Puff Pastry
I love to make puff pastry, and every time I do I have these two same thoughts…
“It’s a lot of work” and “its so worth it”.
Nothing beats it and seeing all those lovely layers does make a girl happy.
Puff Pastry
Basic butter puff pastry
Ingredients
- 250 g flour
- Pinch salt
- 250 g butter cold
- 175 ml iced water
Instructions
- Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.
- Cut off about ⅓ of the butter and rub into the flour
- Make a well in the centre and add about ⅔ of the water. Using a fork mix this mixture well together and once it starts to form a dough, add the remaining water if you think it is necessary. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
- Turn this dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth (2-3 minutes).
- Roll this dough out into a square about 2cm thick.
- Place the butter between two pieces of grease proof paper and bash it with a rolling pin to flatten.
- Place the flattened butter in the middle of the pastry and fold all the corners inward around the butter like an envelope.
- Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface in one direction only to create a rectangle (2cm thick). Brush off any excess flour and fold into three, towards the middle.
- Turn the pastry 90° and repeat. Wrap up the pastry again and leave to rest in the fridge for a further 10-15 minutes. Repeat this process a further 2 more times at least.
- Once all your rolls-and-folds have been completed you can wrap up the pasty and store it in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months (to defrost simply remove from the freezer and leave in the fridge overnight to defrost before use).
To bake:
- Roll out your pastry for use (about 5mm thickness) shape and place in fridge before baking.
- Brush with egg wash if a dark colour is desired.
- Bake in a hot oven (200-220°C) until golden brown and cooked through.
Notes
Puff pastry is extremely useful and versatile. By doing the many “rolls-and-folds”, you should have created a dough that has many, many thin layers. When the pastry is heated the water inside the dough expands and the flour and butter cook to create a pastry that will rise very high (5-10 times its raw height). Puff pastry is best when baked from cold or even frozen. So cut out your pastry shapes well in advance and then place your baking tray in the fridge for an hour or two before baking. Brush the pastry with a little beaten egg to give it a more golden colour. When using leftover pieces of pastry don’t scrunch it up as all the layers/structure will be lost, rather lay off cuts on top of each other and re-roll. But do note that off cuts don’t rise as high.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56nHTmINFVo