My Puff Pastry for Dummies
A puff pastry is a tender, flaky pastry which is made up of many layers of fat, also known as pâte feuilletée. The primary ingredients in a puff pastry are flour, salt, butter and water.
It is made from a laminated dough composed of dough (détrempe) and butter or any other solid fat (beurrage). The butter is put inside the dough, making a paton which is repeatedly folded and rolled out before baking.
It is like a pie crust which tends to rise even without the presence of any fermenting agent. It rises mainly because of the evaporation of water and butter into steam. As soon as the pastry gets hot, the butter starts to melt and starts boiling. The puff pastry grows 5 to 7 times from its initial height.
The Origins of Puff Pastry
It is difficult to attribute the puff pastry recipe with clarity to one specific person as like every amazing result, there are legends and myths. The French chef of kings, Antoine Carême who was the first to introduce the 5-layer method which is still used today. However, one of the legends claims it was created by mistake by someone having forgotten the butter in the short crust pastry, who added more butter to the dough…
My Recipe for sublime puff pastry
One of the most rewarding aspects of a chef’s job, is to share and demystify something which appears impossible to make. This rough puff pastry only takes 30-45 minutes of your time (30 on a cold day and 45 on a hot summer day) 😊
I need to be completely honest I didn’t create this amazing puff pastry recipe and it will not compete with the traditional way, but it is definitely something you should try ASAP.
The main key is to combine the butter into the détrempe rather than adding it in the folding process.
Ingredients:
500g of plain flour
200g of butter
6g salt flakes
250g water
METHOD :
1- Dice the butter to the size of nuts and keep them separated in the freezer for one hour.
2 - Mix the four ingredients in the bowl of your food processor relatively quickly whilst keeping chunks of butter remaining in the dough (do not over-mix).
3 -
Laminate the dough like a classic puff pastry in 5 folds, rolling out the dough “turn the dough” with a rolling pin, folding it up and repeat the process of this step 4 more times
4 -
Once the folds have been completed, wrap the dough and refrigerate until needed. You can also freeze a few portions for later.
In total, this recipe for rough puff pastry will create 171 layers of butter within the dough, with just five folds!
WHAT TO DO WITH A PUFF PASTRY?
From sweet to savoury, puff pastry can be used in many ways. From a simple tart, pie, and roll recipes to an amazing dessert such as the famous millefeuille or the almond creme galette of the kings.
If you have any questions or if you still encounter difficulties leave me a message and I will help you.
Bon appetit!
1000 feuille