What We Ate Wednesday--Pain au Chocolat

Hello lovelies! Do you ever get nom nom nom cravings? Like you dream about food and then wake up RAVENOUS for it? Or is that just me?

I had a dream about pain au chocolat. Which is just posh French for some sweet bread with chocolate in it. I know Jus-Rol makes frozen heat and eat pain au chocolat that is accidentally vegan, but it is not gluten free. It also has about 25 ingredients which includes palm oil so I wouldn't have bought it anyway. I pondered all day about it while my tummy rumbled and that night dreamed of it again (see, i told you I was obsessed!) 

The second night I had a solution.

My flatbread recipe. But pimped with sugar and chocolate and basted in vegan butter.

Nom Non Nom.

This is my go to quick and easy flatbread---you can have it made in about 15 minutes. I normally make it with garlic butter, but have been known to add coconut and cinnamon and raisins and make Peshwari naan out of it. If you just want the savoury version--leave out the sugar and chocolate and add some garlic to the melted butter. 

But this...this was out of this world. But one word of warning. you WILL need to let it cool slightly. You will be tempted to nom nom nom it right away, but let me tell you that chocolate is HOT when it comes out of the oven. Molten. Like chocolate lava. I raised a blister on my thumb when it accidentally brushed some chocolate when i was using the spatula to flip them over so be warned. 

Pain au Chocolat

200g flour (1.5 cups) Regular or works beautifully with GF

3 tsp baking POWDER (not baking soda)

1 tsp xanthan gum if using GF flour

1/2 tsp salt

5 to 7 TB of sugar depending on how sweet you want it

100g chocolate bar chopped into chunks--we used a Lidl bar that is dairy free and fairtrade

1 TB apple cider vinegar

1 cup non dairy milk--we use soya milk as it makes really "chunky" buttermilk

heaping TB vegan butter, melted

1. Preheat your grill/broiler to 220C/425F. Move your oven rack up to the top. Lightly grease some (reusable) parchment and put it in your roasting tin or a large cookie sheet. 

2. Melt your vegan butter and set aside when melted. 

3. Add  1 TB vinegar to a measuring cup and top up with milk until the 1 cup measure is filled. Set aside to make buttermilk.

4. Sift your dry ingredients into a bowl, add your sugar and chocolate. Add the buttermilk and stir to combine.

5. Scoop mixture into 4 even piles on your parchment paper and with wet fingers flatten them out and smooth the tops to make 4 discs. 

6. Brush the tops with melted butter.

7. Put under the grill/broiler for 5 minutes, then remove and carefully flip over. The dough was a little wetter than normal on my flip--but that may have been the melted chocolate. Brush the bottom with the rest of the melted butter and grill/broil for 5 more minutes. By now they should be puffy and cooked. But if they still seem wet, CAREFULLY cut open avoiding molten chocolate and check that it is done all the way. If not 1-2 more minutes under the grill. 

8. Let it cool. I cannot stress this enough. When still warm and gooey (but not straight from the oven hot) you can nom nom nom.