Puff Pastry
From to pithiviers to palmiers, puff pastry is a miracle dough that houses our favourite treats both savoury and sweet. Made with nothing more than flour, water, salt and butter, the dough puffs into over 700 layers when baked!
What Is Puff Pastry Used For?
Puff pastry can play a role in any part of a meal from cocktail hour to dessert. In main dishes it encases beef tenderloin and duxelles in the all time classic Beef Wellington. Baked bowl shaped vessels of golden puff pastry called vol au vents become holders for meat or vegetable pie filling. As an appetizer, it can be pressed in grated cheese and made into twists for cheese straws. Or use it as a crust for a savoury mushroom tart.
And for your sweet tooth, sandwich sheets of baked puff pastry with layers of pastry cream and top it with fondant to create a mouthwatering Napoleon. Or press discs of dough into little tapered molds, fill them with custard and bake into the Portuguese cafe delicacy pasteis de nata.
Tips for Perfect Puff Pastry
Of course if you are in a hurry or just don’t have the patience to make your own puff pastry, there is nothing wrong with using store bought. There are some decent ones out there! But nothing beats homemade so if you feel you are ready to tackle making it from scratch, here are some tips to consider.
- Make the initial dough (detrempe) somewhat stiff. If it’s too soft and sticky, it might tear during the rolling and folding process. This will cause the butter to leak out during baking and the steam won’t make it puff.
- When rolling out the dough to laminate the butter, do not roll it too thin. This can also cause tearing during folding. The dough should not be less than half an inch thick.
- Chill the butter slab (beurrage), but don’t make it freezing. It’s important that both the dough and butter are both chilled so they are the same temperature. If the butter is too cold however, it can break into pieces during rolling and folding. If this happens, there won’t be an even distribution of steam during baking and the puffing will be stunted.
- Allow the dough to rest more if it’s resisting. If the dough feels very stiff when you are rolling it, cover it with plastic and let it rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. This gives the gluten strands a chance to relax and make the dough softer. If you force rolling it, the pastry will develop gluten and become tough.
- Egg wash before baking for a deeper golden crust. If you like lots of colour on your puff pastry, slab on a generous coat of egg wash with a pastry brush before baking. This can be made by beating an egg with 1 tablespoon of water.
- Cold dough, hot oven. Puff pastry loves to bake in a very hot oven, no less than 400F. Additionally, always chill anything made with puff pastry for at least 20 minutes before baking. The cold butter layers create intense steam within the tiny layers when they hit the hot oven. This is why it puffs up!
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- 2 Cups All purpose flour
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 3/4 Cup water Plus more to form dough
- 3/4 Cup butter
Ingredients
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- In a bowl combine flour and salt. Stir in water, adding more a tablespoon at a time to form a dough that is not too soft. It is better for the dough to be on the stiff side.
- Roll out the dough to form a square that is approximately 7 inches square. This should be no thinner than 1/2 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile in the same bowl, cream butter using a mixer or by mashing with a blunt object. Sprinkle in enough flour so the butter doesn’t stick too much. Cream the entire amount of butter so it is completely mailable with no solid chunks. Transfer butter to a work surface and using a bench scraper, form into a square measuring about 4 inches. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out corners to stretch slightly. Place the butter square in the centre so the corners are opposite those of the dough (see video). Wrap dough around butter and crimp the edges well to seal. Flip over so seam side is down.
- Roll the dough in a rectangle with length going away from you. Lightly flour the dough if necessary and keep rolling until the rectangle measures approximately 7”x12.” Try to maintain square corners. Fold the rectangle in thirds, overlapping the second fold over the first. Flip so seam is down and make a quarter turn. Roll the dough again in the same fashion, creating a 7”x12” rectangle with length going away from you. Fold into thirds again the same way. Wrap dough in plastic and allow to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Repeat the same process with the dough, rolling into a rectangle, folding in thirds and repeating once more. If the dough is resisting, wrap again and allow to rest in the fridge for about 15 minutes to relax the gluten. After another 30 minutes rest, repeat another 2 roll and folds for a total of 6 roll and folds. Wrap up dough and rest for 1 hour before using. Puff pastry will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.