R E C I P E S

Puff Pastry (Pâte Feuilletée)

By James MacGuire
Photographs by Kimberly Behr

This recipe replaces the usual plain détrempe (made with only flour, water, and salt) with a pâte brisée (pie dough). As I quickly learned years ago, other versions also exist. Unlike good pie dough, in the détrempe a bit of gluten forms, but the butter keeps the dough from shrinking too much during baking and helps the individual layers separate from one another and rise to maximum height. Too much has been made of the importance of higher-fat butters, often called European (82 to 84 percent fat instead of the usual North American 80 percent). The higher-fat butters can be used but aren’t necessary. Unsalted butters from national brands, including Land O’Lakes and Organic Valley, are perfectly adequate as long as you adhere strictly to the directions for working the butter before it’s encased in the dough. (For much more about good butter, including the details of butter production and crystallization for use in laminated doughs, see the articles on cultured butter and croissants in AoE 93.)

Do not use bread flour or high-gluten flour, which will make the dough difficult to roll and produce tough pastry. For the trials I made while writing these instructions, I used King Arthur all-purpose, which contains about 11.7 percent protein.

The percentage of total butter to flour here — 1:1 — admittedly seems excessive, however the rising power of the pastry is such that the dough is rolled thinner, and so, for instance, to make a tart of a given diameter you use considerably less pastry overall. In the beginning, you might find the difficulty is to roll the dough thin enough — and dare to do so. The whole process takes 48 hours from start to use.

500 gr strong all-purpose flour

7 gr salt

250 gr unsalted butter, cut in 1-inch cubes and allowed to come to room temperature

215 gr tepid water, 90° F (32° C) in a 70° F (21° C) kitchen, cooler in a warmer kitchen

250 gr butter, cold

If you use a food processor, add the flour and salt to the bowl and pulse, then add the cubes of room-temperature butter. Pulse until the mix looks like fine cornmeal, but avoid clumping it together. Make sure there are no unincorporated chunks of butter. Transfer to a large bowl.

If you use your hands, in a large bowl mix the flour, salt, and room-temperature butter until you reach the texture of cornmeal, making sure there are no unincorporated chunks of butter.

In either case, add the tepid water — warm, not hot. Mix it by hand into the flour-butter combination to form a dough with no dry bits, taking only 2 to 3 minutes. Unlike pie dough, there should be some stretchiness, but that will occur automatically with no need to push it with forceful or additional mixing. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and form a smooth ball. Allow it to rest for a few minutes, then pat the ball out into a 10-by-10-inch square. Wrap it in plastic film (or place it in a food-grade plastic bag that can be reused throughout the process), and refrigerate it overnight (a minimum of 5 to 6 hours).

Remove the square of dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Allow it to warm slightly, for perhaps 5 minutes, then sprinkle it with flour and roll it into a 10-by-15-inch rectangle. Place it on a baking sheet, cover it, and return it to the fridge.

Cut the remaining 250 gr cold butter into 6 to 8 pieces, and pound them with a rolling pin to make a smooth, malleable mass, a process that pâtissiers call plastification. When things soften sufficiently, continue with your hands. As you work, droplets of water may appear on and under the butter. Use a paper towel to wipe them away, but there’s no need to obsess. The texture of the butter should be completely smooth — it’s most extensible at 14° C (57° F). Above all, do not let it warm enough to become greasy. Set it aside.

Remove the rectangle of dough from the fridge and place it on the floured work surface. Use the rolling pin to make an indentation 4 inches in from both the 10-inch edges, which will serve as a guide for spreading the butter over the middle section and make it easier to fold the two flaps into the middle. Spread the butter over the whole surface of the center rectangle of dough up to (but not over) the edges and indentations. Fold the side flaps over the center as though you were closing the doors of a cupboard, then use your fingertips to pinch the center seam shut. Do the same with the ends to encase the butter completely.

In terms of even layering, the first rolling and folding, called a “turn,” is the most delicate. If there is the least indication the butter is too soft, put the dough back into the fridge to cool a bit before the dough starts to tear or the butter squirts out. Straight rolling pins (as opposed to ones with handles and roller bearings) give a better idea of what’s going on with the dough. To ensure that the butter beneath the surface remains in an even layer, roll with short back and forth movements using the minimum necessary downward pressure. On smaller work surfaces, it’s easier to roll the dough out halfway, then turn the piece around so you can roll in the other direction. In this way, one end of the dough might extend over the edge of the work surface in front of you — an apron and a handy broom are advisable! The rectangle of dough should be rolled to about 32 inches long, so that when folded into three, it will once again form a roughly 10-inch square.

A total of 5½ turns are necessary; that is, 5 turns with the dough folded in three and a last turn with the dough folded only in half. Each time, make a finger imprint indicating the number finished to avoid losing count, and then before giving the next turn, rotate the dough 90°, so the folds are in a new position. Professionals give two turns back to back, but for the less experienced it’s best to stick to one. At least 2 to 3 hours’ rest between turns is necessary to cool the butter and help the dough relax, so it isn’t too tense and difficult to roll. It’s best to perform the rolling and folding over the course of a day, and begin using the pastry the following day.

How to Use It

The importance of keeping puff pastry very cold as it’s being rolled out can’t be overstated. It’s best done in two steps — most of the way and then the finishing touches, with a rest in the fridge in between. Use as level and even a work surface as possible to avoid unevenness or wrinkles in the sheet of dough. The right thickness is almost impossible to measure. Simplest is to cut an exact ¼ of the square of dough and roll this into a square 11 to 12 inches on a side, which will yield the desired thickness for almost every use. Return to the fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes, and when it’s time to cut out the desired shapes, try to work quickly, so the dough remains cold and firm. When you cut the shapes, leave the last ½ inch of dough around the edges — don’t worry, these scraps can be put to very good use. Use a ruler as a guide for cutting straight lines and an inverted plate for cutting neat circles for tarts, pithiviers, and galette des Rois. Place the cut-out pieces on parchment paper or nonstick mats (Silpat), placed in turn on aluminum sheets (when only the plain pastry is being baked) or on black-steel sheets (for more bottom heat when fillings are involved). Once ready, let the items rest, uncovered, at room temperature for about 45 minutes before baking. In most cases, egg wash (1 whole egg beaten with a pinch of salt) is then applied to the top of the dough, but not the sides. Convection ovens give a higher rise than static ovens. With either one, 425° F (220° C) works best (except 375° F, or 190° C, for mille-feuilles), but with convection the temperature might have to be reduced toward the end to allow the items to bake evenly without burning.

Scraps of the dough are precious. Many recipes call for gathering them into a ball before reuse, but patiently overlapping them one on top of the other in 2 or 3 carefully arranged layers is worth the trouble. When rerolled to the usual thickness, this dough will still rise more than most other puff pastry types, but it will be sturdier. This works well for mille-feuilles as well as for quiche shells, as long as the pastry is well shored up with beans during the blind bake. If you find yourself short of scraps for these purposes, simply take full puff pastry, roll it out, and fold it in half.

Paillettes (Cheese Straws) Prepare a 10-by-6-inch rectangle and brush it with egg wash. Sprinkle it liberally with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Turn the dough over, repeat, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Slice this rectangle dough lengthwise into 8 strips, twist each strip into only enough revolutions to make a visible spiral (too tight and they won’t expand as much) and place on a parchment-lined pan. Allow to rest 45 minutes, uncovered, before baking. With a serrated knife, cut each baked piece in two. Enough for 4 people.

Chaussons (Apple Turnovers) Cut 5½- to 6-inch rounds, using a fluted pastry cutter or a knife and a plate, roll the center of each round, making it thinner, and creating an oval 7 inches long but leaving 2/3 inch of unrolled dough at each end. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Put 50 ml (3 tablespoons) of homemade applesauce (made from 2 or 3 apples, peeled and sliced, cooked with a trace of water and little sugar for about 5 minutes) into the center of each piece, and with a pastry brush paint a ½-inch border, which will seal the chausson shut. Carefully fold the piece over, avoiding leakage of the applesauce. Allow to rest for about 45 minutes, uncovered, then egg wash the top surface, and bake for about 20 minutes. Three to four minutes before they’re done, take the pan from the oven, brush the tops with simple syrup (50 ml water and 50 gr sugar brought to a boil and cooled), and return them to finish baking.

Tartes aux Pommes (Apple Tarts) For 3 to 4 people, cut a 12-inch (30-cm) circle. Apply egg wash to a generous 1½-inch (4-cm) band of dough around the edges, and cover the rest with a single layer of barely overlapping, thinly sliced apples (2 peeled and cored medium-size apples, cut in half vertically and sliced across the core) The short baking won’t allow more than one layer of apples to cook through. Give the 45-minute rest, uncovered. Sprinkle with granulated sugar to promote browning. Bake until the pastry border is golden, about 20 minutes, and then, just before serving, sprinkle the border with powdered sugar.

Mille-feuilles (Napoleons) Use scraps rolled out to the usual thickness. The rectangle should completely cover an upside-down baking sheet (the pastry bakes better at the sides if there are no metal edges) covered with parchment paper. “Dock” the dough thoroughly (prick it all over with a fork), and give it a 45-minute rest, uncovered. Bake at 375° F (190° C) until it is light golden in color all the way through (check this by cutting away the very edge with a serrated knife). Cut the cooled rectangle lengthwise to make three equal pieces. Begin by placing the first baked strip smooth-side down and spreading it with ½ inch of freshly made (but cooled) pastry cream. Put the second strip on top of the first, again with the smooth side down, and spread it with ½ inch of pastry cream. Place the third strip on top but smooth side up, and gently push down the top layer to make it level. With a straight spatula, spread the pastry cream so it’s flush around the sides. The usual white fondant icing is too sweet and also difficult to work with. Powder the top with icing sugar or, using a straight spatula, spread it with a warm glaze of icing sugar and water. Serve immediately.