Puff pastry

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In baking, a puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) is a light, flaky pastry made from dough of the same name. The dough, which is also called puff paste, contains several layers of butter. Croissants are sometimes formed from puff pastry. Puff pastry shells used to be filled with crabmeat salad or chicken à la king at ladies' luncheons. An American fashion in the late 1970s was to bake a wedge of Brie in puff pastry and serve warm. Choux pastry, used to make cream puffs is different, using eggs. Bourekas is also made out of puff pastry, filled with various ingredients.

Below are several ways to make puff pastries.

Contents 1 Notes on baking and storing puff pastry 2 Method 1 2.1 Ingredients 2.2 Directions 3 Method 2 3.1 Ingredients 4 Classic Puff Pastry 4.1 Ingredients 4.2 Method 4.3 Notes 5 Modernisation: Flaky Puff Pastry 5.1 Ingredients 5.2 Method 6 Modernisation: Filo Puff Pastry 6.1 Ingredients 6.2 Method

[edit] Notes on baking and storing puff pastry

Puff pastry is cooked when the bottom of the item is browned and the pastry does not collapse into itself.

• Use a very sharp knife to cut puff pastry. A blunt knife will crush the layers together and prevent the pastry from rising to full height.
• Do not get egg wash or milk wash on the sides of the pastry. This will glue the layers together during baking and result in uneven lift.
• Excess flour left on the item will burn easily in the oven. Dust it off with a soft pastry brush.
• Always use a cold sheet tray to bake puff pastry on. This will help keep the butter from melting and your baked goods from becoming greasy.
• Always chill puff pastry before baking.
• Always bake puff pastry in a very hot oven (220 °C/425 °F). A hot oven ensures the moisture in the dough turns into steam, which is what makes puff pastry expand. (Puff pastry generally bakes well at 400 degrees and you can scrape by at 375 but any lower and you risk your butter melting and making your goods greasy. This will also happen if your oven is too hot.)
• Open the oven flue during baking to allow steam to escape and the pastry to dry, or failing that, open the oven door near the end of the baking.
• Puff pastry can be refrigerated for a week, or frozen for three months. Stored puff pastry will have less lift than fresh pastry.

[edit] Method 1

[edit] Ingredients

• 1 (one) pound of flour
• 1 (one) pound of butter
• water

[edit] Directions

1. Sift the flour.
2. Divide the butter into four parts.
3. Cut one part of the butter into the flour with a knife.
4. Make the butter and flour into dough with water.
5. Roll the dough.
6. Flake the dough with part of the butter.
7. Flake until all the butter is in.
8. You have made enough crust for at least ten puffs.
9. Bake with a quick heat for 10 (ten) to 15 (fifteen) minutes.

[edit] Method 2

[edit] Ingredients

• 2 (two) dry quarts (¼ peck, 2.2 liters) of flour
• 1 (one) pound of butter
• cold water

Take a quarter of peck of flour, and rub it into a pound of butter very fine. Make it up into a light paste with cold water just stiff enough to work it up. Then lay it out about as thick as a silver dollar; put a layer of butter all over, then sprinkle on a little flour, double it up, and roll it out again. Double and roll it with layers of butter three times, and it will be fit for use.

[edit] Classic Puff Pastry

[edit] Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs (40 oz) Bread Flour (1125g)
• 0.5 oz Salt (15g)
• 1.5 lbs (24 oz) Cold Water (775g)
• 2.5 lbs (40 oz) Room Temp Butter (1125g)
• 4 oz Bread Flour (115g)

[edit] Method

1. Mix the salt in with the larger portion of flour.
2. Add the cold water to the flour and salt and work it into a dough.
3. Knead about 80 times to make a soft dough and build some gluten.
4. Flaten out the dough slightly and refrigerate.
5. Take the room temp butter and mix it with the smaller portion of flour. It should be soft enough to spread. Do not refrigerate.
6. Take the chilled dough and roll it out to about 26" x 18".
7. Leaving a one inch margine, spread the butter mixture evenly over the dough so that it covers ⅔ of the dough.
8. Fold the dough into thirds like you were folding a letter. Fold the dough with no butter over about half of the dough with butter, then fold the remaining edge over on top of the piece you just folded. If you did it correctly it should be a layer of dough on the bottom, a layer of butter, another layer of dough, another layer of butter and a final layer of dough. This is called a Tri-Fold.
9. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes to allow the dough to relax.
10. Roll out the dough to the same size as before, 26" x 18".
11. Fold the dough so that the two short edges meet in the center. Take one of the new short edges and fold it over to meet the other short edge. This is called a Four-Fold or a Book-Fold.
12. Refrigerate the dough again and then roll out and do another book fold. Repeat this step two more times. You now have classical puff dough.

[edit] Notes

1. Always always always salt your dough. It's not enough to be noticable but it will help bring out the flavors of whatever you use your dough to make.
2. The dough can be refrigerated for about five days, but after that it may start to take on a greyish tint. Toss it.
3. Freezing dough generally isn't a good idea. With this much water and butter in the dough, the ice crystals that form can damage your dough and gluten strands, causing it to rise unevenly and break easily.
4. Do not be afraid to add flour or water to your dough if you find it too sticky or dry. Location and humidity can alter the moisture content in dough.
5. Extra bread flour was added to the butter to help absorb any excess moisture in your dough and product. It will also help prevent a soggy baked good.
6. The flour and butter mixture is called a Beurrage. The dough before the Beurrage is added is called the Detrempe.

[edit] Modernisation: Flaky Puff Pastry

[edit] Ingredients

• 460 g butter, divided into four equal portions
• 460 g plain (non–self-raising) flour

[edit] Method

1. Sift flour into a bowl
2. Cut one portion of butter into the flour till becomes crumbly.
3. Add cold water, as needed, to make a dough.
4. Lightly dust kneeding board and rolling pin with flour. Roll dough till it is approximately half a centimetre thick.
5. Cut (smear) another portion of butter into the pastry. Fold pastry into quarters. Roll pastry back to a half a centimetre thickness. Repeat this step till there is no butter left.
6. Draw a sheet of plastic food wrap large enough to cover one side of the flattend pastry. Invert the kneeding board.
7. Cover the other side with another sheet of plastic food wrap. Gently roll the pastry into a cylindrical shape.
8. Store in refrigerator until needed for use. Keeps well for a maximum of two days.

[edit] Modernisation: Filo Puff Pastry

[edit] Ingredients

• 2 and ⅓ cups plain (non–self-raising) flour
• Additional flour for dusting
• 450 g butter, diced
• 550 g butter
• chilled water

[edit] Method

1. In a bowl, mix the first measure of flour and diced butter, until it becomes a fine crumb.
2. Add to the crumb, a little at a time, ice cold water until it becomes a very stiff dough.
3. Lightly dust the kneading board and rolling pin with flour.
4. Roll the pastry dough to the thickness of parchment paper, or thinner if possible.
5. Coat all of the visible dough with smears of butter. Sprinkle the pastry with a light dusting of flour, then fold in half.

• While coating the dough in butter, keep the rolling pin as cool as possible. Either place a tea towel over the rolling pin, then a cold pack on top, or place the rolling pin in the freezer if near by.

1. Repeat steps #4. and #5. at least another two more times. At most, repeat another six times. Work as quickly and efficiently as possible.
2. Draw a sheet of plastic food wrap large enough to cover one side of the flattend pastry. Invert the kneading board.
3. Cover the other side with another sheet of plastic food wrap. Gently roll the pastry into a cylindrical shape.
4. Store in refrigerator until needed for use. Keeps well for a maximum of one day.

Always make sure that any water used in the dough was ice cold.