leaves the counter most in the early hours. A flattened rectangle of puff pastry, made with the same dough as a croissant, with one or two bars of chocolate inside — or pastry cream, depending on the house — and sometimes toasted almonds on top.
The Spanish name misleads: in most languages this is a pain au chocolat, and its Neapolitan origin is not established. What is documented is the dough’s genealogy: butter-laminated pastry reached Paris from Vienna in the 19th century, and from there came the whole family — croissant included — that later settled into Spanish breakfasts and afternoon snacks.
It is what you order in any café in the province when toast does not appeal, and the first thing to go from the Sunday tray.
What it is made with
- Flour
- Butter
- Chocolate
- Sugar
- Yeast
- Bakeries and cafés across the province