The Recipe Room

Puff pastry is a light, flaky dough that can be used for a variety of savory or sweet treats.  For my first attempt at making this dough, I used a more traditional recipe that called for an equal ratio of bread flour to butter.  While I knew I’d be using a lot of butter, the reality of just how much butter is used in the production of puff pastry hit me as I formed a 20 tablespoons block of butter worth 2,000 calories!  Even though I really, really wanted to reduce the amount of butter, I stuck to the exact ingredients because I wanted to see how the final product would turn out as it was originally intended.

What followed was a lengthy process of rolling out the dough, creating a single turn (folding the dough similar to a letter before it is inserted in an envelope), and letting the puff pastry rest in the refrigerator for half an hour before repeating the process four more times.  Two hours later, the dough was finally ready to be baked. The good news was that it only needed ten minutes in the oven. While I considered the presentation of the final result to be a success, I had issues with the taste. The puff pastry was not bad at first but, immediately after a few bites, I could feel the residual butter on my lips. I don’t know about you but there is nothing worse than feeling disgusting after you consume something. It doesn’t matter how delicious the item might be, it is just not worth it. And, that is exactly the way I felt about my puff pastry.

Instead of shunning puff pastry for life, I started thinking about how I was going to recreate the dough so that it maintained its flaky texture but did not make me feel like I had to run five miles on the treadmill. After doing some research, I decided to try making the puff pastry again using roughly 40 percent of the butter originally called for in the recipe. But, as I rolled out the dough, I could already tell that the product was not going to turn out that great because the consistency was tough and rubbery.  This time, I had gone to the opposite extreme and used too little fat.

Frustrated but determined to find a solution, I decided to think through my ingredients. For starters, I knew I needed to add a little more butter. But since I was deciding to opt for 1 part butter to 2 parts flour, I decided to switch out the bread flour for all-purpose flour because it has a lower percentage of proteins, which means that the dough will not be as glutinous and, consequently, be able to rise more easily. Since I’d already had two unsuccessful attempts at puff pastry, I found myself feeling fearless and decided to add some unrefined brown sugar and vanilla extract.  I know, I know, it sounds super risky and dangerous. So after rolling, turning, folding, and letting the puff pastry do its thing, the moment of truth was 400°F and 10 minutes away.

While I won’t necessarily say that the third time is a charm, I will say that it is definitely the path to improvement. The result was a flaky consistency on top and a chewier texture in the middle. I happened to like it, especially with fifty percent less butter and no residual fat on my lips!  Since it is still a work in progress, please let me know your thoughts on the puff pastry recipe I’ve provided below.

Cheers!

Sonia
www.foundingflavors.com