puff pastry

I wouldn't say that it is difficult. It is just something that has a lot of steps and you have to let it rest in the refrigerator between turns. Therefore, it takes a lot of total time, but not that much hands-on time. You can see a video of the process and recipe here:

I learnt how to make it from Julia Childs book Mastering The Art Of French Cooking. I borrowed the book from the library, It tells you the right texture the butter has to be to make it work, also how to get the butter mallable as she puts it, plus many more helpful idea's. As with all Julia's recipes and methods, they work. The enclosed video is Julia but I think it is easier to refer to the book. qahtan

The video is a good start, but I agree having a book is a good idea. I use the puff pastry recipe in "Professional Baking." Gisslen has you mix a little flour with the butter on low in the stand mixer to make the butter more malleable and to help absorb the water in the butter As I recall, there is a bit of butter in the dough also.. His recommendation is that the dough and butter should have the same consistency so they can be laminated without having the butter break through the dough. I think I will try the method in the video next time just for comparison. I tried Julia's "blitz puff pastry" recipe, but I didn't think it was worth the bother. I might consider using it for a pot pie, but not for anything else.

What I would really like with puff pastry is to have the actual layers of paste not so "short" I have tried with less butter, with other shortening even tried oil in that initial dough, but it still comes out too short for what I am looking for. Maybe it's the flour, or perhaps you have an idea, :-)) I don't know if it was Julia's recipe but yes I have added a little flour to the butter, I know it took me a long long time to find a recipe that worked half decent. qahtan

Homemade Puff Pastry from Scratch Recipe Ingredients

13 ounces (390 g) all-purpose flour 1-1/2 tsp (7 ml) salt 3 ounces (90 g) unsalted butter, cold 7 fluid ounces (210 ml) water, cold

10 ounces (300 g) unsalted butter, softened

Instructions To form the detrempe, sift the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut the cold butter (3 ounces) into small pieces and then cut the pieces into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

Make a well in the center of the mixture and add all the water at once. Using a rubber spatula or your fingers, gradually draw the flour into the water. Mix until all the flour is incorporated. Do not knead. The detrempe should be sticky and shaggy-looking.

Note: The detrempe can be made in a food processor. To do so, combine the flour, salt and pieces of cold butter in a food processor bowl fitted with the metal blade. Process until a coarse meal is formed. With the processor running, slowly add the water. Turn the machine off as soon as the dough comes together to form a ball. Process with the remainder of the recipe.

Turn the detrempe out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times by hand, rounding it into a ball. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and chll overnight.

To roll in the butter, first prepare the softened butter by placing it between two sheets of plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin to roll the softened butter into a rectangle, approximately 5 inches by 8 inches (12.5 centimeters by 20 centimeters). It is important that the detrempe and butter be of almost equal consistency. If necessary, allow the detrempe to sit at room temperature to soften or chill the butter briefly to harden.

On a lightly floured board, roll the detrempe into a rectangle approximately

12 inches by 15 inches (30 centimeters by 37.5 centimeters). Lift and rotate the dough as necessary to prevent sticking.

Use a dry pastry brush to brush away any flour from the dough's surface. Loose flour can cause gray streaks and can prevent the puff pastry from rising properly when baked.

Peel one piece of plastic wrap from the butter. Position the butter in the center of the rectangle and remove the remaining plastic. Fold the four edges of the detrempe over the butter enclosing it completely. Stretch the dough if necessary; it is important that none of the butter be exposed.

With the folded side facing up, press the dough several times with a rolling pin. Use a rocking motion to create ridges in the dough. Place the rolling pin in each ridge and slowly roll back and forth to widen the ridge. Repeat until all the ridges are doubled in size.

Using the ridges as a starting point, roll the dough out into a smooth, even rectangle approximately 8 inches by 24 inches (20 centimeters by 50 centimeters). Be careful to keep the corners of the dough as right angles.

Use a dry pastry brush to remove any loose flour from the dough's surface. Fold the dough in thirds, like a business letter. If one end is damaged or in worse condition, fold it in first; otherwise, start at the bottom. This completes the first turn.

Rotate the block of dough 90 degrees so that the folded edge is on your left and the dough faces you like a book. Roll out the dough again, repeating the ridging technique. Once again, the dough should be in a smooth, even rectangle of approximately 8 inches by 24 inches (20 centimeters by 60 centimeters).

Fold the dough in thirds again, completing the second turn. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Repeat the rolling and folding technique until the dough has had a total of five turns. Do not perform more than two turns without a resting and chilling period. Cover the dough completely and chill overnight before shaping and baking.

Yield: 2 pounds (1 kg)

Enjoy

Chef R. W. Miller

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