Homemade Puff Pastry. Just saying it sounds a bit daunting, doesn’t it? Fret not. We’re here to chat about Rough Puff Pastry today… basically, cheater puff pastry.
Classic puff is made using a dough called détrempe (day-trahmp) which is basic enough and made with flour, water and butter which you then add more butter to, roll it out, fold it, turn it, roll it out and repeat the process until you’ve got whole whack of lamintaed layers of butter evenly distributed between the dough. When baking, the moisture in the butter and dough turns to steam and lifts the layers in the dough, puffing it up.
Rough Puff Pastry comes together in 45-60 minutes and produces a flaky pastry almost as good as classic puff. The difference is fewer laminated layers, but you’ll barely be able to distinguish between the classic and the rough version. It still tastes far superior to store-bought and is flaky, crisp and capable of holding a plethora of decadent sweet and savory fillings so don’t sweat the fact that you’re skipping the classic in favour of this short cut recipe. Most people, probably yourself included, won’t even know so it’s our little delicious secret.
Recipe
Rough Puff Pastry
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Wooden spoon
- Grater
- Mixing bowl
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, grated and frozen
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, grated and frozen
- 2 ¼ cups All Purpose flour, placed in the freezer for 30 minutes prior to starting.
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 8-10 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- Combine the ¼ cup of frozen, grated butter and the flour and rub together with your fingertips quickly until mixture is almost sandy with a few larger pieces of butter.
- Add ice water a few tablespoons at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon, to bring it all together into a shaggy dough ball.
- Fold/knead for a few minutes so it comes together into a firm dough (it will feel tight, but it will soften on the rest a little), and let rest for 10 minutes in the fridge.
- Roll the dough out into a rectangle about 15.7 x 7.8 inches (40 x 20 cm). Don't worry TOO much about keeping the sides perfectly straight, just try to make sure it's all the same thickness.
- Distribute half the grated butter over ⅔ of the dough.
- Fold the 3rd of dough without any butter over the middle section, and the other end on top of that, as if you were folding a business letter before placing into an envelope.
- Turn the dough 90 degrees and roll that piece of dough out into another rectangle about 40x20cm.
- You’ve just completed one “fold".
- Place the rest of the grated butter over ⅔ of the dough. Fold the 3rd of dough without any butter over the middle section, and the other end on top of that. You’ve now laminated the butter in 2 folds.
- Turn 90 degrees and roll out again.
- Repeat until you’ve made 5-6 folds.
- If you find the butter is getting too soft, pop in the freezer for 10 minutes after you complete a turn.
- Chill the completed dough for at least 4 hours in the fridge before using.
- Your rough puff pastry will keep in the fridge for 1 month or you can freeze for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
sebastien says
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