Traditional puff pastry
Dough 1 – food processor (détrempe)
In a food processor add flour, salt, sugar, and cold chilled butter. Pulse 30 seconds – mix well – pulse for another 30 seconds.Pro tip – We want the butter to coat the flour so using a pulsing motion will help do that. Gradually add liquid thru the food tube while pulsing at the same time. Open the processor and remove the crumbly mixture onto a clean work surface. Gather it all into a ball and knead for 2 minutes.Pro tip – The kneading helps add elasticity and gluten but you don’t want to over-knead the dough like bread. So knead for just about 2 minutes until it’s smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Dough 2 – by hand (détrempe)
In a large bowl place the sugar, flour, and salt – and combine well. Add the chilled cubed butter to the bowl. Using your hand, fork, or a pastry blender – cut or rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs (similar to when we make pie crust). Add water a little at a time – bringing it all together. Gather it all into a dough and knead for 2 minutes.Pro tip – The kneading helps add elasticity and gluten but you don’t want to over-knead the dough like bread. So knead for just about 2 minutes until it’s smooth
Butter block (beurrage)
Place the room-temperature butter in the large mixing bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on low speed. Cream for 30 secs. Add the flour and cream for another 30 secs. Transfer to a 6 x 6 plastic wrap lined square baking pan (see video). Spread to all the corners of the pan so you have a thin 6-inch square.Pro tip – the baking pan is just a guide, you can also use parchment paper and fold the butter to a 6 x 6-inches square (similar to how we did in our Danish pastry) Use the wrap to cover the butter well and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.Pro tip – We want the butter to chill but still be flexible so that when we roll it will spread between the layers. If you chill too long it will break between the layers.
Laminate – (Paton)
Layering the flour (détrampe) and cold butter block (beurrage) – The puff pastry has three elements:
The flour, known as the détrempe in French, the butter block, is known as the beurrage, and the Pâton, which means the package of dough by combining the two, flour and butter blocks into one.
In the end, what you have is the layer of butter rolled into the layer of dough until you have thousands of layers! Here is the timeline for making puff pastry:
Making the dough – 5 to 7 mins Making the butter block – 5 to 7 mins Chill – 30 mins Combine the flour and butter block – 10 mins Folding the dough six times with 15 mins intervals of 6 x 15 minutes – so, 90 minutes The process of rolling and folding itself takes only 5 minutes each time so 6 x 5 = 30 minutes Final chilling – 60 mins The total time is 230 minutes of which 180 minutes is the chilling time (inactive time) while the actual work (active time) is only 50 minutes
So, what do you think? It’s difficult? Nah!! Time-consuming – yes!
Roll the dough onto a lightly floured work surface to a long rectangle about 13 x 7 inches (13 inches long and 7 inches wide – see notes above).Pro tip – Make sure the dough and block of butter are both chilled but not hard. If necessary, leave them on the counter for a few minutes. Place the butter block on one side of the dough – flip the other side over and seal the edges. Pro tip – The dough is 13 x 7-inches and the butter is 6 x 6-inches – use the excess to seal the edges so it does not open during rolling. Wrap the dough in plastic and place it back in the fridge for 15 minutes.Pro tip – If the dough and butter are still cold when you wrap, you can continue with the first fold. Also, in warm places, you may need more chilling time.
Creating the folds/turns (tours)
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface so the seam is towards the top.Pro tip – keeping the seam on the top will help you prevent the butter from coming out. Start by lightly tapping the dough with the rolling pin on the top surface – this will soften the butter inside preventing it from cracking. Try rolling the dough from the center out. Pro tip – It is essential that the butter is cold but still spreadable so it does not crack in the dough. If the dough cracks, you will get a very rough puff pastry. Tap from the bottom edge to the top – gently. Do it no more than 2 times. Then roll the dough to approximately 20 x 10 inches long.Pro tip – The measurements 20 x 20 is a guide that helps you fold the dough so it is still at a decent size to roll. But, it has to be approximate, not exact. So don’t worry if you go over or under. To create the fold imagine you are dividing the dough into thirds. Just like a book – Fold the top third to the middle. Then fold the bottom third over the middle. This is your first fold. Dust off excess flour. Wrap in plastic wrap again and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.Pro tip – If the dough is cold enough, you can do one more fold now before chilling again. Be careful not to roll while the dough is soft as it can cause the butter to ooze out.
Six folds (6 tours)
Repeat this process of tapping, rolling, and folding five more times. Total six-folds making sure to chill between each or between every 2 folds.Pro tip – If the dough is cold and relaxed you can do two folds at one time. In winter I manage two folds but in summer I do one fold every at 15 minutes of chilling time
Storage
After the last fold – the pastry needs to rest for at least an hour. This is now ready to use in any recipe that calls for puff pastry. I prefer to cut this dough in half and wrap each half separately. These can be kept in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. If you are not going to use them soon – wrap them well and freeze them for up to three months. Thawing in the fridge overnight works best.
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