Puff pastry

Not something that most people would bother making at home but considering the awful quality of most store bought puff pastry it is definately worth the effort.
The list is endless of what can be made with puff pastry. It can be used for sweet or savoury pastries and there are many different recipes for the puff pastry itself. There are 5 recipes in my manual but so far this is the easiest and the best. Then we will explore recipes using puff pastry.
A good puff pastry won't have fat that sticks to the roof of your mouth. If it does it hasn't been made with butter and puff has to be made with butter. A good puff will rise about 7 times its original thickness so if the puff is rolled out to 4mm it should rise up to well over 2 1/2 cm. I remember a girl in my class at pastry school whose miracle puff pastry rose over 10 times its thickness even if at the age of 21 she was only as tall as a 7 year old...

This recipe will make about 3 large tart bases (26cm)and you can make small pasries with the left overs but more about that next time.

350g flour
210ml water
10g salt

Sift flour and salt and add water and mix in machine with a dough hook for at least 8 minutes. Allow to rest in frig for about 2 hours.

500g butter
150g flour

Soften butter and add flour by hand.. It's not necessary to beat the butter and flour. They only have to be just mixed together. Flatten into a square shape, wrap in greaseproof paper and leave in fridge for about 2 hours.
The dough and the butter should be about the same temperature after about 2 hours and will be ready to roll.

Roll out the pastry so that it is twice the length and slightly wider than the butter. Place the butter on the pastry and fold the pastry over the butter and close it in as if it were a parcel and close the sides so the butter doesn't squish out during rolling.

To make the layers; roll out the pastry length ways away from you until it is 3 times original lenght then fold it in to 3 layers. Do this again then rest in fridge for about 30 minutes. Repeat this process, layers and resting, another 2 more times. It's important to rest between layering. After further resting the puff is ready to use. It can be kept in the freezer for later use.

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